Our team will be organizing all camp activities and recreation as well as providing support for counselors and camp team.
camp
Ability Camp PA – Week 1
Our team will be organizing all camp activities and recreation as well as providing support for counselors and camp team.
Grub with Grayson
The weeks leading up to camp are both exciting and exhausting. The team and I are making last minute preparations and making sure that we have completed everything on the task list. All knowing that it will be a week where campers have tons fun, make new friends and be exposed to Jesus in a way so that their journey with Him will begin or deepen.
That is the ultimate goal but along the way some other pretty exciting things happened, like Grub with Grayson. We had been encouraging campers to consider what superpower they had received from God. What gifts had they been given that they could use to reach others with the Good News of Jesus’s love and forgiveness.
This year I had the joy of connecting with Grayson through English Muffin pizza discussions. Yes, English Muffin Pizza! Little did I know that Grayson had discovered his joy of cooking. Over the week Grayson shared with me the recipe, brought me a sample to taste and then wanted to share his gift of cooking with the camp. The best way to maximize his exposure was through media. So, Grayson brought the toaster oven, all the ingredients and we set out to create a video where Grayson’s talent could be highlighted . Thanks to Josh, our tech guru, the final video was shared with campers, their families and friends at Friday afternoon’s celebration service.
Grayson was my inspiration for the week and I trust this will inspire you to discover your gifts and superpower or help someone else discover theirs.
Superpower Revealed
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Telekinesis? Invisibility? Shape shifting? Flight? Strength? Mind reading?
1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. 11Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen.”
Peter 4:10 elicits the onomatopoeia “BOOM”, or metaphoric ‘drop the mic. ‘ Yes, I learned a new word during camp. Onomatopoeia is a noun and means the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. WOW! WHAM! BOOM! SHAZAM! BAZINGA!
Throughout the week our Bible lessons highlighted Elisha, the powerful prophet. WOW! At the end of each message you could just feel the power of Holy Spirit working in the minds and hearts of the kids. BAM!
Each message was then followed up and reinforced in the War Room (Prayer room) where Pastors John and Melissa dug a little deeper and provided opportunity for the campers to receive the power that comes from God’s word and the working of Holy Spirt in their lives. BOOM!
The week brought many life changes including a number of first time salvations, rededications to follow Jesus and eight water baptisms. BAZINGA! Each powerful act was a personal win as each person made a decision to deepen their relationship with Jesus. When God is expected to show up, WHAM! He shows up in some extraordinary ways.
We can never underestimate the power of Jesus and the impact that He has on the lives of children. The same Holy Spirit that resides in an adult resides in a child. It’s our responsibility to pour into and raise up children that know and love Jesus.
Time to Recalibrate
There are times in our life that we need to recalibrate and start out anew. For me, this is one of those times. My husband and I have been on a 2 year journey with cancer and our focus had to shift in order to give priority to treatment plans and recovery. God has been so faithful through all of the ups and downs and we are thankful for His hand on us throughout the uncertainties. At the end of March my husbands treatments ended and we are believing for a complete healing. God is able and we trust in His promises that He will never leave us.
“I will not fail you or abandon you. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:5, 9NLT)
Now is the time to recalibrate and allow some of the focus to turn back to children’s ministry. During these past two years, God has allowed time to launch a new midweek children’s ministry, expose children to prayer through a prayer room designed for kids and serve alongside some amazing team members that have loved and supported us during this time. But now I’m ready to plunge into camp season with a renewed and grateful spirit. Keep us in prayer as we reach people of all ages with the message of Jesus’s love and forgiveness during our summer camps.