Dear Praying Friends,
Working as the Youth Pastor at Camp is always wonderful, and this year was no different.
I’ll do my best to share what happened so you can be a part of the amazing ways God moved.
You’d think that at a “Christian Camp,” we’d get kids that “have it all together.”
That’s not the case at all!
A large percentage of the kids come from homes where they do not attend church. For them, this week at camp is all they get for learning about who God is, who God says they are, their need for salvation, and how to become a child of God.
Many of the kids, and teen staff, shared with me about their broken homes, the foster care system, the hurts of divorce, and abuse.
As Youth Pastor, it is my privilege to preach 11 times each week:
- A 5-Day Series on “The Gospel Through Creation,”
- A 5-Day Series on “Who Is Jesus?,”
- A stand-alone evangelistic Bible message to close out the week.
These messages are very powerful because they’re right from the Scriptures. I believe that kids are very intelligent and can understand Theology if it is explained to them, and that was definitely the case this summer. So many kids reacted so positively to the Word of God and the Gospel Proclamation!
Over 60 kids, plus a dozen+ Teen Counselors attended camp the week I taught there.
10 kids publicly testified to repenting of their sin and trusting in Jesus as their Savior! Praise God!
Many more confessed to not living the Christian life they should and committed to turning from idols in their lives. Please keep these new brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers, and let’s praise God for the tremendous work He’s done!!!
Here’s a quick video (less than 3 minutes) that shows how smart kids are and that they can learn and understand Theology!
I want to share two short cute moments, and one of the most emotionally difficult moments I’ve ever experienced in the ministry:
- A 10-year-old girl named Delilah came up to me and told me that she remembered me because I gave her her very own Bible last summer! She still reads it, but she said “not as often as I should.” I encouraged her to stay at it and spend time with God every day in His Word. She was so sweet and it made my day to know that she’s still using the Bible I gave her last year.
- An adorable moment from Camp… One of the younger kids came up to me and said, “Pastor Mark, you’re so good with your painting messages, you should do this for a living.” A confirmation on my calling perhaps??? So sweet.
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I’ve never experienced anything like what happened on the last night of Camp. We ended the Camp Week with a Campfire Service by the lake. Campers were encouraged to come to the microphone and give testimony to how God worked this week. In short, the Spirit God was at work!
Usually only a few kids want to talk, because kids are shy when it comes to public speaking. But there was a long line of kids waiting for their turn.
And so many stories about brokenness and pain and literal abandonment. A bunch of kids are in Foster Care. One girl was told by her Mother that she didn’t want anything to do with her. Many kids confessed to anger with their birth-parents. Kids were literally weeping and moaning loudly. Other kids stepped up and hugged the crying children.
And many have testimony that they repented and believed the gospel this week. I’ve never seen so many. It was humbling and surreal and heart-breaking and beautiful.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
I believe Jesus is working healing in a lot of kids. Eternal healing by being saved from their sins, but also temporal healing by coming to grips with their brokenness and pain. And they’ve learned that they’re not alone. Many were introduced this week to their Loving Heavenly Father who wants to comfort them. And they learned they have peers going through similar struggles. I’ve never seen such transparency in kids before. I’m still processing it all.
I also want to confess that I sinned by being annoyed with a few kids this week who were bossy and difficult and needy. Then those same kids spoke into the microphone about their abandonment and pain and I regretted my lack of insight. Jesus is working in my heart too.
Please pray and fast for these kids as you are lead. They are very precious.
I’m really proud of Shelby and the kiddos. Shelby once again helped run the Horsemanship program. A lot of kids come to camp just to be with the horses, so this is a great draw. Shelby taught Horsemanship classes, and did a lot of physical labor carrying around hay, saddles, buckets, etc. Gabriella grew out of the Camp program, so she helped in the Horse Barn as a Junior Wrangler. Caleb volunteered as a “Staff Boy,” where he did jobs like mowing the lawn, getting rid of garbage, etc.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1)
God’s Word is powerful because God is powerful!!!
I have some photos that will also show how God moved at camp this summer. I pray you enjoy these…
Caleb, Gabriella, and I drove up to camp. Shelby was already there.
Mount Katahdin in the distance. That view never gets old.
I love watching the kids learning to praise Jesus in song!
I love love love this! I put up my paintings after I'm done preaching the messages, and it's a JOY to see campers studying them during their free time. Praise God!
When a 10-year-old girl comes up to you and says, 'I remember you! You gave me my Bible last year, and I still have it.' Yes, that makes your day BIG TIME! And I remembered her.
I have a silly game I play with the Camp Counselors. Every day I give out an 'I Am Cool' award to the Counselor who I think has the coolest t-shirt. Often a fun Star Wars shirt will win, or a Marvel Superhero shirt, or whatever I think is the coolest. It's fun and the kids all want their Counselor to win. Well, Counselor Caleb here went above and beyond. He made a 'I heart Mark S.' t-shirt! Did he win? Of course he did.
This is Erin and Lauren, and they tried to mess me up with my 'favorite t-shirt award' by wearing the SAME SHIRT. I do have a soft spot for Disney's Stitch (the cute blue guy on the shirt), but since they were trying to mess up the game, I disqualified them. HAHAHAHA! Not to worry, they each individually won later in the week. :)
OUCH! I was doing a gospel magic trick with a bear trap, (actually more of a wolf trap), and the trap snapped closed TOO EARLY and my finger was stuck inside. Yikes! The kids thought it was part of the trick. Finally someone realized this wasn't part of the act and that I was in trouble and helped me get my finger out. That's NOT the way that trick is supposed to work. My finger throbbed for days, but it's fine now. I still have black under my fingernail, but at least it doesn't hurt anymore. Yikes! If you want to see how this trick is _supposed_ to work, it's on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/5mhrQ88LVnU
Goofing around with some of the campers. :)
Not a bad view at all. The mountains in the background are in Canada.
Here's the amazing Campers and Counselors who I got to share Jesus with at camp. Of the 60+ kids, 10 publicly professed to repenting of their sin and believing in Jesus for the first time. About the same number admitted to already being born again, but being distracted by the world, and they committed to get rid of any idols inhibiting them. I praise God for the tremendous work He's doing! Hallelujah!
Caleb did a GREAT job as a Staff Boy. He scraped paint, re-painted buildings, mowed lawns, collected trash, moved bails of hay, helped move a fallen tree, and whatever else needed done around the camp. Way to go Caleb!
Shelby helped lead the Barn Staff again this year, and Gabriella volunteered as a Junior Wrangler. Somehow Gabriella weaseled her way out of this photo though.
In the mornings I taught a 5-day series called “The Gospel Through Creation.” The before and after photos, as well as descriptions, are below:
This is part 1 in a 5-day series on 'The Gospel in Creation.' I believe kids are smart and can understand Theology when explained to them. So we learned God is 'Eternal,' meaning He always existed and always will. We learned that God does not have a body of flesh and bones, but is a Spirit. We learned that there is only 1 True God, and He exists in Three Persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We learned that God does not need anything. He is self-sufficient. We learned that God is omni-present (everywhere at all times), and that God is more powerful that everything! Great Theology there, and the kids really 'got it.'
Part 2 in 'The Gospel in Creation.' We learned that God is soooo powerful, He can make things from NOTHING! That's pretty amazing. And we learned how life began, and what God made on each of the six days of Creation. We also learned that out of all of creation, humans are the only ones made in God's image, which means, like God, we can reason and analyze and make decisions. At the end of the 6th day, God saw that it was 'very good.' But why aren't things good today? I told the kids that we'd learn that tomorrow.
Part 3 in 'The Gospel Through Creation.' We learned 'How Death Came Into the World.' Adam and Eve had only one rule, and they said 'yes' to sin, and that lead to death. The whole human race died three ways: 1) We were cut off from God, our life source. Just like when a branch is cut off from the trunk, it begins dying, the same thing happened to us. Now God is not our friend, but we are enemies of God through rebellion. 2) We will all someday die physically. 3) We all deserve to live forever in the Lake of Fire. Our only way out is through a Savior. I told the kids that they'd learn about God's way out - The Savior - tomorrow!
Part 4 in 'The Gospel Through Creation.' We learned that as a result of breaking God's Law, Adam and Eve were now ashamed, and afraid of God. They had never experienced these negative emotions before. Then they started blaming one another, another new aspect of their relationship now that sin was in the world. But God was merciful! He made leather skins to cover them, and that requires the death of an animal. The very first death ever was a blood sacrifice by God Himself. God also promised to crush the head of the serpent (Satan). But there were consequences to Adam and Eve's rebellion. The worst is that Paradise was lost, and without a Savior, all humanity is doomed for the Lake of Fire. The greatest news ever is that God provided Jesus as a substitute to die in our place, paying for our sins with His blood! I told the kids that there would be more on that tomorrow!
Part 5 in 'The Gospel Through Creation.' We learned that God demanded a blood sacrifice because sin must be paid for with death. Abel obeyed and offered a blood sacrifice in faith. In contrast, Cain did what seemed right in his eyes and gave a produce offering. God accepted Abel. Cain had the opportunity to admit what he did was wrong, but instead he tragically killed his brother. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the animal sacrificial system. We can be like Cain and do what is right in our own eyes, and get what we deserve - the Lake of Fire. Or we can be like Abel and believe God, and choose a blood sacrifice - Jesus Christ. Jesus' blood sacrifice covers us if we turn from our sin and trust in the gospel! There was a very clear gospel presentation and everyone was exhorted to turn to Jesus. About 8 Campers indicated that they trusted in Jesus. Praise God! Please pray for the kids who heard this vital message!!!
In the evenings I taught a 5-day series called “Who Is Jesus?” The before and after photos, as well as descriptions, are below:
Here's the BEFORE and AFTER of the painting of the first message from this series. We learned what it means that Jesus is 'THE SON OF GOD.' Jesus prophesied His own death. He accurately predicted the manner of His death, the city, and the time. He could do this because He's 'The Son of God.' Then Jesus was transfigured. God the Father Himself declared Jesus to be 'The Son of God.' Jesus also performed miracles. Specifically, He exorcised a demon. Jesus had control over all nature because He is 'The Son of God.'
Part 2 of 5 of 'Who Is Jesus.' From John, chapter 11 - the raising of Lazarus. Jesus showed that He is fully God by knowing that Lazarus had died, and having the power to raise him. Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?' (John 11:25-26). Jesus showed that He is fully man by weeping at the death of Lazarus. There's soooo much in this amazing passage! Lazarus was dead. Jesus made him alive. Then Lazarus became a testimony and many others turned to Jesus because of him. God does the same thing with us! We are all born with a soul that's dead in sin. Jesus makes us born-again. And then He uses us to reach others! But be careful, when God uses us, satanic forces will try to stop us and even try to kill us, just as the jealous religious leaders in Jesus' day wanted to kill Him and Lazarus too.
Part 3 of 5 of 'Who Is Jesus.' I taught from John, chapter 10. In Jesus' day, sheep were safe from thieves and predators only if they were in the pen, and there was only one way in, guarded by the Shepherd. Jesus said He was that one way to safety. He is THE GOOD SHEPHERD. This is just like in Noah's day where there was only one way to be saved from the flood. The Ark was a preview of salvation in Christ. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus calls, leads, loves, cares for, protects, dies for, and knows His sheep. Nothing is more important than knowing for certain that you are one of Jesus' sheep, protected forever in the Father's hand. I told the campers that we'd learn how to belong to Christ in the next few days.
Part 4 of 5 of 'Who Is Jesus.' I had the privilege to teach the kids the vital passage about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, from Luke, chapter 18. The Pharisee thought God's Way to Heaven was by being good and doing religious deeds. The Tax Collector was humble, pleading for God's mercy. God's mercy was paid for at the cross! Both men were sinners, but The Only Way to be forgiven is through God's mercy, given through Jesus Christ. Even a sinful Tax Collector, if he comes humbly to God through the cross, can be forgiven!
Part 5 of 5 of 'Who Is Jesus.' We learned what it means that Jesus is 'THE ONLY SAVIOR.' In a culture that wanted children to act more like adults, Jesus said he wanted adults to become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. A rich young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter Heaven. But there's nothing we can do. We've all sinned. But this man mistakenly thought he had successfully kept all of God's commandments. To show this man his pride, Jesus took him through the 10 Commandments, to show that we're all sinners. 'All have sinned' (Romans 3:23), and 'None are good' (Romans 3:10). Our only hope is to trust in the Only Savior. Because He loves us, Jesus died for sinners. If we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, that He died and rose again, and is THE ONLY SAVIOR, then we will be Born Again and be adopted into God's family. What GREAT news!!!
On Friday night, I taught a stand-alone Evangelistic message called “Heaven.” The before and after photo, as well as description, is below:
My final message at Camp. Heaven is God's Home, and it's a place where there is no sadness, sickness, or death, because there is no sin there. But the BEST PART about Heaven is that we get to finally see Jesus face-to-face and be in God's presence forever! Jesus is our Treasure! The Book of Life records the names of all who will be allowed to enter. But first we need to understand why we don't deserve to go. God made the world perfect, but Adam disobeyed the one rule he was given, bringing sin and death to humanity and the world. Now God it's no longer our friend, but our judge. But He's merciful and loving, so God gave Adam and Eve leather clothing. Leather requireds the death of an animal. An innocent animal was killed to cover the guilty, and a precedent was set. God requires a blood sacrifice for sin. The death of that animal was a picture, or a preview, of what Jesus would someday do. The blood of bulls and goats can't take away sin. God sent the PERFECT FINAL SACRIFICE, Himself. God came down, lived a perfect sinless life, and sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for the sins of those who repent and believe. Two thieves were crucified along with Him. The first disrespected Jesus, while the second was humble, acknowledging his wrong, and looking to Jesus to enter His kingdom. These two thieves represent to kinds of hearts: one that trusts self, or one that trusts Jesus and the cross. Which person will we be like? Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for us, and he was buried, and in the third day rose from the dead. He commands everyone to repent of their sins (turn), and believe the gospel (trust). If we do or not is literally the difference between eternity in the Lake of Fire, or eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven. We must be Born Again through repentance and faith! Then we get to go to Heaven, not because we're a good person, but because we're a bad person who has been forgiven by a very good God. That's grace! And God becomes our Father now and we can walk with Him by faith all the days of our lives.
I hope this post has encouraged you. God is working in the next generation!!!
Thank you for your partnership, prayers, and financial support, without which we could not be reaching the lost for Jesus Christ!!!
Please share this update with others you think would be blessed by it!
all for Jesus,
Mark (and family)
