A Weekend at the Ranch 2026
St Paul’s Wellington and St Luke’s Palmerston North have been enjoying a Weekend at the Ranch – our camp at El Rancho Christian Camp in Waikanae for a decade.
Camp Life
The most recent one was weekend of 23-25 of January 2026
Our guest speaker on Saturday morning was Andy Miller from Voice of the Martyrs who spoke about the persecuted church around the world.
Wayne from St Luke’s led an all age dwelling in the word Bible study- Same text- three versions of the questions for different age groups.
Sunday worship was in the beautiful wooden chapel led by Pr Joel. This was our first time using the chapel. Over the years we have worshiped in the hall, in the outdoor cha
pel, and in the courtyard
Activities included archery and climbing, a book group and lots of board games in the evening.
As always it was a team effort organising the camp and helping it run smoothly
We stayed at Elm Hall. Numbers were lower than previous years for a variety of reasons with 31 staying but we also had a number of day visitors. 10 people from St Lukes and the balance from St Pauls.
We are grateful to the LCNZ for subsidising the cost of the camp for children and teenagers via a grant. This has made the camp possible and affordable over many years.
History
It started as a reboot of the annual St Pauls camp after an absence of a few years ten or eleven years ago. We accidentally found the best weekend for the camp and have stuck to it it. The last weekend in January- a week after Wellington Anniversary Previous camps had been in September and moving to January made a big difference, enabling more outdoor time with the longer daylight and warmth.
We have developed some traditions over that time such as a different family teaching a new grace each year and always singing “we’re walking down the road”
Georgina Preston
St Pauls
Wellington
July 2026
