It's hard to believe we are already on our last full day at camp. This is my seventh time to be at a Student Life Camp, and I can say without reservation that every year is different and God is always at work in new ways. Last night was especially memorable. Sam talked about being strong and went into the crucifixion story, sharing details and after each one asking students if they could hear Jesus saying "I love you". It was a powerful time, and after he finished he gave an invitation for salvation and also for students to "get back into the game". A flood of students responded to this invitation, many from our group. These students came to declare that they are done living for themselves and the things of this world and they are ready to be fully committed to their savior.
Now, having been to several camps, Disciple Nows, and other events I can honestly say I've seen tons of decisions made in moments like this based on emotion alone. Last night had a different feel, and as we all know only time will tell but I was moved by the movement of our young men and women. Our worship time went an hour and a half over time, but nobody complained because I think they all knew God was up to something special. Hearing the stories our students shared during the church group time leads me to believe that many of our students were not just responding to the emotion that is evoked by the crucifixion story. Please pray for those who have made bold decisions to follow Christ with everything that they are. It has been a great week. This is a special group of kids, and I love every one of them. I'm not sure what I did to deserve them, but I am so thankful to be their youth pastor. We serve a God who is like none other, and we are His people.
The obvious question we must all ask is what's next? What do we do with this week? What do we do with these decisions and responses? How do we put feet to our faith? The days ahead will either be a time of great renewal and revival or complacency. I'm praying hard for revival and I believe these young men and women are the ones God will use to spark that. Tonight is our last night and tomorrow we'll spend some time at Water World enjoying ourselves before returning home Saturday. Thanks for following these posts, and most importantly for praying.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Student Life Camp 2012 Wednesday
It's Wednesday morning and we are rocking and rolling here in Estes Park. Yesterday afternoon our students split into teams for a photo scavenger hunt around the campus. Every group got just about every photo off of the list, and several were quite creative with their pictures. Last night at worship was a powerful time. Sam talked about idolatry and asked us what was holding us back from following Christ (our idols). Our students then had a chance to respond by finding a leader and asking them to pray for them. I was amazed at how many of our students responded to this challenge, and even more amazed by the boldness it took for some of them to come and share about their struggles.
This response continued into our church group time and we had some great conversation about what God is doing in the midst of our group. We had one young man, Ridge, place his trust in Christ yesterday afternoon, and it wasn't even during a bible study time. Praise God for Ridge's decision, and for His constant work among sinners such as us. Everyone seems to be much more tired this morning, but they are a little more alert now that we spent some time in worship. Sam talked about the demon possessed man in Mark 5 this morning and reminded us that Jesus can overcome any of our issues. I believe our students along with several hundred others are indeed dealing with some issues and needed to be encouraged and reminded. Sam Bhatt has done an outstanding job teaching us this week. He is real, honest, funny, and his love for God's Word is evident in the way he teaches it. Brett Younker and his band have also done a great job leading us to worship God. It's always refreshing to be led by those who are humble, down to earth, and most importantly true disciples.
Please continue to pray for us, and for our leaders. Amy Kimmel, Bobby Greene, and Alexander Garcia have been exceptional in leading the small group bible study times with our students. I'll echo what I said yesterday - I am blessed to work with all of these people and I'm so excited to see what God does next.
This response continued into our church group time and we had some great conversation about what God is doing in the midst of our group. We had one young man, Ridge, place his trust in Christ yesterday afternoon, and it wasn't even during a bible study time. Praise God for Ridge's decision, and for His constant work among sinners such as us. Everyone seems to be much more tired this morning, but they are a little more alert now that we spent some time in worship. Sam talked about the demon possessed man in Mark 5 this morning and reminded us that Jesus can overcome any of our issues. I believe our students along with several hundred others are indeed dealing with some issues and needed to be encouraged and reminded. Sam Bhatt has done an outstanding job teaching us this week. He is real, honest, funny, and his love for God's Word is evident in the way he teaches it. Brett Younker and his band have also done a great job leading us to worship God. It's always refreshing to be led by those who are humble, down to earth, and most importantly true disciples.
Please continue to pray for us, and for our leaders. Amy Kimmel, Bobby Greene, and Alexander Garcia have been exceptional in leading the small group bible study times with our students. I'll echo what I said yesterday - I am blessed to work with all of these people and I'm so excited to see what God does next.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Student Life Camp 2012 Tuesday
Sunday evening around 11:30pm a charter bus pulled into the parking lot at FBC thus ending much anxiety of a repeat of last year's events. We traveled through the night, or morning as it were and arrived in Estes Park safely.
The first afternoon was spent getting familiar with what the week was going to look like. After supper we dove right into an incredible time of worship, drama, and a unique message from Camp Pastor Sam Bhatt. The theme for this week is Audacious, based on 1 Corinthians 16:13. Sam challenged us to "be on guard for our King, because He was on guard for us." He also challenged us with a question of how ready are we to defend our faith in Christ, and pointed to the example of Stephen when confronted about his beliefs. After worship, we spent some time together as a church group to reflect on the day. This is one of my favorite times because I get to hear about what God is up to in the lives of our students and leaders. Our kids shared their excitement and remarked on how powerful the time of worship had been. Perhaps my favorite insight of the night was in reference to our location here. Estes Park is absolutely gorgeous. Ilan Tena said "Scripture says if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. We are surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, and yet if we are a new creation we are even more beautiful than that."
These kids get it. They respond to a God who is worthy of their very best response. I'm proud to be their youth pastor and love watching them worship and talk about our great God. It wasn't hard convincing them to go to their rooms and go to bed after our meeting, and I think most of us slept rather well after our long overnight trip. This morning has brought another beautiful day, and our students actually seem to be refreshed and ready to go. We spent some time together having quiet time before going to Celebration - a shorter time of worship, videos, skits, and a message. Sam introduced today's topic of standing firm in the faith by pointing to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdnego. Our students are now in their small group bible studies and will go to lunch after they finish there. This afternoon we have planned a photo scavenger hunt. Our students had a blast doing this last year and are looking forward to it again.
We are having a great time and God has blessed us so much so far. Please continue to pray for us and trust that greater things are yet to come. Be Audacious!
The first afternoon was spent getting familiar with what the week was going to look like. After supper we dove right into an incredible time of worship, drama, and a unique message from Camp Pastor Sam Bhatt. The theme for this week is Audacious, based on 1 Corinthians 16:13. Sam challenged us to "be on guard for our King, because He was on guard for us." He also challenged us with a question of how ready are we to defend our faith in Christ, and pointed to the example of Stephen when confronted about his beliefs. After worship, we spent some time together as a church group to reflect on the day. This is one of my favorite times because I get to hear about what God is up to in the lives of our students and leaders. Our kids shared their excitement and remarked on how powerful the time of worship had been. Perhaps my favorite insight of the night was in reference to our location here. Estes Park is absolutely gorgeous. Ilan Tena said "Scripture says if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. We are surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, and yet if we are a new creation we are even more beautiful than that."
These kids get it. They respond to a God who is worthy of their very best response. I'm proud to be their youth pastor and love watching them worship and talk about our great God. It wasn't hard convincing them to go to their rooms and go to bed after our meeting, and I think most of us slept rather well after our long overnight trip. This morning has brought another beautiful day, and our students actually seem to be refreshed and ready to go. We spent some time together having quiet time before going to Celebration - a shorter time of worship, videos, skits, and a message. Sam introduced today's topic of standing firm in the faith by pointing to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdnego. Our students are now in their small group bible studies and will go to lunch after they finish there. This afternoon we have planned a photo scavenger hunt. Our students had a blast doing this last year and are looking forward to it again.
We are having a great time and God has blessed us so much so far. Please continue to pray for us and trust that greater things are yet to come. Be Audacious!
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