The Return on a 100 Year Investment

In 2022, the ARP church celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bonclarken Conference Center in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The beginnings of Bonclarken were rooted in the camp meeting movement within the American church culture of the early 20th Century.

The camp meeting movement arose from a shift in the lifestyles of many Americans. Now that many had jobs outside of the farm, they could take a vacation. They had cars to take them places. For many Christians, it was an exceedingly pleasant experience to gather for a few days with other Christians, many of whom were family and friends, for a time of preaching, prayer, and fellowship. 

The original camp meeting spot for the ARPs was located near Charlotte in Gaston County, North Carolina. But some leaders in the church had a dream. They found and purchased land, and Bonclarken has since become a beloved part of our ARP experience. Having a ministry to generations of ARPs and other Christians. 

Early in my ministry, I asked people how they came to know the Lord. Many of them had the same testimony. They were at a Youth event at Bonclarken when they came to faith in Christ. 

But move 7,500 miles to the east, in what was then India, a similar practice was introduced by our ARP Missionaries. They called them Conventions. The Sahiwal Convention was first introduced in 1932 and has been held almost annually since then. God used these church conventions to bring growth, maturity, and blessing to the church in Pakistan. 

This year was the 89th Sahiwal ARP Church Convention. The Knox Mission Home Compound was the site of this meeting, located in what is now Pakistan. Over three days, crowds of Pakistani ARPs, up to 1,500, gathered to pray, worship, and fellowship. It was a tremendous experience to see how God has worked and is working in the ARP church of Pakistan today. 

This is my first trip to Pakistan. I was blessed to have the opportunity to preach on the opening night of the convention in Sahiwal. It has been a fantastic trip to see all the places that I have heard about throughout my time as an ARP minister. I have been able to visit two of the Christian Schools that were returned to us in 2010 by the Pakistani government. I visited Mission Hospital in Sahwal. I ate lunch at the Girls’ Hostel. I have preached in two of our churches here in Pakistan.  

Often, we witness the beginnings of ministries and join in the dream of what could be. It has been great to see the results of a dream started over a hundred years ago. Today, there are more ARPs in Pakistan than in the United States. From humble beginnings, it has grown not only into several ministries but also into an active and believing church in the midst of the Subcontinent, surrounded by other religions.   

We must remember that in the work of the Lord, often the results come through years and decades of diligent effort. This reality is challenging for us in our microwave, instant-download society. But we must learn to work with patience and diligence, knowing that the Lord blesses in His timing. We must remember that many of the blessings we see today are a result of the investment, sacrifice, and faith of those who came generations ago. 

I pray that we will have the same drive in pursuing the opportunities the Lord brings to us, especially in places like Mexico and East Africa, where Erskine Seminary and SEED Ministry partner together to bring theological education to native pastors. It means recommitting to support established ministries to be reshaped and retooled to face the new needs of the church today. In the ARP church, this would include  Erskine College, World Witness, and Outreach North America. 

Of course, I am writing from an ARP perspective, but I am sure that many of our NAPARC sister denominations will have similar stories of God’s Blessing, the slow and steady work of ministry through the years. Let us not forget to be faithful and wait on the Lord.