News
Category: Youth
By: Brad Gray
A Counselor's View of Student Life Camp
"...it's the small sin, what we would consider insignificant, that kills our relationship with Christ."
Here and Now
This was my first year to go to youth camp, and I wasnt sure what to expect. My prayer for camp was that Christ would reveal Himself to our students in a very real way. We got off with a rough start to say the least. I believe that Satan made every attempt to distract, discourage, and keep us from focusing on our walk with Christ, and focus on all of the obstacles thrown in our path.
We arrived at Windermere Conference Center about 2 hours late, missing the registration and most of orientation. Rob took all the obstacles in stride, and encouraged everyone not to let the hectic start distract us from what Christ had in store for us. By the time we unloaded luggage and settled into our lodging, it was time for the evening worship. That evening two of our students, Julian Baker and Michael Lloyd, accepted Christ. Wow, if camp would have ended after that first day, the long trip with all of its difficulties would have been worth it. How could it get any better? For me it did.
The theme of camp was "Here and Now". The students were encouraged to start living for Christ here and now. We were reminded that we spend so much of our life preparing for the future. We go through Elementary School preparing for Middle School; Middle School preparing for High School; High School preparing for College; and College preparing for what we are going to do the rest of our lives. We often try to live out this philosophy in our Christian lives only to miss out on what Christ has called us to, here and now. God is at work all around us, and He invites us to join in His work here and now.
As good as the first night was I will never forget the last night of camp. One of our group Bible lessons was on hidden sin, the story of Achan (Joshua 7). We learned that just as God could not dwell with the children of Israel because there was sin in their camp, He cannot dwell in our heart as long as we have unconfessed sin. That evening during worship, the camp pastor, Wes Hamilton, told a story of an ancient Chinese execution, death by a thousand cuts. Wes explained that individually the cuts were not fatal, but collectively they would kill.
Similarly its the small sin, what we would consider insignificant, that kills our relationship with Christ. That night Wes challenged us to repent of the secret sin in our lives. Not to recommit our lives to Christ, not to rededicate our lives to Christ, but to repent.
During our last Church group time, Rob encourage our students to share what Christ was calling them to do, in the here and now. As they were sharing, I was touched by their openness. That night the Holy Spirit moved in a very real and authentic way. The students shared their calling as well as confessed sin, and asked that they hold each other accountable.
As much as I was impressed with the Student Life staff, the music and testimony by Addison Road, and the sermons that Wes preached, I was impressed most with our students. I will have to say I came away not looking forward to camp next year. I came away looking forward to the opportunity to studying Gods word with them the next Sunday "Here and Now".