Norwegian Summer Camp in Its Fourteenth Year

Every year hundreds of church members from Norway and beyond gather in the heart of Telemark, Norway, for a week of spiritual revival, inspiration, renewal, and meaningful fellowship. “Levende Vann” (Living Water) is a summer camp for Adventist families with doors wide open to the broader Christian community and seekers. Organized by Daniel Pel (director of Living Water Ministries and pastor of the Hønefoss Seventh-day Adventist Church) and his wife, Silvia, Living Water is now in its fourteenth year. What started as a supporting ministry event with about 100 attendees is now a regular and well-beloved, family-friendly, and bilingual (Norwegian and English) summer camp that offers daily sermons, prayer gatherings, and fun outdoor activities for all ages, welcoming close to 600 attendees.

I shared the pulpit with Adam Ramdin, executive producer of Lineage Journey and director of Stewardship Ministries for the North England Conference, and Daniel Pel as speakers for this year’s gathering with the theme of Finishing the Race (Heb. 12:1, 2). Attendees responded to appeals for personal and corporate repentance, personal transformation, a commitment to evangelism, and a renewed commitment to the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and our end-time identity as Seventh-day Adventists. There were also decisions for baptisms and rebaptisms—two of which took place at the campsite’s beautiful Fyresdal Lake.

The commitment to mission among the attendees was particularly inspiring. One 92-year-old woman who had previously served as a Bible worker told me, with a big smile on her face, that she still does “street preaching,” talking to young people in the cities. “I’m more effective now in my old age than when I was young! The youth listen to what I share with them, and some even give me hugs.”

I couldn’t help being encouraged by her testimony of faithfulness despite her advanced years.

Another woman in her 70s shared with me her painful personal journey away from the church, and her miraculous calling to return to God and His people after decades of distance. As soon as she came back, God provided her with personal witnessing opportunities through an online game group she was part of, which has now led to intentional missional friendships.

No less inspiring were the young people at Living Water. Many had deep and thoughtful questions about God, Adventism, and the Christian lifestyle. One young woman, who grew up Muslim, shared in a personal interview her powerful testimony of finding Christ through a dream. Up to that point, she had lived in fear of Allah, but one night Jesus appeared to her in a dream, full of light and peace, assuring her she did not need to be afraid of Him. That night, at the age of 11, she became a Christian. Through her foster family she got in touch with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and ended up at the Living Water camp for the first time this year. During an appeal for baptism, this brave young woman, now 18, publicly decided to be baptized! “I want to be baptized in 2027, the bimillenary anniversary of Jesus’ baptism,” she told me with the joy on her face beaming from her heart.

I want to be baptized in 2027, the bimillenary anniversary of Jesus’ baptism.

The Norwegian Union, comprised of 4,572 members[*] in three conferences, faces the mission field of post-Christian secularism: a challenge for much of Europe. Church growth is hard but not impossible. The Holy Spirit was moving at Living Water, and we can be sure that He will continue to work through God’s people to reach Norway, Scandinavia, and Europe for Christ.

For more information about Living Water Camp, visit livingwater.no.

[*] 2026 Annual Statistical Report, New Series, volume 8, Advance Release. See https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Statistics/ASR/ASR2026A.pdf.