EDMOND—The banks of the Coosa River in Alabama hosted 32 Philadelphia Church of God singles on August 30 for a singles Labor Day weekend campout. The singles expected to enjoy the environment and activities, and to create and rekindle friendships, but they also got something more, as the focus of the campout was on family.

Member couples from up to seven hours away came to serve the singles that weekend in setting up, preparing and serving Southern food, and decorating, even enhancing the campsite with flowering plants.

Following a Friday evening dinner, singles participated in tabletopics. Single Tim Baker led the group in discussing dating, anticipating the Feast of Tabernacles, envisioning the future and other subjects. The next day, the singles combined with the Birmingham congregation for Sabbath services on the forested riverbank. After messages about the Family of God and fellowship, the singles heard a singles Bible study by Southeast U.S. Regional Director Wik Heerma.

Sunday brought the Alabama Adventure Challenge scavenger hunt, in which four teams of singles raced across the campground hunting clues, throwing axes, walking tightropes, building cardboard boats, nailing together birdhouses, and composing songs. The final challenge was to build a fire without matches for that evening’s hot dog roast and s’mores.

Singles cooled off with a jump into the river, swimming, tubing, boating and kneeboarding until dinner time. After the meal, emcee Josué Michels introduced an entertainment night featuring poetry readings, vocal performances, a skit, and songs composed and performed by all the singles in their adventure challenge teams. Lyrics for all the songs contained a mention of the same highlight out of the many over the weekend: the Saturday evening brisket meal.

The group was then invited to the water’s edge for a surprise fireworks show. Several singles said that they had been served and made to feel special all weekend, and this event capped off that sense of being a special part of the Family of God.