I love Fridays… but not for the reason you’d think. Most Fridays at camp, we’re getting ready for hundreds of students to arrive. Today, there are more than a thousand middle- and high-school students on their way to camp. There’s excitement and the smell of freshly baking cookies in the air.
Expectation.
Students are packing into vans and buses with the expectation that God is going to do something in their lives this weekend. Sure, they’re excited about broomball and tubing… but they’re also heading into an experience where spiritual conversations, challenge, and encouragement are the norm.
Impact.
So many of the churches we partner with see their weekend at camp as having a key impact on the ministry they do week after week, year-round. In fact, I just got this email from a youth pastor who was here with his group last weekend:
We had so many cool stories from this weekend, and two students have already started Bible study communities in their schools this week. One was a kid that was complaining we had to go to four worship sessions throughout the weekend and has never really participated in our group. Spring Hill was such a blessing for our students. Thank you for your heart and the mission behind what you do.
Hope.
It’s hard to imagine the whole range of challenges that students are facing in their everyday lives. I know of students coming to camp who are struggling with depression. Others whose parents are divorcing. Some recently lost their youth pastor in a tragic accident.
And, while we may not fix all their problems in a weekend, we can offer them hope. During their weekend at camp, students have the opportunity to see, hear and experience the Gospel in a variety of ways.
Last Saturday, the invitation that Brock Morgan gave was one of the most powerful ones I’ve seen. I received several emails from leaders as they arrived home on Sunday evening… including this one from Marty:
We were blessed in a huge way! 2 of our students made first-time decisions for Christ and virtually everyone else (38 students and several leaders) recommitted their lives to following Jesus.
Ministry.
But one of the things I get most excited about on Fridays is the opportunity to see so many people exercising their gifts in ministry. We’ve got staff out right now cleaning cabins, cooking food, setting up activities, practicing skits, preparing messages, plowing snow… and doing so many more things than you could possibly imagine. They all see it as ministry.
We’ve also got 50 volunteers headed here from all over the place… excited to do whatever is needed to help a young person grow in their relationship with Jesus. They all see it as ministry.
And, piling into the vans with their students, are 206 adult leaders—mostly volunteers—who get to spend an entire weekend building relationships with students from their churches. For many of them, a weekend at camp is a launch-pad for continued ministry when they get back home.
So, yah… That’s why I wake up and thank God it’s Friday. Because God is going to do something amazing in this place, and through us today.
