REPORT OF FIRST WEEK OF 2026 CAMP MEETING CONVENTION

The 2026 Annual Camp Meeting, themed "Surely I Come Quickly," has closed its first week, and what a week of glory it has been. It is August again, and what a beautiful moment to see the seed of the Apostolic Faith Mission, sown over one hundred and twenty years ago, grown into a wonderful and glorious congregation now marking her 120th year landmark. Saints from across West and Central Africa and beyond converged once more at the great Tabernacle, Faith City, Igbesa, the ministers and workers gathering first on August 7 to be strengthened for the work ahead before the main convention opened its doors on Sunday, August 9. As always, the first week was rich with memorable highlights, the Sunday school programmes, the Bible teachings, the Film Show, the Teenagers' Challenge, the Camp Concert, and services upon services that pointed every heart toward the promise of His soon return.

The convention commenced on a memorable note as the elementary children of the Lagos area ushered in the week with their programme, "The Parable of the Ten Virgins," reminding the church of the second coming of Jesus and urging the congregation to strive to enter in. That same Sunday, Rev Isaac Adigun brought the sermon on the theme for the entire camp, taking his text from Revelation 22:20, "Surely, I come quickly," the theme of this year's campmeeting, and assuring the saints that unlike disappointments of old, the coming of Jesus is unquestionable and must not be scoffed at. The days that followed carried that same watchfulness forward: Monday's Film Show, "The Gathering," left the congregation so stirred that without prompting they sank to their knees, filling the altars in fervent prayer even before the credits had fully rolled.

Each morning of the week brought its own feeding at the Bible teaching services. Brother Emma opened the teachings on Tuesday with "Three Steps: The Foundational Christian Experiences," reminding the congregation that whoever loses salvation, sanctification, or the baptism of the Holy Ghost stands to lose them all, but that the same altar which gave them remains open to restore them. Brother Isaac Aladegbola followed on Wednesday with "The Importance of God's Word," while Brother Victor Iyoho brought "Building for Eternity" on Thursday, and Brother James Tifase closed the week's teachings on Friday with "Christ's Waiting Bride," likening the church to Rebecca, sought out by the Holy Spirit as a bride for Christ, chosen for going beyond the ordinary call of duty. Thursday also carried the campmeeting's first French service, ministered by Reverend Konan Konan Joseph of Côte d'Ivoire, who preached on the parable of the ten virgins and asked the congregation plainly whether they were ready.

Testimonies poured in all week as undeniable evidence of God's power at work, from Niger area's account of a Sunday school centre attacked by bandits yet raised up again in growth beyond what it was before, to a Niger Republic brother's testimony of terrorists twice foiled near his home, to the mother whose son received a new kidney after nearly five years of prayer. The records of blessings climbed steadily through the week, standing at 2,110 as of Monday, 10 August, rising to 4,987 by Wednesday, 12 August, and reaching 6,990 by Saturday, 15 August, souls saved, sanctified, baptized with the Holy Ghost, healed, reanointed, and blessed in ways too many to number, undeniable evidence, week after week, that the same Jesus who saves and heals is still at work.

The week's excitement was fully expressed on Friday and Saturday. The Teenagers' Challenge, under the theme "Go Beyond," saw the finals of "Who Wants to Be a Bible Giant," season twelve, with Ekiti area emerging champion for a fourth time, taking home the academic scholarship, while Lagos Central made their first-ever finals appearance to place second. Then came the highly anticipated Camp Concert, themed "Behold, He Cometh!", where months of practice and consecration thrilled the Tabernacle from "War March of the Priest" to "Great Mass in C," and where the congregation paused to honour long-serving Music Director Bro Dotun Ewumi on his retirement, even as Bro Bode Odulaja was presented as the new National Music Director, one legacy closing even as another opens, fittingly, in a week built entirely around the promise of what is still to come.

Evidently, the first week of the 2026 Camp Meeting has indeed been a week of watchfulness, testimony, and readiness, and as the second week opens, the saints wait with eager expectation, hearts fixed on the same cry that has carried the whole camp: Surely, I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.