A literal campfire is a temporary place where a smaller gathering of people can pull up a chair around the warmth and light of a fire and share in the lives of one another and what brought them to that location in the first place..

Similarly, we can pull up a chair around what unites us (our faith in Jesus and our call to be a local church). This method of gathering is temporary (during this season of bans on larger gatherings). If it wasn’t temporary, we’d call it a house church.

God made us an in-person people. Online can accomplish much, but misses important aspects that we often take for granted (i.e. God’s presence in the bodies of His people; body language; things we’d add on when in-person meetings that we leave out when on Zoom).

There is an increased risk with meeting in-person, but both us and our health officials believe it is a risk worth taking so long as we practice by some new gathering protocols.

We will continue to provide an online service for those not comfortable attending in-person and/or are at increased risk to the virus.

There is a provincial ban on gatherings over 50 people. Therefore, it would take about six services to have enough space for everyone and about 10-15 volunteers serving at each of those services (leaving space for 35-40 people to attend). Furthermore, if any of those volunteers (i.e. worship leader, preacher, etc.) are sick then they are not allowed to attend and a back-up must be ready. Our worship teams and pastors would burn out doing six services every Sunday.

This is probably the most tempting option for our church. We didn’t go this route for the following reasons:

1) Our normal Sunday morning services are good, but they miss the mark on getting personal in community. We would make up for this shortfall with Life Groups (a second, smaller meeting in the week to discuss the sermon as it relates personally to us, pray for one another, etc.). Having two meetings increases the risk of transmission and adds to the busyness of a trying season. Instead of two meetings, we’re combining them.

2) Streaming a service “live” with engaging and participatory quality is something we can’t do at this time due to a lack of proper equipment and trained personnel. A few folks would tune in online no matter the quality, but if the audio and visual quality aren’t there, the majority of viewers get frustrated, distracted and tune out.

3) Pastor Clint believes that God is calling us to respond in this way (Campfires) for greater reasons than compliance with the government. Campfires will prepare us and grow us in ways that a return to normal or meeting online cannot:

a) Campfires will prepare us for the volatility of the virus (more scalable if bans decrease/increase) and plant seeds in our heart that might not bear fruit until the next generation (prepare our church for meeting in most hostile situations). There could be a day where the church in Canada isn’t allowed to own property, maintain charitable status, or be allowed to preach Biblical morality. If that becomes the case then smaller and/or underground house churches will be the norm and we’d can see our kids recalling a season where their parents met in smaller groups (that church can be done in other ways).

b) Campfires will grow us. If we offered six services, not only would it burn out many of our leaders, but it would further cement a weakness in our current church model where members are consumers of ministry and not ministers. Campfire Church will activate hosts to lead smaller gatherings which will grow the host in new ways. Campfire Church, by nature of being smaller, will grow participants in new ways as we are less anonymous.

Participants will register for a specific Campfire to return to each week. Sticking with the same Campfire reduces transmission risk and increases spiritual growth. The majority of Campfire meetings will be indoors (at the church or in a large living room), but we’ve heard rumours of some creative outdoor gatherings in the works too!

Two-days before each meeting, participants will receive an email to RSVP. Campfire Hosts will arrange the seating in the meeting venue according to the RSVP (i.e. a household of four will sit on these chairs and another household of three will sit on these other chairs). Each household will be spaced at least 2m apart. Meeting capacity will be determined by how many households a venue can safely seat.

Included in the above mentioned RSVP email will be all of the meeting instructions and protocols which includes requirements like, “If any of your household is displaying cold or flu-like symptoms then your household is not allowed to attend and must notify the host of their absence.” That household can participate in the online service that week instead. There are many more protocols (many unique to the venue) like how to enter and exit the premises, bathroom location, sanitize your hands upon entry, etc.

Hosts will remind participants of the protocols at the beginning of each meeting, take attendance (for pastoral and infection communication purposes), then host the service (a combination of video elements and in-person elements). The host might begin by reading an opening Scripture and asking one or more to lead out in prayer then press play for the worship and message. After the message the host will ask a related question and/or open the floor to see if anyone has something to share that will encourage the others. After a closing prayer or Scripture, the meeting will end and participants will leave the premises.

We’re also securing co-hosts and back-up venues in the case that a host gets sick or is away.

First, there are two types of Campfires:

1. “Private Campfires” have the same group of people that meet each week and require advance registration only once. In our online listing of Campfires, if the Campfire name doesn’t have “Public” in the title then it is a “Private” Campfire.

2. “Public Campfires” require weekly advance registration and are designed for folks that can’t commit to a weekly gathering or would like to stay a bit more anonymous. In our online listing of Campfires the Public Campfires will have the word “Public” added to the Campfire Church name.

Second, once you’ve determined if you’d like to attend a Private or Public Campfire, you can select (click on) the Campfire that works for your schedule and household on our online listing (https://pc.churchcenter.com/groups/campfire?archived=&name=&enrollment_status=any&page=1&group_type=166574&display_mode=cards) and click “Ask to Join”.

The Campfire host will receive an email notification of your request to join and may contact you for further information (i.e. number in your household, if you have any specific questions, etc.). If you and the host believe your household to be a good fit for that particular Campfire then they will accept your request and you’ll be added to the meeting. Each week you’ll receive an RSVP email two days for the meeting with a list of protocols and expectations.

Participants that don’t register in advance and/or follow guidelines may be asked to leave or asked not to attend in the future.

You’re probably not the only one. Please email Pastor Clint (clint@parksidechurch.ca) or call the church office.