So... I am excited for the future of United Methodist camps in Missouri. Yes, it won't be anything like what we are used to, but it will be good, even great. Already, our new "Ignite" mobile camps have 1500 registrations of students ages 6-12. Camp properties may have closed, but camping ministry is strong. Our "Impact" Mission Camps continue with similar participation. The one piece that is yet to take shape for 2016 are the "Infuse" Camps for spiritual formation of teens ages 13-18. One of the planned locations for these camps is Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. Most of the feedback I've heard from people who have participated in our previous United Methodist camping ministry in Missouri, both parents and youth, is that this is "not" camp. In fact, they are pretty certain that this just "won't work." They may be right. But, I think it's worth trying before we write it off. Why? Because others are doing it well, and I think we United Methodists of Missouri could do it just as good or better. Who is doing church camp on a college campus? Well, here's the ones I found in Missouri: CentrifugeThe baptists seem to have been using college campuses for a while now. Granted, they also use Windermere and other Baptist Association camps across the state of Missouri. But check out this page with two camps listed: www.sbuniv.edu/ConferenceCenter/YouthCamps/. One of the camps, Centrifuge, is for teenagers, 7th-12th grades, and is focused on Youth Groups. The other, CentriKid is for older elementary students, 3rd-6th grades. I've never been to Centrifuge, but I've heard about it, and only good things. The description seems to be very similar to what I have planned for Metamorphosis at CMU. Centrifuge is put on by Lifeway (the Baptist bookstore/publisher). They have these camps all across the USA some at retreat centers, and some on college campuses. I think we should learn from them, and do our best to build new United Methodist Christ-followers (aren't there enough baptists already? j/k LOL). Super SummerHere's another Baptist camp: Super Summer. This year it's at Hannibal-LaGrange University. According to their website, this is the Missouri Baptist Convention's time to develop leadership among the next generation. It is also focused on Youth Groups. They have time for equipping adult leaders as well as teenagers. We should probably talk to these guys and learn from them too. A lot of my Baptist Youth Pastor friends take their groups to this, and I've heard good things. These are not just large-church youth pastors, but small town rural groups where Youth Pastor is an un-paid volunteer. Again, I haven't been, but still, this is another example of a camp at a college campus that works. MIXChrist In Youth puts on this camp for middle schoolers. There's one right here in my town, St. Joseph, MO, on the campus of Missouri Western State University. You can check the camp out here: www.ciy.com/mix. This is also a ministry that happens nationwide at various locations, including college campuses as well as retreat/conference centers like Windermere. I don't know much about Christ In Youth as an organization, but they seem to have a good reputation. They are based in Joplin, MO, and don't appear to be affiliated with a denomination. They've been doing events for almost 50 years now. I think we should learn from them. What Have We Learned?So, can there be a great church camp on a college campus? Yes. I think these three are examples that are happening right here in Missouri. There are probably many others if you look for them. Some of you may say these are "conferences" not camps. Ok...that's a difference in words/terms, but they are still much the same. I would say about the only difference is location. The main activities and focus are virtually the same. The focus is Jesus Christ, and the activities are Prayer, Worship, Bible study, shared community, fun. It will be different, but I'm not sure that it can't do those things excellently just like we have done at our traditional camp sites. Another important thing we see is that all of these camps are focused on Youth Groups. So local churches register their group to go together and bring volunteers with the students as chaperones. Our camps, no matter where they take place should be similar. This is a paradigm shift for us. Typically, individuals could go to whichever camp piqued their interest. Even if you have a small group of two campers and two adults, I think it's better than going alone. Those four people will now have a shared spiritual experience to build upon and share with others when they get back. This can happen with individuals, but the strength of Christianity is "together is better". I think churches attending events as groups is better. It's the way I remember first going to church camp, as part of my youth group. When I was the main youth leader (as well as pastor), taking a group of students to church camp together helped us build our small youth group in our small church in our small town of less than 1500. I attribute this partly to attending camp together and having that shared experience of Jesus Christ. In my mind, this shift in paradigm, (focusing on church groups instead of individuals) will greatly enhance our camp participation and enhance our local churches. [I have some more thoughts on some paradigm shifts to think about as camping ministry changes, but I'll have to work up a different blog post for those.] Finally, if Baptists are ok with it, then why can't we? Surely we United Methodists can do it even better, right? I know when the announcement of closing the four camp sites in Missouri was first made, the idea seemed to be only CMU camps; but I think we can see that's not the case going forward. It is CMU and other locations, one of which might be our own Camp Jo-Ota. CMU has great facilities and the capability to provide experiences that our traditional camp sites couldn't (unless you got really creative and transformed a barn into a worship center). I imagine the future of camp at CMU as similar to a week-long WOW (Missouri's Annual United Methodist Youth Weekend), but with more depth and spread out over a week. We should take a look at the examples above and learn from them. I'm sure Centrifuge and CIY MIX don't focus on just one denomination either. We could open up to others in our Christian family...if we offer something of excellence that other youth groups would bring their students to. So please, don't write off a camp just because it's on a college campus. God can and will move on a college campus. God can even move among United Methodists, not just Baptists. ;-)
My greatest fear has been that our conference's change to camping ministry has created a lot of distrust of denominational leadership, which has resulted in a "fight." Regardless of whose fault the "fight" is, fighting divides and makes enemies, and pushes both sides to dig in and "finish it." That is scary. Because I love all of you. I think fighting will push people away from our churches, especially younger people. There are too many issues that we can effect together that we need the Next Generation's input on. And that's the good that can come of this. Young people have found a reason to organize and get excited about effecting change in our denomination. I've been to a few sessions of the Missouri Annual Conference, and there are a lot of people my parents age and older who attend, share their voice, and vote. I don't know the exact number, or percentage, but those of age 13-30 are a very small number in my experience. We need more young people to take an active role at these formal levels of the church governance. The system will change with new people involved, and decisions like this one about MOUM Camps will hopefully happen differently. Anyone who is confirmed in the United Methodist Church is a voting member of the UMC and can serve on all teams, committees, boards, etc. The only one that has an age requirement is the Trustees, which requires you to be 18 or older to vote. You can even be a delegate to Annual Conference, Jurisdictional Conference, and General Conference. If I'm wrong about this, I hope somebody will correct me. Even if you're not an official delegate, you can still come and show support even if you can't have an official voice or vote. What Will It Take For This To Happen?1. Election as a Delegate, or to a TeamFirst, you need to get elected as a delegate to Annual Conference. Your pastor is the chair of the nominations committee, so you need to convince her (or him) to nominate you for leadership in the church. Specifically as a delegate to annual conference. This means, you need to prove that you're qualified and responsible to do the job your church is asking you to do. This is not just about you getting your way, but this is a responsibility for serving the whole body of our church. This will not be easy. It is possible that position is currently held by someone unwilling to let it go, and may feel "replaced" or "unwanted." That's not really your job to worry about because your pastor should take care of that. But, I want you to be aware that it could cause trouble that's not your fault. These nominations are approved at charge conference, which should be happening very soon, and may have already happened. Hopefully, you're not too late. If you can't convince the pastor ahead of charge conference, you could still nominate yourself at the Charge Conference. This will cause trouble too because most of the business has already been decided and just needs a rubber stamp of approval. You can also ask your District Superintendent if you can be a District At-Large Delegate. I also think there are some Youth At-Large delegate positions. Either way, you'll want to get this done in the next few months before the spots are gone. The conference also has a nominations team. If you're interested in giving your time, energy and money to work on one of the conference teams/boards/committees, then talk to your pastor and figure out how to get your name in the hat. I think this last year, there was an online submission process. I remember getting emails about it. At the very least, you can find a conference journal and see who the nominations chair is, and ask that person. 2. PreparationIf you do manage to get elected as a delegate, then you'll need to get prepared and invested in the denomination and the Annual Conference. You will need a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure. You will need to research the budget and the issues. If you have a specific cause you're working for you'll need to make sure your position is intelligently and coherently put together and not just based on dramatic whims and feelings. Be prepared to listen, let go, see things differently, and be changed as much as you are to speak and fight for change. You need to be prepared to sit through some boring stuff. Also be prepared to try to participate in worship amidst distractions and a business meeting atmosphere. It won't be worship services like what you're used to at church. Be prepared for workshops and chances to learn stuff to take back to your church. Be prepared to get up early during your summer vacation so you can make the morning bible study session. It will be a time to network and make new friends and enjoy spending time together. 3. MOre Preparation: Submitting Proposals and ResolutionsThe Missouri Annual Conference has a method for how they place business on the agenda of the Annual Conference Session. You need to figure out that process and follow it perfectly. I think I can summarize this ok, but I'll be honest, I'm lazy and don't know the details. Basically, there's a deadline that things must be submitted to the Mission Council or some other team who will determine whether or not it is worthy for us to take up as business. If you miss the deadline or have a poorly worded or researched idea, then it probably won't make it. I could be wrong. Truth is I don't know really what the standards are for judging whether a proposal or resolution is worth the time of Annual Conference. I've never really worked on one before (shame on me). Anyway, you will need to have some idea of what our procedures are for getting things done. You probably won't be able to get much done this first year because you're not "in" yet (if you know what I mean). Maybe once you've earned your keep, then you can influence things. 4. SacrificeYou (and if you're under 18, probably your parents) will have to make some sacrifices for you to attend the session of AC, and even more if you serve on a team/board/committee. It will take your time, money, and energy. You will probably rather do something else like play sports or video games, go on the family vacation, not miss that important activity (graduation, prom, state competition, senior trip, Boy/Girl Scout Camp, etc.). By making this a priority, you are forsaking others and it may cost you (grades, scholarships, state championships, etc.). It will be a sacrifice that pastors like me don't make because we're paid to do this stuff. Your parents will have to transport you or arrange for transportation. Also, if you're under 18, there will need to be supervision for safety/liability reasons, fortunately, the conference has a way for you to register as a youth delegate and will help coordinate that...or at least they used to, and I assume they still do and will into the future. The bottom line here is it's going to take some difficult sacrifices, and if you're under 18 or don't have your own transportation, those sacrifices will include your family too. It's Worth ItI truly hope to see more young people engage at the Annual Conference level and in leadership in their local churches. This camp thing may be a catalyst for that. I hope so. Why? Because: AIDS, Malaria, LGBTQ issues, marriage equality, war, violence, poverty, global health, suicide rates, drugs, human trafficking, global warming, civil rights, declining congregations, a UMC whose average age is 57, etc. These are all things that we can effect in a greater way together than we can separately. We need the voice, vote, influence, and energy of people age 13-30 who are baptized professing members of our churches. These are issues well worth our sacrifices, time and effort to organize ourselves to work together on. This is not just about helping our churches and properties survive, but changing the world and our neighborhoods. So please, don't get angry and disillusioned and walk away. Work with the system, and through the system, as disheartening as it can be. Don't let your energy die out. Use this as inspiration to really do something great for the world and our Church. Organize, listen, learn, engage. We have a lot of work to do, major work. P.S.The election of Jurisdictional Conference and General Conference delegates will be happening this year. Who knows, maybe Missouri can send the youngest delegation ever. We can only hope.
***One quick piece of information before I get started on this, if a child or youth or anybody in your church asks if there will be a camp for them this summer, 2015, please answer "Yes." We don't know exactly where it will be yet, but we will know soon. It will be different, but there will be something, and it will be great because I know the people like me who are committed to making it great.*** I'm not saying that anything has been hidden, or that we've been deceived. I'm saying this change in direction has more to do with combining Camping & Retreat Ministries with Youth Ministries (CCYM) into the new "Next Generation Ministries" than we may realize. So, a lot of the conversations leading up to this change were a part of aligning the conference ministries with the mission statement: "leading congregations to lead people to actively follow Jesus Christ." (side note: I've always thought the word "actively" was unnecessary or redundant because isn't following an action? can you passively or inactively follow? I think those would be "not following".) The impression that people seem to have is that this emphasis is just a Missouri Conference thing. It bothers a lot of us because it appears to make us more congregational in polity rather than connectional. For example, I've seen this post passed around on the interwebs, and it's titled "Disconnecting Missouri Methodism." The fear that we are becoming more congregational may be valid (I don't think so), but it's not a Missouri specific thing. In addition to our mission statement, the Missouri Conference of the UMC has the following vision: "Growing, fruitful, vibrant congregations changing lives through Jesus Christ." This also puts an emphasis on local congregations, and seemingly away from our connectional nature and more towards congregationalism. However, this is not just a Missouri thing. It's a Council of Bishops and Connectional Table thing. It's a denomination thing. A while back (2008), the Council of Bishops and The Connectional Table announced the "Four Areas of Focus." You can read an overview of it at the umc.org website. Among those four foci (is that how you pluralize that?) is...drum roll please..."Growing Vital Churches." Specifically, the focus is on planting NEW churches (actual wording is "new faith communities") and creating NEW ways for people to connect with God and The Church. But, they also include renewing existing churches. If you dig deeper and click the link to find out what they mean by "Growing Vital Churches," you will find more details for the vision of what exactly a vital church is. One of the components of a vital congregation is..."strong children's and youth ministries." (Note this as an emphasis on "Next Generation Ministries.") What prompted this vision for our denomination? Why is there an emphasis on strengthening local congregations? Why emphasize children's and youth ministries? Here's what the website says: as many of us realize, The United Methodist Church is aging, and our numbers are declining: The vision of emphasizing these Four Areas of Focus is "not for the next quadrennium, but for as far as the eye can see." We will be living into this vision for many many years to come. I think it's a great vision for us to strive for wholeheartedly. (Personal Confession: In fact, I wish I would have paid more attention to our Bishop announcing this stuff and found all of the material on the website sooner.) In order for us to truly be connectional and accomplish this vision, we need Vital Congregations. Without vital congregations, we won't have a denomination to be connected to. The good news is, someone has done a lot of work to show us how to develop a vital congregation. The website has this PDF document that your church can use as a guide to implement what they call "drivers of vitality," which are things that help the church fulfill the vision of a "vital congregation." The first (of sixteen) drivers of vitality is focused on small groups for all ages. The next two are focused on Children's and Youth Ministries. So again, there is an emphasis on "Next Generation Ministries." What Does This Have To Do With The Change To MO UM Camps?I'm pointing all of this out because I want us to see that this is bigger than just the Missouri Conference, Bishop Schnase, Rev. Garrett Drake, and the Camping & Retreat Ministries Board. Sure, maybe the Missouri Conference is somewhat of a pioneer on shifting the focus to local congregations since this began for us prior to 2008, but still, this is not about people leading us away into congregationalism. This is about the future of The Church, our church, the United Methodist Church. On the one hand, it looks like we've taken support away for Next Generation Ministries because first we closed our campus ministries, now we're closing campsites, and soon CCYM will be different. But in reality, we haven't had this type of concerted focused effort and alignment of resources to reach the next generation and form new communities of faith that reach the next generation. I give kudos to our Bishop for slowly (he's been here 10 years now) and persistently leading and influencing us to re-align our mission and vision and way of doing things (budget and staffing) to actually catalyze next generation ministries in our local churches. Did you see the stat above? The Average United Methodist Is 57 Years Old. Our conference leadership is being intentional about trying to change this. (And I am unique: one of only 850 people in the world who are under age 35 and ordained UMC clergy. Woo Hoo! Go me! Maybe if the process didn't take so long we'd have more, but that's a whole 'nother issue.) These two emphases, vital congregations and next generation ministries, are critical for our church worldwide, and especially in the US. This vision is an effort to recapture the original Methodist Movement, not an institution. The Movement was always focused on small groups in local congregations who lived out their faith in their local communities. The local congregation (the people, not the building) is the primary locale that people connect with The Church. To sum it up, I'm trying to say that this change is connected to more than just finances or ambitions. I'm trying to say that this is not us devolving into congregationalism. This is not denominational leadership sticking more to selfish ambition of growing a great organization. No, instead, this focus is deeply rooted in a desire to see us living as followers of Jesus Christ, disciples who care for the poor, lead our communities with integrity, and improve world health (historically Methodist emphases). We do this at the most basic level through our local congregations in communities, cities, towns, neighborhoods across the globe. People connect to people. The Church is people who connect people to the person of Christ. This vision is not necessarily trying to save a denomination, but it's trying to do the important work of continuing the Methodist way of Following Jesus Christ. Even if the denomination ever goes away, I think there will still be people who follow the Jesus Way in a Methodist Style, and I think these Four Areas of Focus capture that and it's well worth giving my life to...even if I won't get to use the same camp facility that I have grown to love.
It has been two weeks since the Camping & Retreat Ministries Board of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church announced that the Conference's four campsite properties would be shut down. This, rightly, grieved all of people who have a connection to those camps, including the Camping Board themselves. The grief is further compounded by the way the decision and announcement were made. I myself, didn't help much when I used an incendiary title as click bait ("no one cares") so that I could try to help people channel their grief and anger in a useful direction (reaching the countless youth in our communities who aren't a part of the church). Maybe my intentions were good, but my tact and timing were terrible. Some have asked me to take down the blog posts, but I'm not. It's a story of holding each other accountable for living in a Christ-like way, even in the midst of anger and grief. And that's what inspired my last post on the subject, "Saying 'They Don't Care About the Next Generation' Needs to Stop." I was always taught growing up, "Be angry, but in your anger, do not sin." I believe that's in the Bible, Ephesians 4:26. So it really bothered me of how some people were talking and posting publicly about other brothers and sisters in Christ. It really upset me. I guess Facebook and other social media are places that people vent their frustrations, but I've learned that's not a good idea. Facebook and Twitter are virtually public. It's one thing to share how you feel in a private conversation and seeking guidance on what you should do with those thoughts and feelings. But publicly spreading ill-will and false ideas about people is not a good idea, no matter how true or right you may feel. You have every right to grieve, to feel and think those things, and even say things privately to people. But know those are your emotions and may not be true enough to be posted publicly, or even for you to believe them once you've settled down. I really want to see us come together as brothers and sisters in Christ with grace, truth, love and mercy. So I'm not going to take down that post either. I'll admit, it's not a good thing to try to tell grieving people what they can or can't feel/think/say. I am sorry that I did that. But I do think that as a Christian, I need to not let my grief be an excuse to hurt others and do harmful things. In my first post on this subject, I clearly said "I will not be joining a movement to #SaveMOUMcamps." I haven't, and I don't plan to. But, I do want to save United Methodist Church Camp Ministries. I have attachments and memories to 3 out of the 4 properties, but I have always known that the people we reach through the ministry we do is what's more important than property. I want to be a change agent to see United Methodist Church Camp Ministries flourish. In fact, that's why I became an Event Director seven years ago. When I first arrived to be an event director in 2007, I knew the campsites and camping ministry were in trouble. The camp I was at had 96 beds, but the registration for the week of camp I inherited was only around 30. The property itself was old, worn out, and barely usable. I was surprised anybody would want to come to camp there. But, my Event Co-Director (and friend) and I knew that if we could focus everyone on Christ, the amenities and empty space wouldn't matter. We also knew we wanted to see all of those beds filled. The next year, we nearly doubled in size to about 55. I and the Co-Director took one for the team and stayed in the oldest, yuckiest, unkempt cabin on the grounds because the other beds needed to be used. We filled the worship space with so many people and energy, that the A/C couldn't keep up, and we knew we had to find a different place to worship (or move to a different location, possibly CMU). So we went on planning, preparing and praying for year three. Fortunately, the Lord provides. There was an old barn that had been used for horses, but was no longer being used much. At a planning session at camp that spring, we prayed and as soon as we said "Amen" we looked at each other and said "What about the barn." It became our "worship barn." All of the cabins had to be used to hold over 60 students and then counselors on top of that. If I remember right, we were just over 80 people that year. Then, in the fourth year, we had 105 total people...for 96 beds. We slept on mattresses on the floor. I'm not saying all this to brag about success. I want to point something out, I care about camp ministry in Missouri done by United Methodists. I've been wanting to SAVE camps for at least 7 years now. Over those 7 years, that camp property has seen a lot of improvements. It is MUCH better than when we started. I like to think partly because of the experiences that campers had and went back to their church saying how important and valuable camp is. Churches gave funds. Churches helped remodel. Churches sent more kids. I don't think anyone is arguing with the fact that Camping & Retreat ministries are valuable to individuals who experience them, and that churches benefit from them. These ministries are important, and will continue. The impact they have on campers' lives is priceless. Those same campers usually become more involved in their local churches, and those churches are energized. These ministries must continue. The camping board knows this, and they are deeply committed to continuing the camping and retreat ministries. The Camping Board had a meeting this past Monday, and they allowed some of us to sit in and listen to all that they had looked at when making the decision for this new direction. Most of the explanation did not focus on money and property (though it probably should have). They focused on the Missouri Conference's Mission & their mission as a camp board. The conference mission is to lead congregations to lead people to active faith in Jesus Christ. At a visioning retreat, the camp board decided their mission would be a similar, focusing on the fruitful practice of "Intentional Faith Development." The mission statement they put down on paper is: "Leading local churches of the Missouri Conference in intentional faith development of children and teens." Then basically, they hit a "do-over" button by starting with this question: "If we started from scratch, and wanted to find the best way to help local churches intentionally develop the faith of the next generation (age 0-25), then how would we do camping and retreat ministries?" They then asked, what are the "wins" or desired outcomes if we are accomplishing this mission well? These are what they identified.
The next question then was, what strategies do we use to accomplish these wins? This is where new ideas developed, property/financial issues were discussed, and alignment with the conference vision/direction was presented. I'll talk about alignment first. Already, our conference has developed processes for churches to have consultations to help them be/become "growing, vibrant, healthy churches." We have a consultation process for college-age ministry, and now with Next Generation Ministries, we have a consultation process in development to help with youth and children's ministries. There was a clear intention by the board to focus camping ministry on the Next Generation Ministries, which will eventually include workcamps and other ministries focused on helping churches reach those age 0-25. I basically see this as shuffling around what we do. Like re-organizing your kitchen or your clothes drawers. Instead of pots and pans in separate drawers, let's put them together in this one bigger drawer. Instead of having a socks & underwear drawer, I'll keep my socks separate and put my underwear with my undershirts. Of course, it's a little bit deeper than that when you're talking about an organization's Vision and how they implement it, but the bottom line is the same things keep happening, just a little differently, in a different place, with a different name. The conference has decided to put staff and resources into helping churches reach the next generation, so the camp board said, "We are all in!" The truly new idea that was discussed is mobile camping. Rev. Garrett Drake toured the country learning from others who do mobile camps. These are not strictly "Day Camps" (though it could be), or a Vacation Bible School, but could be more time than VBS and involve an overnight component. This is really exciting to me because my two churches aren't necessarily capable of pulling of something like this really well at the scale it needs to be in order to reach my community. But, if the conference and some other churches collaborate together, we could reach families that are not currently apart of any church, people who don't know Jesus Christ. That's exciting. I know some people are afraid this won't work well, but I always tell folks (and my 5-yr-old), "you don't know until you try." As for our four properties, basically, the question the board asked is "Are managing these four properties the best way to provide camping and retreat experiences for the next generation?" As we know, the board said "No, they're not." The reasoning is, we are not historically good property managers. Because of decreased funding, and increased costs, we choose to defer as much maintenance and improvements as possible so that we can get by on the bare minimum. We do not manage these properties with excellence. If we allow for camping ministries to operate at other sites that we don't have to manage, we could do our camping programs/ministries much better and at a reduced cost. Local churches would still get the benefits of camping experiences, and the cost would be less. While not a lot of the details were shared as to what property issues exist, enough was shared that I was amazed at the costs to keep the properties open, then add to that improvements needed to provide an experience that relates to post-2014 kids and teens. So that's basically how the camp board came to their decision to close the four properties. They wanted to find the best way to help congregations intentionally develop the faith the next generation through camping ministries. They decided "We love camping ministry so much, and know how valuable it is to reaching young people and impacting churches that we need to find a way to continue it even if we can't keep our four properties." I recently had to trade-in a sporty little hatchback car for a mini-van because we became foster parents and went from 1 child to 3 in a matter of months. I still miss that car, but the minivan is better in the long-run. Even if I don't get to drive it that much. (That's probably a terrible metaphor, but it's what came to mind.) It was the best thing for all of my family. I hope and have faith that this change is the best thing for the future of our churches and The Missouri Conference. I hope you will too.
Another quick thought about United Methodist Camps in Missouri. I know I was the one who said, "nobody cares." I clarified what I meant. In fact, I think there are those hurt by this change that have felt like "nobody cares" in the sense that those in power aren't listening and don't care. I've heard it said that by the way this change was done we have offended a whole generation (not really, just those with a connection to our camps, this generation is way bigger than that). I've heard that we will lose our future leaders because of these actions. And the conclusion is that "they" don't care. You can feel that and say that, but don't believe it. I need you to know that "they" do care.
I understand you're grieving and upset over the loss of a physical place and what you're used to. I understand we are upset for how this change was made because "I didn't get a say in it" (many of us didn't get a voice or vote). But don't let your anger trick you into thinking that the people of the camping board, Rev. Garrett Drake, and Bishop Schnase don't care. They care deeply, and are sincerely and fervently committed to reaching the next generation. For example, Rev. Jon Spalding is on the Camping Board and was involved in these changes to some degree. If it weren't for his commitment to youth ministry, I may not be the Christ-follower I am today. When I was a teenager, he was one of the pastors who chose to sacrifice some of his precious time to invest in teenagers like me. I know he cares deeply about reaching the next generation. This change is saying, we care so much about reaching the next generation, that we are willing to let go of something we are very attached to. Something that is very valued and has done us a lot of good. Something we know that God has used to reach numerous people. It is truly priceless. We are willing to let it go so that we can do even better. See, the question that keeps coming to mind is, why aren't people giving their lives to Christ in our churches like they do at camp? We have way more churches than camps. We could be multiplying the kingdom of God in much greater ways through our congregations. To be totally honest, this question is very convicting of ME. For the last 8 years, I have poured time and energy and efforts and my friends and my own funds into leading a week of church camp to reach teenagers for Christ, teenagers who usually have some church connection already. What if I poured that same time, energy, effort, and money into reaching the teenagers in my neighborhood and local schools? What if I poured that same amount of resources into meeting teenagers who have no connection to a church or Christ? What if I did that and they gave their lives to Christ in my church and were baptized? What if their parents and siblings came too and gave their lives to Christ? If just 10 new people, who never knew Jesus came to have faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior in my church this year, that would revive and renew my church in ways of which I've only dreamed. Maybe it's because I put my efforts into what I've always known and what's safe for me, instead of taking the risk to truly reach those of the next generation who aren't connected to a church and don't know Jesus Christ. We do care, a lot. We are committed to engaging and reaching the next generation, and we will. (Writing that last full paragraph breaks my heart because there's only three and a half months left to 2015, and I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that not even one person who doesn't know Jesus will give their life to Christ in either of the churches I serve. I have tears right now. I know this because I fill out the reports every year. Most of the baptisms are infants, children, or confirmands. Most of the new members are transfers or people who are already baptized Christians. If my one job is to be a missionary and lead people to Jesus Christ, and that's not happening, then what in the heck am I doing?) |
About MeI am a Software Developer, a career shift made in 2018. So far, I have experience with C# .Net and Angular. I continue to let curiosity lead me into learning new technologies. I plan to share what I learn along the way about technology and personal/career life. Previously, my vocation was United Methodist pastor. So in addition to coding, I'll share about theology, the Church and The Bible. I also enjoy running, music, and I'm a deeply committed father and husband. Maybe my experiences will help you. I know it helps me to share. Archives
January 2019
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