Camp Columba

02/09/2026

Word of Life New Zealand is doing another youth night in Gore this Saturday at the MLT from 7:00pm - 9:00pm this Saturday.

If you enjoy massive bouncy castle obstacle courses, 9 Square, gaga ball, amazing testimony and tons of free prizes this is definitely an event you don't want to miss! It is also a great opprotunity to bring some of your non christian mates along to to hear a powerful message and have a bunch of fun! It is also free!

Check out this promo video to see what it is all about -

Find out more about Youth Nights at https://www.wol.org.nz/events/

09/08/2026

Registrations are now OPEN for our October School Holiday Looney Tunes-themed camp!

Get ready for five action-packed days filled with adventure, creativity, games, and plenty of Looney Tunes fun!

📅 When: Monday 5th – Friday 9th October
👦👩 Ages: 10–13 years
💰 Cost: $250

We've got heaps of awesome things planned, including:
🔥 Multiple instructed adventure activities
🎨 Epic Looney Tunes-themed crafts
💦 Our brand-new waterslide
🎯 Games, challenges, and loads of classic Camp Columba fun!

It's going to be an epic week, and you definitely won't want to miss it!

👉 Sign up and find out more here: https://www.campcolumba.org.nz/october-camp/

Spaces are limited, so don't wait! 🐰💥

03/08/2026

A few more moments from an epic Boost camp weekend!

02/08/2026

💙 What an unforgettable weekend at Winter Boost Camp! 🙌

This weekend we welcomed 50 young people from across Otago and Southland for an incredible few days of worship, fun, friendship, and growing together in faith.

We were privileged to be joined by Ray Thomson, Director of Red Frogs New Zealand who challenged and inspired us with powerful messages centred around three simple but profound questions:
❤️ What's on your heart?
🤲 What's in your hand?
🔥 What are you full of?

Ray also unpacked what it truly means to ask, "What are we saved from, and what are we saved for?" and challenged us not to become disappointed, discouraged, disillusioned, disconnected, or distracted in our walk with God.

We were also incredibly blessed by heartfelt worship led by Out The Gate alongside a talented team of local musicians, and by a range of practical and inspiring workshops delivered by some of our former staff members.

Of course, it wouldn't be Winter Boost without plenty of fun! Between sessions you could find people diving into a cream fight on the bouncy pillow, flying down the mudslide, or battling it out in some epic wide games. And keeping us fuelled all weekend was the amazing food prepared by Jason Cullen —thank you for serving us so well!

A huge thank you to every volunteer, speaker, workshop leader, musician, and supporter who gave their time and energy to make this weekend possible. We are so grateful for each of you.

We already can't wait for the next one!

28/07/2026

yesterday marked the end of an era at Camp Columba as we say farewell to Hazel from our staff team. 💙

Hazel has been our longest-serving staff member, having first joined the camp in 2010 mowing the lawns. In 2021, she expanded her role to focus on projects and the ongoing development of camp—and what an incredible six years it has been!

From pouring concrete and operating diggers to building low ropes elements, fences, projector screens, holiday camp obstacles, stairways, and even helping construct our ziplines, Hazel has left her mark on almost every corner of Camp Columba. If you've enjoyed something around camp in recent years, there's a good chance Hazel had a hand in bringing it to life.

But Hazel's impact goes far beyond the projects she completed. She brought so much joy to our staff team each day, sending the message, "Snack time" to gather everyone together for morning tea or lunch. Those moments of laughter, banter, and friendship became a treasured part of our camp culture.

Hazel, thank you for your hard work, dedication, and the countless hours you've invested in making Camp Columba a better place for thousands of campers. Your legacy will be seen for many years to come, and while we'll miss having you on the team each week, we're confident this isn't goodbye forever. We wish you every blessing for the next chapter and can't wait to welcome you back around camp in the future. 💙

22/07/2026

❄️ What an incredible week at our Winter Day Programme! 💙

Last week's Winter Day Programme was a serious contender for the best one we've ever run! Despite being the middle of winter, we were blessed with amazing weather, allowing us to spend plenty of time outdoors making the most of everything camp has to offer.

From flying down the zipline and launching air rockets to tackling the abseil and low ropes course, there was no shortage of adventure! When we headed indoors, campers enjoyed energetic worship, created some awesome melty bead masterpieces, and challenged themselves with a range of team-building and ABL activities.

A huge shout-out to our Leaders in Training, who did an outstanding job helping to run the programme alongside our Apex Leaders. It has been incredible to watch them grow in confidence, leadership, and servant-heartedness throughout the week. We couldn't be prouder of the way they stepped up and invested in our campers.

Finally, thank you to all of our volunteers, staff, parents, and supporters who helped make this week such a success. We couldn't do it without you, and we're already looking forward to the next adventure! 🙌

21/07/2026

With Boost Camp coming up in 10 days we thought we would share a quick intro video from our camp speaker Ray Thomson. Ray is the national director of Red Frogs New Zealand and has some amazing messages planned to share with us, you won’t want to miss it!

If you haven’t already, sign up here - https://book.venue.life/campcolumba/register/winter-boost-2026

07/07/2026

❄️ In case you missed it... registrations for Winter Boost Camp 2026 are now OPEN! 🙌

If you're 13–20 years old and part of our Camp Columba leadership or camping community, this is a weekend you won't want to miss!

We're thrilled to have Ray Thomson from Red Frogs New Zealand joining us as our guest speaker. Ray is an incredible communicator, and we're excited to hear what God has to say through him.

Alongside that, we've got an action-packed weekend planned with:
🔥 workshops
🎯 Epic wide games
🤝 Great community
🙌 Worship, fun, and plenty of opportunities to grow in your faith

👉 Register now and secure your spot:
https://www.campcolumba.org.nz/winter-boost-2026/

02/07/2026

Our LITs braved the cold last night as they took on our high ropes course in the dark! 🌙❄️

We're incredibly proud of each of them for stepping outside their comfort zones, encouraging one another, and persevering through the challenging conditions. It was awesome to see their courage, teamwork, and determination on display.

These are the moments that grow great leaders! 💪