The summer is a busy
time for us, filled with our summer Bible camp weeks. This year I was at camp
for three weeks in a row, directing, teaching and participating. It was an
especially challenging summer with many thoughts and challenges for our life
that I am struggling to hold on to and make practical in daily living. Here are
some of the things that amazed and encouraged me.
The red thread
In Dutch we talk about
‘the red thread’ that runs through something, the main theme. At Benjamin Camp
(for the 8-11 year-olds) I was privileged as director to sit in on the lessons
from Henk Rog about Genesis. Henk and Celia Rog have given their lives to
Christ in all they do for many years and I have always been challenged by their
example. During this week they were the teacher and crafts leader.
Henk’s lessons took 5
people in Genesis and made clear to the kids that God’s love and plan for us is
shown again and again throughout his interactions from the very beginning. I
was thrilled to see how he showed the gospel in each of these stories. Don’t
ever let anyone tell you that the Old Testament is done away with! From the
very beginning, it is in these stories of lives that God shows us His mighty
love and His plan and strength to save us.
Take a look at how God dealt with Adma and Eve, at Noah –
saved by faith through water, Abraham – receiving the promised life because of
his faith, Joseph – who trusts completely even
though he doesn’t see how it is going to work, and Moses (okay, we went a
little into Exodus). Henk took the time to explain these stories, but also gave
the kids some practical lessons to remember each thought. It is so exciting to
see how the kids start grasping these ideas.
An upside-down world
In the following week I
was the teacher for the Teen Camp (12-14 year-olds) and we were looking at
Matthew 5-7, Jesus’ sermon on the mount. What a challenge! Jesus tells us that
the world is completely different from what we think and are told by our
society. And he shows us how to be different and make a different world.
But trying to make that
practical is the real struggle, the real joy. I warned the young people each
day that what we were learning would bring some real challenges that very day.
And indeed – trying to use our tongues to build up, turning away from revenge,
making Jesus our true treasure (instead of the ‘snoepwinkel’, the candy store
time each afternoon) were real challenges.
Above all, I tried to
emphasize that following Jesus was the best and most important thing they could
ever do in their lives. 1. Follow Jesus. 2. Get to know him – read your
remarkable library (the Bible). 3. Talk to God (pray). It has thrilled me that
God has touched many of the hearts of the young people from that week who were
already thinking about their future. We have seen two of these teens give their
life to Christ in faith through baptism since then and I have seen and heard
how the others are encouraging one another. That is exciting!
A disciple or a fan?
The theme for
the Family Camp was simply ‘Being a disciple’. I presented the first lesson on ‘How
do we become a disciple?’ Throughout the week we had some really challenging
discussions about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Are we only dedicated fans? What does it look like to follow Jesus? Are we actually saints?
Or disciples? And how do we look to those around us?
This fit right in with
all the other things I had been struggling with earlier in the summer – the lessons
from Marseille, the gospel theme in Benjamin Camp, the upside-down world that
Jesus knows and shows is real. I want to follow Jesus. This means I need to get
to know him, to fall in love with him, to listen to him and to obey him.
As we round out the
summer and start into our various activities, it is these lessons that are
shaping my thoughts and actions. What a wonderful challenging summer! How did
God bless and challenge you this summer?
If you would like to see some of the pictures from the three weeks, check out these links:
