In the U.S., GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin) is sponsoring several youth camps this summer. Here are reports on two held in Tennessee.
Higher Ground
This report is from camp director Natalie Sturgeon.
Higher Ground 2015 was EPIC! With 128 campers and 47 volunteer staff, it was a year for firsts in our second year in Townsend, Tennessee. We started camp with a flash mob lip- syncing the song Geronimo by the group Sheppard. I told the story of the origin of the word Geronimo, which fit well with the Epic Story curriculum. All week long campers yelled Geronimo! as they jumped off the diving board, climbed the high ropes and played laser tag.
On Sunday night we had a Block Party with campers running around doing silly games to gain points. On Monday the oldest boys dorm explored caves and the day conclude with a whole camp dance. On Tuesday the oldest girls explored caves, then Tuesday evening we held our most popular event, the Color Run Obstacle course. Wednesday was filled with gagaball, 9-square, laser tag, swimming, archery, cooking class, arts and crafts, climbing wall, high ropes, low ropes, hiking to the waterfall, dodgeball, kickball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, and blacksmithing. The day ended with a Variety Show, complete with our camp magician. Thursday was full of several firsts including canoe battleship in the pool and a lip sync contest. These activities gave the campers a great opportunity to learn a bit more about being who we are in communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Friday featured pool parties and Highland Games (Caber Toss, Sheep Toss, Toss the Hagis and Kilt Run). Saturday morning everyone was sent off with final few words about being “dipped cones”—dipped in the Father, Son, and Spirit, surrounded by the love of the Trinity. Just like peanut butter is to jelly in a sandwich, we cannot be separated out from our Triune God.
It was a joy to see what our Lord did at camp this year, once again held at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Eva, Tennessee. We had 46 campers served by 24 staff members as we gathered an Epic adventure that will likely inspire our youth for a long time to come. With 23 girls and 5 boys making up our youth campers and 15 girls and 3 boys making up our teen campers, we set out on an adventure that included a block party, our historic “Night Furry,” an all camp dance, and for the first time this year, “Clan Wars.”
Epic Story was our curriculum, and we found the ideas and videos of great help in presenting the topic of God’s Trinitarian love for all humanity. To have the opportunity to share that love both in story and activities was nothing short of “good times.” Activities included crafts, journaling, team-building, nine square and target practice.
Following camp, one parent commented, “I’ve never seen a camp where the kids have fun and didn’t argue with the leaders!” Although we had fewer campers this year, we witnessed lives being changed as campers and staffers were given the chance to see how their stories fit into God’s Epic Story. Most importantly, the campers went away knowing they are loved.
As noted in a recent Leadership Network blog post, culture—not vision or strategy—is the most powerful factor in any organization (churches included). Culture determines receptivity to new ideas, unleashes or dampens creativity, builds or erodes enthusiasm, and creates a sense of pride or of deep discouragement. Ultimately, the culture of an organization shapes morale, teamwork, effectiveness and outcomes. To read the post, go to http://leadnet.org/culture-trumps-vision/.
Last month several GCI pastors participated in hands-on evangelism training called “Outside the Walls.” It was facilitated by Heber Ticas, national coordinator of GCI Church Multiplication Ministries in partnership with Pathways of Grace, one of our congregations near Dallas, Texas. Training began with classroom instruction on Friday and continued Saturday morning when the pastors joined members from the congregation in going door-to-door in neighborhoods surrounding the church meeting place to invite members of the community to participate in a children’s fun day held later that day.
Used with permission, Leadership Journal.
Two of our pastors knocked on one door and told the man of the house they were representing the congregation, then mentioned the fun day. The man told them he didn’t believe in God because God wasn’t fixing the world’s problems. Rather than walking away, the pastors continued to talk with the man. They learned that he is a conspiracy theorist who believes religion is the cause of many of the world’s problems. The man was shocked when the pastors agreed that the man had a valid point and noted that Jesus wasn’t particularly fond of religion either. The man replied that he keeps asking questions and searching for answers. Another shock came when our pastors encouraged him to keep doing so. “No one has ever told me that before,” he replied. One pastor explained, “I believe as you ask questions, you will come to be open to some real answers—ones only God can give you.” After about 35 minutes, the man apologized for being so abrupt and confrontational and said he liked the way our pastors thought about God. The conversation ended with one of our pastors telling him: “The God I know and love, loves you and wants a relationship with you—he’s not all that concerned or worried about your conspiracy theories or your hatred of religion, and when the time is right, he will reach out to you and you will know it’s God and I believe you’ll respond accordingly.” The man looked at him and said, “That’s cool. Thanks for listening and thanks for taking time to talk with me.”
You can learn more about the Dallas-area Outside the Walls event in the article in this issue. I share this story from the event because it illustrates an important truth: people living in darkness are positively impacted when the light of Christ is openly shared with them. The contrast of light with darkness is a metaphor frequently used in Scripture to contrast good (or knowledge) with evil (or ignorance). Jesus used it to speak of judgment and sanctification:
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God (John 3:19-21 ESV).
Peter Benenson
The familiar saying, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness,” was first spoken in public in 1961 by Peter Benenson, the British lawyer who founded Amnesty International. A candle encircled with barbed wire became the society’s emblem (see picture at right). The apostle Paul said something similar in Romans 13:12 (ESV): “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” This is what our two pastors, going door-to-door in a Dallas-area neighborhood did for one man who lives in darkness. In doing so they put into practice what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
I think we sometimes underestimate our ability to impact the world for good. We tend to forget that impacting just one person with the light of Christ can make a tremendous difference. Sadly, as shown in the cartoon above, some prefer to curse the darkness rather than shine that light; some prefer to point out sin rather than share God’s love and grace.
Though the darkness can overwhelm us at times, it never overwhelms God. We must never let our fear of evil in the world cause us to lose focus on who Jesus is and what he calls us to do. Remember that he reassures us that darkness cannot overcome the light. Even though we may feel like a very small candle in the midst of pervasive darkness, even a small candle offers life-giving light and warmth. Even the seemingly small ways we reflect Jesus, the light of the world, are never without positive benefit.
Jesus is the light of the whole cosmos, not just the church. He takes away the sin of the world—not just of believers. Through Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, the Father has taken us out of darkness and into the light of a life-giving relationship with the triune God who promises to never let us go. That is the good news (the gospel) about every person on the planet. Jesus is in union with all people, whether they know it or not. The two pastors talking to the atheist knew him to be a beloved child of God who, sadly, was still living in darkness. But instead of cursing that darkness (or the man!), the pastors chose to follow the lead of the Spirit to participate with Jesus in fulfilling the Father’s mission to a world living in darkness. As children of light (1 Thessalonians 5:5), they were willing to be light-bearers.
The Outside the Walls event continued on Sunday when some of the people in the community responded positively to invitations to attend our church. Though several came, the man the two pastors spoke with did not. It’s not likely he’ll show up at church any time soon. But getting him to come to church was not the purpose of the conversation. The man was given something to think about—a seed was planted in his mind and heart; a relationship with the church was begun that hopefully will continue. Because that man is a child of God, we are assured that God will continue to bring Christ’s light to him, and Pathways of Grace will likely have a part in what God is doing in that man’s life.
Let each of us follow the Spirit in sharing Christ, the light of God, with others. As we grow deeper in our relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit, we glow more and more brightly with God’s life-giving light. This is true of us as individuals, and as congregations. I pray that our congregations will shine even brighter light by reaching outside their walls to let their life in Christ by the Spirit flow out to the community around their place of meeting. As we include others in our corporate life by offering them God’s love in little and big ways, the darkness begins to dissipate and our communities will reflect more and more of the light of Christ.
Shining the light of Christ with you, Joseph Tkach
PS: I’m looking forward to participating in the “Good News Festival 2015” coming up this fall in Maryland. You can find information about it and other worship festivals on the GCI Events webpage at www.gci.org/events.
It’s always a joy to learn of baptisms in our congregations around the world. Recently seven people were baptized in New Outlook Christian Fellowship in Attalla, Alabama (pastored by Rannie Childress), and four were baptized in our church in Bogotá, Colombia (pastored by Hector Barrero). The pictures below show some of those baptisms (Alabama in the top row, Colombia in the bottom row). We praise God for this fruit of the gospel in our midst.
As mentioned by Joseph Tkach in his letter in this issue, Pathways of Grace, one of GCI’s congregations near Dallas, Texas, hosted an “Outside the Walls” training event. The video below shows highlights of the community outreach segment of the event.
An important issue addressed during the recent Outside the Walls training event (see link at left), was the topic of assimilation, which involves several steps taken to invite, welcome and include (assimilate) new people into a congregation. Some of these hospitality and discipleship issues are helpfully addressed at http://www.acstechnologies.com/ministry-guides/assimilation. To learn more, the GCI-USA Church Administration and Development team recommends the book, Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church by Nelson Searcy.
In addition to sponsoring camps within the United States, GCI Generations Ministries sponsors short-term mission trips to locations around the globe (see http://www.generationsministries.org/mission-trips.html). Here are reports on two recently completed trips—one to Mexico and one to Colombia.
Mission trip to Mexico
In June, Crossing Borders mission trips marked its tenth year of conducting mission trips when 19 missionaries from around the U.S. participated in the organization’s 19th mission trip to Mexico (they make two trips each year).
God blessed the group with good weather, safety, great camaraderie and many opportunities to join him as he writes his “epic story” in the lives of each individual he has created. No two years are the same on a Crossing Borders trip. The leaders communicate in advance with ministry partners in Mexico, asking, “What can we help you with this trip?” The goal is to be a blessing by supporting the on-the-ground ministries of these partners.
These partners request various kinds of assistance: teaching VBS classes, fixing broken items, helping with outreach events, preaching, providing food, etc. Almost all the requests on this trip were for repair and construction projects. As the trip planning team considered how to fulfill the requests, God was sending applicants with great construction skills.
Though the missionaries preached, played with children, fed the needy and conducted other outreach activities, their main focus was to build a large shade shelter for a church, hanging new ceiling fans and doing a major bathroom remodel in a children’s home, repairing a refrigerator, mowing grass, painting two houses and more. The group also conducted an all-day Fiesta at a children’s home with face-painting, games, balloon animals, Bible lesson, squirt guns (a big hit!), two meals and a piñata filled with candy.
The next Crossing Borders trip to Mexico is scheduled for December 11-14, 2015. For more information and an application form, go to www.cbmission.org or phone 903-746-4463.
Mission trip to Colombia
As reported last week, a group from the U.S. (pictured below with trip coordinator Janet Morrison at left) traveled in June to Barranquilla, Colombia to work alongside the GCI church there. The missionaries hosted a Vacation Bible School for children 5–12 years old. One requirement for the trip was that participants have had at least three years of Spanish in high school or grew up speaking the language.
Seventy children attended the VBS, with about 22 people serving as staff, including the 10 from the U.S. The theme for the VBS was the “I am” statements of Jesus: I am the Good shepherd, I am the Bread of Life, I am the Resurrection, I am the Light, I am the Way the Truth and the Life. Each day included a Bible story, crafts and games to match the theme. The children loved the VBS and at dismissal each day would excitedly tell their parents what they had done and show their craft.
On the Sunday following the VBS the children and their parents were invited to church. The Barranquilla, Colombia church usually has about 70 in attendance but this Sunday it had 170 (including 51 children). Hector Barrero, pastor of the Bogotá church and GCI’s mission developer for Latin America, gave the sermon. The children enjoyed an age-appropriate class and made a craft. Here are comments about the VBS:
“It was a real inspiration that you came from the United States.”
“I don’t want it to be over.”
“All I hear at home are the songs and memory verses.”
This report is from GCI pastor Karl Reinagel, who pastors a GCI congregation in St. Louis, Missouri.
Our congregation recently hosted an Experiencing the Trinity retreat that was conducted by a team from Odyssey in Christ. Several of our local members attended along with GCI members from Colorado, Illinois and New York.
Experiencing the Trinity is designed as an opportunity to enjoy the presence of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The retreat was run on “Kairos time.” Watches and electronics were banned, allowing one to simply sit in God’s presence without the distractions of email, phone calls and worries of getting to the next scheduled event. To help enter Kairos time, the retreat started with a night of silence. One participant said, “That night was a great way to refocus the mind from our lives, ministries and the people around us and to focus in on God alone.”
A theme of the retreat was: it is okay for your prayer time to “accomplish” nothing. “Few things are better than to ‘waste time’ with God,” Bill Wells from the Odyssey in Christ team said in his presentation. Throughout the retreat, the theme of unwinding and relaxing in God, experiencing him and being experienced by him, was prevalent.
Many of the local members who attended said they received encouragement and strengthening by having a time set aside just to sit in God’s presence and talk with him, fulfilling Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-16, “That out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.” There is a time to accomplish tasks, but we also need time to be with God as a child sitting in the lap of their Father.
Each day during the retreat we went through different spiritual rhythms and prayers. It was meaningful to us that the day we focused on the ministry of the Spirit was very windy and fell on Pentecost. It was a perfect ending to a weekend filled with experiencing our triune God and enjoying the fellowship of other believers. We look forward to another Odyssey in Christ retreat in 2016.
Nine young missionaries from the U.S. on a short-term mission trip to Colombia (led by Generations Ministries missions leader Janet Morrison), recently teamed up with twelve volunteers from GCI’s congregation in Barranquilla, Colombia (pastored by Sonia Orozco) and young adults from a local college to conduct a camp for 70 community children age five to twelve. Camp activities included songs, games and crafts. The children were enthusiastic and eager to participate in the camp, which lasted for five days. Here are some pictures:
GCI’s congregation in Big Sandy, Texas, recently conducted a Vacation Bible School (VBS). Here is a report from Sarah Strub, who serves as a youth ministry leader in the congregation.
Our recent VBS was a great success, due largely to our emphasis on including the youth in mission projects in the community.
During the first two nights, we worked at Love Big Sandy, sorting and organizing food supplies. We filled 30 food boxes for families who requested food assistance for school-age children during the summer. Five teens from our congregation participated, as well as other area teens and several adults.
The last night, we went to the home of an elderly couple in the community. The husband had served for many years as superintendent of Big Sandy schools. Now elderly, he can’t do much yard work and so our group of four teens and two adults spent two hours raking, cutting brush, weed-eating, etc. His yard now looks fabulous!
Overall, our community service projects as part of the VBS benefited 31 families! We shared a lot of God’s love with Big Sandy. The teens were great workers and we were glad to include them in serving others in Jesus’ name.
In the U.S., GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin) is sponsoring several youth camps this summer. Here are reports on two held in Tennessee.
