Junior High Camp Reflections

What an amazing 4 days with some awesome students who now have the opportunity of a lifetime! 4 days ago, I left with Chris and all the leaders, with a group of 80+ regular, average, middle of the pack, Junior Highers. Junior Highers that lived their lives in the "Meh" lane of life. They did what they wanted and mostly for themselves. But that all changed when we all began to recognize how much Greater Than that a life that is lived for the King of Kings is.We returned with three busloads of World Changers with the opportunity to truly allow God to move in their lives, the lives of their families, and the lives of so many more people around them. All for the cause of Jesus Christ.

In the last 4 days...
            I have seen how Junior High worship is supposed to be.
            God has made himself known in ways not seen before by these students.
            I have seen just how capable Junior High students are.
            I have been able to recognize my place in the Body of Christ even more and with more confidence.
            I have seen the mountaintop for these Junior High students and the prospectus is bright.

I cannot wait to see how the next 4 months or so play out in the lives of these world changers. Bonds have been broken for some and His desires have been set in the hearts of others. It's going to be a great year for God in our Junior Highs.

Now. I just can't sleep over the thought that we get to do it all again with our Senior Highers. It's going to be awesome. Let's do this!

Junior High Camp Day 3

What a really cool day today.

We started out in our TAWG Experience this morning where students went around to different stations to be able to connect with God in different ways and with a different focus for each station. It was so cool to see students worshipping together on the lakeside, discovering how they put God in a box, discovering our priorities and many more. It was a great time for students to engage God on a very practical, personal level. So cool.

This afternoon, we headed out to Kalahari Waterpark and had a blast! Students were going down water slides, hanging out in the wave pool and having a ton of fun in the Toilet Bowl ride. It was so cool.

Tonight, we experienced worship like we never have before. Seriously, I think that the police stopped by for noise ordinance stuff. Ok, so it wasn't the police but the security guy from the neighbor was definitely coming by to check things out. It was so sweet. Then, God spoke through Pastor Chris to challenge us to be "All-in" for Jesus. To make Him Greater Than everything in our lives. I am so excited to see how these students who came to camp as ordinary Junior Highers and are going to return to their homes as World Changers because they recognized that God is Greater Than everything they face everyday and that God is inside of all of them.

PARENTS: BE SURE TO JOIN US TOMORROW NIGHT @ 6:15pm in the Connection Gym. We will be sharing some of the themes and the things that God has been teaching us throughout camp. You won't want to miss it and it will be a great opportunity to help your students hit the "ground" running when they get back from camp. Many things have happened here at camp; we want to share some of them with you.

Junior High Camp Day 2

What an amazing day today! We had so many awesome things going on today! We started today by coming to understand the theme of GREATER TOGETHER. Sometimes it gets real hard to understand just how bad we need to depend upon each other as we seek to follow after Christ. Some of the activities from today included:

1. The Great Relay Race- You can see all of the pictures from it in the DAY 2 Pictures that Pastor Chris will post on the Facebook Page.
2. Crud Wars- It sounds messy because it is messy. What a ton of fun. It was really totally awesome. I couldn't believe how much fun we had throwing all kinds of different elements at each other. It was truly a sight!
3. Lake Time/Free Time- This is always a ton of fun and a great way to cool off after a hot day. We took full advantage of that!
4. God > ________- God is stirring in the hearts of students and leaders alike. It is so cool to see how students are recognizing the areas of their lives that have taken a place that is greater than God. I know I can't wait to see how this changes their focus for this week.

Things are cooking here at Junior High camp and I can't tell you how pumped I am to see how these students respond to the Word of God tomorrow night as we continue to see how God is Greater Than.

Greater Than

I've been at camp since yesterday afternoon. I can already feel the rush of the wind and the beautiful sight that is Lake Erie from this view. I'm still convinced that this is clearly the only good thing in Ohio, save for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and maybe the whole town of Cincinatti, but that's a much different matter.

I'm praying this week that...

...We would know God as Greater
... We would meet with Him
... We would begin to see our place in relationship to what He did
... That true submission to God and His Will would reign in the hearts of us all
... That God would rain down His Spirit like never before and...
... That we would never be able to forget the truth that is His Glory

Tonight is all about God and His Greatness. Nothing more and nothing less.... May His spirit RAIN OVER US TONIGHT!!