Stanley Lee tells the story of SMAGOW, the Cathedral’s contemporary service, annual camp.

It was a decade to remember as SMAGOW, the annual camp for SMACC, reached its 10th anniversary on 9th May 2014. The first SMAGOW was held in 2004, a year after SMACC was established in the Cathedral. Since then, SMAGOW had constantly remained as one of the main highlights of the church. SMAGOW aims to help people in SMACC grow in relationships with one another and to know and love Christ.

Each of the previous camps had focused on either a theme or a book in the Bible which would be presented by a guest speaker. The locations for SMAGOW are usually outside Kuala Lumpur so as to help our church members unwind from the busy city life that they are familiar with. For SMAGOW 2014, the book of Jonah was the theme and the speaker for the camp was our very own Reverend Andrew Cheah. The location for this year’s camp was Ipoh.

The speakers, venue and theme for the past 10 SMAGOWS were:

SMACC has certainly grown in numbers over time. SMAGOW in 2004 began with less than 50 people and 10 years later, in 2014, there were 172 camp participants. The increase in numbers has meant that challenges in the organization and running of SMAGOW in recent years in terms of logistics and planning have grown. Nevertheless, with prayer and thanksgiving to God, SMAGOW has consistently run without many problems every year since it started.

SMAGOW’s format has remained unchanged throughout the years.  There are opportunities to explore interesting topics related to Christianity such as apologetics and evangelism through the elective sessions that occur during the camp. Each of these electives is presented by the pastoral team and there are opportunities to ask questions on what is being presented. Other than study of the Word, camp participants also get to have fun and games during SMAGOW. For example, in 2011, we had relay races between teams, while in 2014, we were occupied with a Treasure Hunt. We do dedicate time during SMAGOW to reflect on ministry matters in SMACC and how we, as God’s people can serve others and proclaim the Gospel with the gifts that we have. Most years, we also have a baptism at SMAGOW.

SMAGOW has impacted SMACC as a congregation in many ways.  One clear impact is that SMAGOW is an avenue which helps SMACC members to bond because of the shared memories that they have from previous camps. For newcomers who have first joined SMAGOW, it is the perfect occasion for other people from SMACC to get to know them better. A solid and good teaching from God’s word during SMAGOW has also enabled SMACC to continuously build a community around the Word.

Overall, SMAGOW is an integral part of SMACC’s ministry and has been a blessing in helping SMACC members to enjoy fellowship with one another. SMACC members have fond memories of SMAGOW, especially those who have been with SMACC since it was first established in the Cathedral. We havecertainly made new friends and deepened our ties with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ during our time in SMAGOW. We give thanks to God for His guiding hand in the past 10 years of SMAGOW and we look forward to many more SMAGOWs in the future.