By Susan Maclean
The Big Free Rally is one of the biggest Free Church youth events in the year, where around 300 young people gather in Smithton church, Inverness, to meet their friends from camp, make new friends, play games, eat food, sing praise to God and hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that is relevant to them.
This year, the audience of the Big Free Rally got even wider! A series of short video clips were released every half hour on Saturday 26th September from 11am to 4pm, and these videos are still available for viewing.
The first video was an introduction and welcome to the Big Free Rally Online (myself with Cameron and Jacob MacRae) and then, throughout the day, the following videos were released: camps over the past 60 years (Martin Maclean), one of the favourite songs from the youth camps, “Love the Lord your God” (Ishbel, Katrin and Elspeth Murray), photos from camps, and an update on camps 2021 (Kirsten Macdonald). There were videos with answers to the Big Questions: “Does God exist?” (Lachie Macdonald, with video editing by Dan Paterson), “Why do bad things happen to good people?” (Jo Hulks), and “What should our response be to the Black Lives Matter movement?” (Abe & Kirsten Abioye). The main talk videos were on “Keeping on as a Christian” (Davi & Emma de Paula) and “Following God when things don’t go to plan” (Peter Turnbull). The BFRO finished with a video from the leaders and cooks amazingly throwing a note from person to person until it had gone right round Scotland to finally read: “We have missed you and can’t wait to see you next year!”
With the videos being online, this has meant that anyone, of any age, can access them at any time. The videos are available on the FCYC YouTube channel, and I would encourage you to go on and watch them.
The Big Free Rally organising group would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to this year’s event. We would also value your prayers for everyone who watches any of these videos, that they will learn about Jesus and that they will grow in their faith – even just a little step. Pray that the Lord will work deeply in their hearts so that the seeds sown in these videos will come to bear much fruit and a generation of young and old who will bow the knee before our Lord and Saviour.