Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter

Youngsters who have been impacted by the biking adventure component of the New Generation Camp

In the mid-1980s the nation's children often sat glued on a Saturday to take in Circle Square - a Canadian television show which looked like a Christian response to the popular Sesame Street.

Circle Square was enormously popular with Jamaican children who were able to enjoy the show as it was beamed from the studios of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). The Canadian offices of Circle Square was inundated with letters from Jamaican children so much so that they were overwhelmed - especially when the correspondence was punctuated with patois.

Circle Square executives contacted Bishop C. B. Peter Morgan, then pastor of the Covenant Community Church that met on Old Hope Road in Kingston, to ask him to set up a ministry to deal with the Jamaican response to the popular children's television show. And so Circle Square Jamaica was born.

By 1990 the programme was discontinued because they were no longer being produced by Circle Square Canada. But by that time, a national membership of more than 1,000 had been established.. The challenge then, was what to do with the membership with the programme being no longer on the air.

The Circle Square Jamaica stepped up its range of ministries and began conducting children's rallies and clubs and engaged in camp ministry. The ministry grew and was in demand. It became independent of Covenant Community Church and by 1994 was officially registered as a non-profit ministry with its own board. At that time, the ministry officially took on a new name. It became New Generation Ministries, with Nel Blanken, who headed Circle Square Jamaica assuming the role of director.

faith-based organisation

New Generation Ministries is a faith-based organisation, as such it depends mainly on financial gifts to remain buoyant. Today the principal focus of New Generation Ministries is its camp outreach.

New Generation Ministries owns and operates Happy Hills - an environmentally friendly, adventure campsite. The campsite is located on Jamaica's North Coast, between the towns of St. Ann's Bay and Runaway Bay. It is built on the 400-acre Cranbrook Estate in Laughlands, and overlooks the Caribbean Sea.

The campsite is close to the Chukka Cove facility, and at times campers are taken there for mountain cycling, horse back riding and river tubing.

A strong feature of the Happy Hills campsite is its environmentally conscious design. The campsite uses solar lighting, and campers are taught waste separation and composting. The sanitary conveniences combine the concept of ventilated pit latrines and a bio-digester to create a facility unique to Jamaica. The bio-digester allows for the use of the compost for fertiliser and in the future it is anticipated that the campsite will be able to produce biogas for cooking. The sanitary facilities received the Noah Award for innovative creation care at the Christian Camping International Conference/USA in 1999. Also, the campsite's general facilities were designed to allow easy access for persons who use wheelchairs.

Being located at the Cranbrook Flower Forest property, the campsite is in the heart of nature, and everything is done to preserve it, but to enhance it. An amphitheatre has been built in the woods under cover of bamboo trees, and serves as a meeting place both during the days and at nights. Among the more popular feature of the camp site is the Ant Trail. On this trail, the ant is used as a mascot to take visitors from one nature spot to another, whilst giving interesting details on the plant, bird and insect life, as well as spiritual truths about God's Creation.

team-building programme

Lately corporate Jamaica has been taking a strong interest in the facility, largely because of its Challenge Course - a team-building programme, which has 14 different elements made up of ropes and cables. The programme unveils personality, aptitude and skills in relating to groups. The Challenge Course addresses matters such as the building of trust, conflict resolution, effective communication and developing a sense of community. Participants who have gone through the programme attest that it augments teamwork in the workplace, especially among management and supervisory personnel.

Since it shifted into a camping ministry, hundreds of youngsters have become born-again Christians, Nel Blanken told The Gleaner. She said too, many young Christians have been strengthened in their faith because of the camp ministry. The camp ministry, with its residential component, she explained, allows for sustained Biblical instruction, in a creative experiential manner which forces youngsters to concentrate on resolving to live their lives with purpose, and in accordance to God's design. She testified that the ministry has seen evidence of many positively transformed lives - especially in the many inner-city children who have been attending the camp.

Miss Blanken, who is originally from The Netherlands, was honoured for her work among youth by the Dutch Government in 2002. Last year, she was honoured by First Caribbean International Bank in its Unsung Heroes Programme which seeks to highlight exemplary service which has not attracted national honour.

It is to celebrate the positive transformation of lives why New Generation Ministries will on November 5, convene a celebration of thanksgiving and praise to God for guiding the movement for the past 21 years. This celebration will be convened at the Alhambra Inn, in Kingston. A highlight of the celebration will be the honouring of 21 persons for their service to New Generation. Many who have benefited from this camp ministry will be there to testify how their faith has grown and how this outreach has birthed a new generation.

New Generation Ministries may be reached at: newgeneration@colis.com Send feedback on Mind & Spirit to mark.dawes@gleanerjm.com