Northern Easter Camp
FUNDING PROPOSAL
Turning hearts to Jesus for more than a century
Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai
Nurture the seed
and it will blossom Being a teenager is a tricky time. If you were lucky, you didn’t have to face those years alone—you had someone cheering you on or helping you out. For me, my cheering squad was my church youth group where I discovered my love for Jesus and committed to following Him. It’s because of that opportunity to know and love Jesus within a supportive community that I’ve chosen to stay in youth ministry for more than 40 years.
Teenagers today are still wrestling with the kinds of questions we did as youth: Who am I? What’s life all about? Do I matter? And yet, some of the challenges they’re navigating seem far more complicated. They need safe places to find support, encouragement, and guidance.
Northern Easter Camp is one of those safe places. It’s a place where teens can connect with other Christians their age, enjoy unforgettable moments worshipping and learning together, and experience firsthand the incredible ways God can work in their lives.
Over the last 20 years as Director, I’ve watched Camp change hearts—young people who arrive uncertain and quiet often leave full of confidence, ready to tackle whatever comes next, and often with a new or deeper faith in Jesus.
Every year, I’m amazed by how much hope, creativity, and kindness our campers show. But it’s also a reminder of how many youth are out there still struggling with tough stuff, feeling alone, or unsupported in their faith journey. Easter Camp is a chance for them to be brought into the fold—to experience Jesus, find a place to belong, and go out into the world emboldened by God’s love.
But the ministry has reached a critical crossroads. Simply put, the costs and requirements of facilitating an event of this scale and professionalism, which serves thousands of youth and their leaders each year, has risen dramatically since its founding—and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
If we aren’t able to secure additional funding from generous individuals, trusts, and foundations moving forward, Northern Easter Camp will become financially inaccessible for a large portion of Kiwi youth.
That’s why I’m reaching out to you.
With your financial support, we can ensure that this life-changing camp experience remains available to thousands more youth in the years to come.
I believe it’s each of our callings to support the next generation and ensure they have the chance to hear the Good News. We’re committed to this calling. Will you join us?
Together, let's continue this legacy of faith in Aotearoa so our young people can experience the transformative power of Jesus through the Easter story.
Blue Bradley
Director of Northern Easter Camp
Life-changing encounters with generational impact
Rooted in the Baptist movement, Northern Easter Camp exists for the entire Kingdom of God.
1910
In the 1910s, Christian leaders across Aotearoa founded the earliest Easter camps—recognising that young people needed unique spaces to gather, build community, grow in faith, and encounter Jesus in meaningful ways.
1921
It began with annual all-boys camps with girls joining later for the first co-ed Easter camp in 1921. Packed with worship, preaching, and youth-focused activities, these annual camps created opportunities for young people to hear the Gospel, strengthen their faith, and form lifelong friendships.
1970
For decades, thousands of Kiwi youth gathered every Easter to hear the Gospel message, and by the 1970s, leaders began to see the generational effects. Youth impacted by their experience at camp became leaders, then parents who continued the tradition of sending their children to Easter camps too. It became evident these gatherings provided something bigger for youth and were creating a generational impact.
2004
With growing numbers of youth and churches interested, leaders across the Upper North Island began talks around creating one, unified Northern Easter camp experience—the belief being that ‘we are stronger together than apart’. By combining resources and skills, faith leaders believed they could create an even more impactful experience for youth across the North Island from and for all denominations. Around 2004, Northern Easter Camp was born and moved to Mystery Creek near Hamilton.
TODAY
Today, Northern Easter Camp welcomes between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees annually, making it the largest Christian youth camp in New Zealand.
Through powerful worship, preaching, quiet moments of reflection and prayer, and a whole lot of fun, Kiwi youth are learning they belong to Jesus. And they’re being equipped with the confidence only Christ can give as they move into adulthood.
“Northern Easter Camp is a place for all youth to experience the message of Jesus, regardless of their denominational background. It reflects the full Body of Christ and the diversity of our youth across New Zealand.” Blue Bradley
Director, Northern Easter Camp
Young people are seeking answers. Where they find them is up to us. While the world is changing rapidly, young people’s need for connection, purpose, and belonging remains the same. Youth today are asking the same questions of generations past: Who am I? Where do I belong? Does my life mean something?
But young people today are navigating new challenges, like social media and the rise of artificial intelligence, that raise the question: What is true? These challenges have been shown to contribute to a growing mental health crisis among today’s youth, with more than 50% of young people said to be experiencing depression and/or anxiety.
Who am I?
Where do I belong?
Young people today need a space and opportunity more than ever to hear the true, life-changing news of Jesus. Not through screens or influencers, but trusted relationships and authentic communities where they can ask difficult questions, wrestle with faith, and discover who they are becoming.
Northern Easter Camp has been that space for youth across generations to experience belonging, be challenged in their faith, and be inspired to follow Jesus in their everyday lives. With your financial support, it can continue to be that for thousands more New Zealand youth in the years to come as they navigate the challenges of their day.
Does my life mean something?
Challenges facing our young people today
59%
of youth say the most important issue facing young people today is mental health*
1 in 4
young people say they are turning to social media for mental and emotional support and guidance*
1 in 4
young people across Aotearoa are connected to a youth group where they regularly hear the Gospel message**
*Youthline ASB State of the Generation 2026 **National Youth Outreach Survey 2026
What is true?
A chance to encounter Jesus in community
“Our entire youth group gave their life to Christ this weekend. Those who had hate in their heart found forgiveness, those who had confusion found answers, those who were in pain found the love of God. God worked this weekend, God was present and lives were changed because of this. We want to thank you for believing in Christ and making this weekend possible.” YOUTH LEADER
Our Values GOSPEL-FOCUSED We value solid, biblically based teaching that centres the Gospel
YOUTH-CENTRED Everything we do, we do with youth in mind—what speaks to them and what engages them
Accessible We are open to all denominations and committed to making camp as financially possible for all Kiwi families
Community-based We don’t replace the local church,
we compliment it. What we do is resource churches and youth groups in an impactful way so they can deepen their relationships and return home more connected
Northern Easter Camp helps thousands of Kiwi youth every year encounter the Gospel message —some for the very first time—and wrestle for answers to life’s big questions.
Through age-relevant teaching, breakout groups, communion, spaces for prayer and reflection, and powerful worship—offered in English and te reo Māori—young people from all over the North Island engage with the message of Jesus in ways that speak directly to their world and experiences. It is a tangible reminder they matter and belong to something bigger than themselves: the Body of Christ.
At the centre of it all is a deep commitment to the local Church. Over five days, youth groups experience life with one another in community: they tent together, they eat together, they worship together, and they pray together. Northern Easter Camp facilitates this connection by managing all meals, logistics, communal gathering spaces, and operations so youth leaders and pastors can focus on the important work of discipleship. When they leave, groups are strengthened to go home and be a place of belonging for one another long after the weekend ends.
Camp is also a place to have fun, be challenged, and develop leadership skills. Through games, dance parties, haka, and fun challenges, young people have the chance to leave their cares at the door and make new friends and memories. Through elective sessions on issues such as caring for the environment, the Treaty of Waitangi, sports and faith, navigating anxiety, and sharing your faith, youth are challenged to act with compassion and engage meaningfully in their communities.
“Jesus changed my life at that camp.” Eighteen-year-old, Maren C., from Auckland shares what Camp has meant to her.
You’ve been to Easter Camp three times! What do
going through…like relationships online, taking time to
you think makes Camp so meaningful to youth?
pray in a busy world, and questions about the environment and how it relates to our faith. These
I think the most meaningful part of Camp for me was
seminars help us think about how we can bring our faith
actually this year. During worship on the last night,
out of church and lay the groundwork for lasting habits
there was a side room opened where we could go for
that we can keep practicing and refining as we get older.
extra prayer. Our youth leader brought us all in there just to share with one another what had been
What would you say to someone thinking of supporting
important to us at Camp. Us girls ended up in a circle
Northern Easter Camp?
talking about how Jesus had helped us through some serious struggles. Hearing them share some of their
Please, please do it! Every year, I counted down to when
struggles helped me open up about my own.
we were leaving—to the car ride there and the sunny weather and the time that seemed to slow down. I’ve
In that moment, I finally understood that I don’t have to
enjoyed every minute of it. Without this year's experience
carry anything by myself—my youth group, my youth
in the prayer room, I would never have realised what some
leader, and Jesus are all there to help me. It reminded
of the girls in my youth group were struggling with and we
me that Jesus is ultimately the one who carries my
would never have become as connected. That single
pain, and that even when I struggle, there are people
experience has changed how I view youth, how I view my
who will support me wherever I go.
relationships at youth group, and how I am actually never alone.
How do you feel Camp prepares you for your walk with Jesus as you move into adulthood?
Jesus changed my life in that camp. Without Easter Camp it might have still happened, but let’s be real, it would
I think Camp prepares young people to carry their faith
never have been as impactful or important to me as being
into adulthood through making it relevant and
able to pray and cry with my youth group—without fear of
interesting to our lives. They have seminars with topics
judgement—and fully realise God’s power and his Holy
that are actually important to us and the world we are
Spirit. Camp taught me how to deepen my relationship with Jesus.
Developing Future
4,500
people attend Easter Camp
Faith Leaders
yearly, on average Throughout the year, Northern Easter Camp partners with leadership initiatives and youth training events to help equip young leaders
1,000,000+
meals served since 2000
and youth workers for ministry.
During the annual Youth Takeover session at Easter Camp, young people are trusted to lead every aspect of the experience—from
350
volunteers facilitate Easter Camp each year, on average
leading worship and preaching to facilitating tech, games and activities, and creative production.
5,000+
hours donated every year
Given the chance to lead, we see young
through our dedicated
people rise to the occasion and discover their
volunteers
God-given potential to serve their peers and communities.
Our volunteers: The engine that keeps us running
Behind Northern Easter Camp is a very small paid team— equivalent to just 1.5 full-time staff—who coordinate the increasingly complex requirements of facilitating a public event of this scale. However, the overwhelming majority of camp leadership is volunteer-led.
Each year, between 300-400 volunteers generously give their time, energy, and skills to create an environment where young people can encounter Jesus. Volunteers come—many for more than 10 years—because they deeply believe in the mission and were personally impacted by Easter Camp as young people. This is their opportunity to pay it forward.
Rachel and Murray are some of the many parents of youth attendees who return year-after-year to serve our rangatahi.
Hailing from Shore Community Church in Auckland, they serve as our Info Desk Area Heads (area managers). They have three children who have all attended Easter Camp over the years and now serve as Crew (volunteers).
Together, our volunteers work like a well-oiled engine behind the scenes cooking thousands of meals each day, managing parking and accommodations for around 100-130 church youth groups in attendance, and facilitating electives and experiences to enrich young lives. Each volunteer generously covers their own expenses so every dollar of ticket sales is poured straight back into the youth.
Our volunteer culture is a powerful reflection of the very thing camp seeks to create for young people: a community where people belong, invest in one another, and work together for something bigger than themselves.
"As parents, we can't provide these sorts of experiences that encourage such spiritual development in the same way that Easter Camp does for our kids. We choose to serve at Easter Camp as a way of supporting and encouraging those amazing and talented people who can make it happen.” Rachel and Murray
Navigating rising costs and increasing demands
Our biggest challenge today isn’t demand. Young people are still searching for belonging, community, and hope. Churches and families still want opportunities for their young people to experience Christian community and hear the Gospel in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them.
Alongside rising costs are new, additional requirements for running an event of this scale. Health and safety systems, written policies and procedures, emergency and evacuation planning, volunteer training, risk management and contingency preparation all required today demand substantial administrative and operational costs.
Our biggest challenge is sustainability. Since 2020, the costs of nearly everything—food, accommodation, equipment, insurance, and utilities—have risen dramatically for Kiwi businesses and charitable organisations, like Northern Easter Camp. However, even after inflation slowed, prices have mostly stayed elevated.
We believe the Gospel message is for everyone, for all youth, everywhere. Not just for those who can afford it. And so we refuse to pass the financial burden on to families already navigating cost-of-living challenges. We also refuse the idea that our impact is done. In many ways, we’re just getting started!
We’ve done all we can to keep costs as low as we can the last six years. We run a lean operation model that’s nearly entirely volunteer-led. Sponsorships with Kiwi companies and long-time partnerships with suppliers help subsidise the costs of food and equipment. We’ve even explored other venue options and considered reducing what camp can offer, but feel it would seriously compromise our impact.
And so we find ourselves at a crossroads. If we can’t secure additional funding from generous individuals and groups who believe in the life-changing experience Camp offers, we will be forced to either raise ticket prices beyond the capacity of many Kiwi families today, or close our doors after a century of impact.
We’re choosing instead a third route: to step out in faith and trust that God will forge partnerships with His people to continue His mission in our youth across Aotearoa.
Will you join us?
Under pressure: The lasting
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Costs of running a national event like Northern Easter Camp have risen drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic and have never corrected to pre-pandemic levels. Cost of food has increased Cost of venue hire has increased Cost of hireage has increased Cost of back-end operational system has increased Total running costs have increased
20% 40% 72% 721% 46%
Help continue the tradition of Northern Easter Camp for generations to come
Amidst rising costs in food, venues, equipment hire, and event operations, we need sustainable partnership with like-minded individuals, trusts, and foundations to ensure a sustainable camp experience for our young people.
Ho ou can practicall ma e a difference w y
y
Whether it’s through covering the costs of camp for one year, sustained giving over several years, or leaving a gift in your Will, your generous partnership will help thousands of more young people experience the life-changing message of Jesus.
Give where it’s needed most
1
Your generous investment will allow Northern Easter Camp to meet the demands of our day without displacing the pressure onto families and churches or denying them the opportunity altogether.
More flexible funding will also create room for camp to stay responsive and Spirit-led and to follow opportunities for ministry and discipleship rather than making decisions based solely on financial limitations.
k
Your generous one-off or multi-year gift will help meet our most significant and urgent operating costs—including venue, food, and equipment—to sustain camp
for the years to come.
Donate to our future fund
2
A ‘future fund’ has been established as part of a long-term strategy to keep Northern Easter Camp sustainable for
Keep camp financially accessible
by subsidising essential costs like venue, equipment hire, food, and compliance costs.
generations to come. Your generous gift
Invest in staff, equipment, and systems that create long-term solutions and reduce costs over time.
development.
Equip churches and youth leaders with stronger resources before, during, and after camp. Expand leadership development opportunities that raise the next generation of speakers, faith leaders, and communicators.
will cover longer-term operational costs— including investing in equipment, licensing costs, and youth and leadership
Leave a legacy
3
By leaving a
g
ift in your
w
ill to
Northern Easter Camp, you can contribute to this century-long legacy of faith, ensuring thousands more young people hear the Gospel message in years to come.
To learn more or to contribute financially, visit
easter.camp.
Or reach out to Blue Bradley,
Director of Northern Easter Camp, by email at
director@easter.camp
or phone at
021576747.
All donations over to aptist Youth Ministries rust are tax deductible, benefiting youth from all denominational backgrounds across e ka-a-M ui.
$5
B
T
T
I
ā
blue@easter.camp
021 576 747
Northern Easter Camp is supported and governed by Baptist Youth Ministries Trust and is a registered charity of the New Zealand Charities Commission.
Charities registration number CC43748.
Donations $5 and over are eligible for a 33% tax credit.