Dear praying friends,
Two years ago I was invited to be a speaker to approximately 30 Teens at a Snow Camp 3-Day-Event. I loved it so much, and they even invited me back to preach again last year. Last year I couldn’t make it, but thankfully they tried again and I got to be the preacher a few weeks ago.
It was a blast and I believe the Lord was honored!
Two reasons I really really like this Camp:
- This Christian Camp, (Camp Fair Haven, in Brooks, Maine) attracts a number of kids from unchurched homes. The staff tells me that nearly half the kids come from unchurched homes, so they don’t get to hear the gospel very often, if at all. And not only that, but they have a relationship with the State and a handful of the students are from Foster Care homes. It’s quite the Mission Field! Awesome kids!
- I typically am asked to preach either to Adult audiences, or to Grade-School audiences. I’m not sure why, but I tend not to be invited to minister to the “not kids/not adults” Teen audience. So I really enjoy that this Camp has me teach the Teens. Terrific age group!
Here are some photos from Snow Camp. I’ll let them tell the stories. Feel free to click on them to enlarge.
It's always fun to have one of the teens assist me in a gospel magic trick. They like it, and it helps everyone remember the lesson better.
I have this crazy idea that Teens can understand good Theology. It doesn't need to be watered down. Since you can't know God without knowing something about God, our first Chapel Message taught some essential truths about who God is and how He's so different from us. Did the Teens get it? I believe they did. Praise God!
The Teens were very engaged and paid attention very well. I praise God for that!
My new friend, Lucy, an adorable puppy who belongs to the Camp Director. What a sweet girl!
Teens playing games at night.
Since my message on 'Creation' touched on how God made us, the Camp Staff thought it would be a good idea to show the Teens an excellent movie, 'Evolution vs. God .' As Christians, we're not against Science. We're only against bad Science. I really like this movie because Ray Comfort interviews College Students studying Biology, Chemistry, and other applicable fields. When pressed for WHY they believe Evolution, they nearly all conclude that their Professors, as well as other experts, know what they're talking about, and they trust them. So Ray interviews Professors and other experts, and the only examples of one 'kind' that has evolved into another 'kind' is that some fish have been observed to have changed into another type of fish. Some finches have changed into another type if finch. Some bacteria have been observed to have changed into different bacteria. Fish to fish, and finches to finches, and bacteria to bacteria is NOT Darwinian Evolution. That's merely adaptation within a 'kind.' Concluding that Darwinian Evolution is true because of adaptations within a kind is very bad science. It's good for these Teens to see that College Students are blindly trusting their Professors, and their Professors have faulty evidence for Darwinian Evolution. This movie doesn't bring up everything in the origin debate, but it's s good starting point. If you'd like to watch this movie, it's just under 40 minutes, and you can watch the whole thing for free at: https://youtu.be/U0u3-2CGOMQ I offered free copies of the movie on DVD and everyone wanted one!
What do you know? It snowed a bit overnight!
This is a bit scary. The Camp Chef, Kaylee, who makes and puts out a large urn of coffee everyday, doesn't drink the coffee she makes! I caught her with a Dunkin Donuts coffee and we had a fun laugh about it.
Having a ton of fun can be tiring, apparently.
The final message on Sunday Morning was a strong gospel message to repent and believe.
This is 'J' in the front row. She is 13 and in 6th grade. And get this: she was feverishly taking notes during all five of my Chapel messages this weekend! I've had adults take notes when I preach, but I'm not aware of any kids ever doing this. I was so encouraged by 'J' and I told her so. Praise God!
The Teens are split into two teams and they compete in games all weekend. The winning team gets to choose which Staff Member gets slimed! Chad was chosen by the winning team for the honors. He was a good sport about it!
These amazing Teens! These are the wonderful kiddos I got to teach 5 Chapel Messages to at Snow Camp. I believe God was glorified, and for that, and so much else, I'm very thankful.
Who knows, maybe something REALLY crazy will happen and they’ll invite me for a third time??? 😉 😮
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Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support, and notes of encouragement, without which we would not be able to reach the Lost for Jesus Christ!
And please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be blessed by it!
All for Jesus,
Mark, Shelby, Vivienne, Juliana, Caleb, and Gabriella
Keep up the great work Mark! I love reading your newsletters and I am encouraged. I admire your boldness and tenacity. Thank you for doing this tough kingdom work.
Thank you so much, Ginger. You’re such an encouragement. Praise God!