God Moments Abroad:
Last week I had the privilege to join a team of young people and help put on a sports camp for middle school aged kids in Arezzo, Italy! It was an amazing experience and the reason for this blog post being a week late. Hopefully there will be no hard feelings for me pushing it back a week, and if there are…look on the bright side, you will get two in two weeks now! With that out of the way, let’s jump right into this post. Accompanying us on this trip was none other than our Director of Mission, Phil Young! He is an avid watcher of things that he likes to coin as “God moments”. These are moments in which you can clearly see the hand of God at work in your, or someone else’s, life. When you make habit of looking for God in all sorts of areas of life, you will find out quickly that He is heavily invested in the lives of those who He has created! In honor of Phil and his encouragement to look intently for God moments, I would like to share a few that we had while we were there!
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Long Term Partnerships
I would like to tell you guys a little bit about the mission team we have here this week. As you can see from the picture above, they are a unique group of people! Our contact with this group started a few years back when their pastor, Chris (not in the picture), came to camp in the off season to take a look around and see how much camp has changed since he was here as a camper. We spent the day showing he and his wife around camp and exchanging stories of how he remembered camp in parallel to what we are doing now. He shared his story of how he was saved at camp and how seeing all the progress that we have made since he was here as a camper made him want to get his church involved. Since then his church has been a huge blessing to us and the ministry that God is doing here at Camp Ba-Yo-Ca. From the above picture at least twelve of the people have come to serve at camp both trips they have made up here. Their team has done a little bit of everything up here from helping cook, clean the pool, help lead classes, grounds maintenance, light construction to even having a few students come back as counselors last summer! It is an understatement to say that they have simply helped to lift a burden off of our staff, because in reality they have been nothing short of an answered prayer for God to send willing servants to work here and bring glory to His kingdom. Sometimes we get caught up in the euphoria of what we are doing and pass up the chance to bring credit to those diligently working behind the scenes to make sure things run smoothly. We wanted to take a moment today to turn the spotlight their way and publically say how thankful we are for their hard work! Please pray with us that these past few years are just the beginning to a very fruitful long term partnership with Chris and the people he leads at Engrafted Word Church! We are excited for what God plans to continue doing with their church and Camp. Seeing them in action, and investing in our campers throughout this week has caused me to think of a verse in Revelation. Revelation 7:9-10 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothes in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Their purpose this week has not been to bring glory to themselves, but rather teach our campers that, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And they are doing a marvelous job at it!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! Strange Start To Summer
For those of you who do not know or have not heard yet; we had to cancel our first camp of the summer. We had some quick but severe storms Saturday night during our Counselor Training Weekend and lost power at Camp. We spent all day Sunday frantically trying to get in touch with someone to get the power back on with little success. It finally came time for a decision to be made and when it was 6 o’clock Sunday night, still with no power and a camp lined up to start the next day, Alan had to make a tough call. It hurt our hearts to cancel girls out reach camp, but God has been faithful throughout this week in so many ways to show us that He is still in control! Late Sunday night we had a mission team show up that was supposed to help us with girls out reach. We had no way of getting in touch with them to let them know we lost power. To their surprise, they show up to a camp ready to work and pour love into campers only to find out the plans have drastically changed. They didn’t hesitate at the opportunity to stick around and help us clean up Camp from the storms and prepare everything for the rest of the summer. The mission team has been a great example to our staff that are still here this week of what a servants heart looks like in action! God even helped create opportunities for the mission team to still get to pour the love of Christ into some local people. While handing out flyers to the community for a Summer Kickoff Block Party we are going to have tomorrow, they got to present the gospel to a lady who had almost given up on faith all together. That was just one of the ways God has continued to move in what is happening at Camp this week when everything seems to be too chaotic to have purpose. We know that God has His hand in all things, and that there is a bigger purpose behind why this weeks camp was canceled. Whether we figure out what that purpose is today, tomorrow, next week, or next year; we will forever be grateful for the blessings we did get to be a part of this week even though we did not have a camp. God is great and even if things continue to be this crazy all summer….We cannot wait to see how God will be brought glory through it all!! Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” How Excited Are You?!
While trying to think of what to share with you guys for this weeks blog post I couldn’t help but continually think about how excited I am about what is going to happen this summer! God is doing some amazing things with camp this summer, and it would not be possible without all of the support you guys have offered! It also would not be possible without the incredible staff and counselors that God has put in place to be here this summer. That’s why I wanted to share with you what some of our senior staff members are most excited about for this summer, and what camp means to them. Let’s get into it! At our staff meeting last night I asked all of the people present to write down: 1. What they are most excited about for this summer? 2. What does Camp Ba-Yo-Ca mean to you? Here is what they had to say!!! Abbey Powell (Specialty Camp Program): Camp means good times and building a foundation for mature believers. I’m looking forward to the independence camp means & the opportunity to influence kids & hopefully put them on the right path. Brianna Jackson (Program Director): I am most looking forward to spending time away from the rest of the world with a community of close friends and believers united in the goal of showing Christ to kids. I have loved being a part of the camp ministry for the part several years. It is a place that has grown and stretched me consistently & taught me the value of hard work. It’s like home. Caleb Rittenhouse (Specialty Camp Director): I am excited to serve Christ with a strong group of believers. Hannah Knight (Head Lifeguard): Camp means seeing friends who really feel like family. Camps also means getting comfortable outside of your comfort zone. Hannah Valentine (Media/Pictures): I am most excited about the opportunity to change lives. Camp is supplying others with the tools to properly engage as an active Christian. Kaleigh Powers (Program Utility): I am most excited for sharing God’s love with the kids and growing closer to God this summer. Camp means a lot to me. It is a place where I have grown in my walk with God and where I have learned to try new things. Madie Phillips (Program): I’m looking forward to going back home & seeing what God is going to do in the lives of the campers and staff. Camp has been so influential in my life from being a camper for 5 years to starting my 4th year working at camp. I have seen Jesus change so many lives. It’s my favorite place! Madison Snyder (Office Administrator): I am most excited about watching the Lord work through so many different people. Camp is home. It is spiritual growth. It is a challenge. It is rewarding. Camp is home. Noah Rittenhouse (Program – Special Activities): One thing that I am looking forward to is boy’s outreach. Each Wednesday afternoon I hang out with the kids at the Western Heights Boy’s and Girl’s Club. The last time I went, I asked the kid that I have been working with if he is going and he said yes. I am so looking forward to spending time and showing Christ to him. Camp has impacted my life in a powerful way. I want camp to impact the kids the same way I was impacted. Savannah Frost (Program): I am so excited to be a part of camp this summer! I know there will be a lot of changes, and I’m super excited to be a part of those. I’m most excited for girl’s traditional camps because those are the ones I always went to as a camper so I really connect to it. Camp has played such a big part in my life and my walk with Christ. I’m so excited to be back! Sydney McGinnis (Specialty Camp Program): I am looking forward to being back at home. It’s all about the kids. I am also looking forward to making relationships with both staff/counselors and campers. Will Wilson (Worship/Program): I’m looking forward to getting away from the world a week at a time and getting to minister to kids. Camp is a sanctuary for me apart from the hustle and bustle of normal life. Needless to say, our staff is ready to jump right in to what God is already putting into motion for this summer! We all cannot wait for our opportunity to dive right in and share the love of Christ with campers this summer!! With our summer program starting in less than a month I thought this would be a great time to dive into the amazing things God has done to ensure that this is going to be a wonderful summer indeed! As you read this post please take time to pray with us that we will be faithful stewards of all the blessings God has put in place for us here at camp this summer, and that we will not overlook any opportunity the Spirit makes available for us to reveal truth to our campers about what truly makes camp wonderful—the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ! Theme: Avengers This theme started out of a simple conversation between Alan and myself over coffee in the office one day. He thought it would be a fun way to get our campers engaged and allow us to blend some (societal) trends with (biblical) truth. I was on board because I love super heroes! Of course I understand that we did not pick this as the theme because I love super heroes. We picked it because of the practical application it can have on the lives of our campers. There are multiple references in scripture (depending on which translation you use) that tell us that Jesus is an Avenger. i.e. Avenger of blood Deuteronomy 32:43 and Avenger of transgression 1 Thessalonians 4:6 just to name a few. We know there is evil in the world and sadly children of today’s society have to face it head on at younger and younger ages. We hope to create a space at camp this summer where children can understand the need to have an Avenger like Jesus on their side. Worship: Newish and Improved We have been blessed over the past few years to have staff and counselors who are passionate about worship. This year we have the very talented Will Wilson heading up our worship for the summer. God has also worked is some very incredible ways and brought TC and Danielle Chambers back into the camp mix and they will be working with our worship team to help them prepare for the summer! It is obvious to see the hand of God putting everything together so that we can create a true atmosphere of praise and worship this summer. I personally can’t wait to experience what is coming this summer! Mission Teams: So Many of Them Thanks to the hard work of Steve Snyder, and our partnership with Project Knox 316, we have roughly 10 teams already signed up to help us in our ministry this summer! We are so thankful for their willingness to come and serve the campers we have and show them what servant hearts look like in practice. I am sure that some pretty amazing things will happen this summer because of their hard work! All in all, there are some wonderful things in store for this summer! We cannot wait for the campers to get here, and for them to finally get to experience all the things God has been preparing for them. Again, please pray for us (staff and counselors) and for all the campers that will be up here throughout the summer! It’s going to be great!!! YOU GOT THIS!
With summer rapidly approaching I wanted to take a few minutes to send some encouraging words your way! It is easy for us to see summer just around the corner and choose to coast instead of pushing through with our best effort until the end. I have fallen victim to this mentality just like many others have. However, 1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds us “so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.” It doesn’t matter if you are a student longing for summer to get here, a parent longing for summer to hold off a few more months, or an average Joe whose schedule remains the same regardless of the summer season. The atmosphere of summer entices us all to slow down a bit in order to prepare for the fun of hot summer days filled with going to the pool, lake, or beach that are ahead. We cannot abandon our duties in front of us tough. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” Follow through with the obstacles set in from of you until the end, because the reward of knowing you did a job to the best of your ability is well worth it! Whether your obstacle is finishing the semester strong, getting back that beach body shape, or simply tackling this second work quarter in order to prepare you for the next one; I am here to let you know YOU GOT THIS! When our strength fails God’s does not, and if you are doing all for His glory He will finish His work in you! Remember…YOU GOT THIS!! Leave It Better Than You Found It
When you were growing up did your parents have a go to saying based off your repetitive actions? Something like: “Hey, don’t touch that.” , or “Ah, don’t eat that.” , or “Please put that down.” , or maybe (my mom’s favorite) “Leave it better than you found it.” I cannot think of a number high enough that would do justice to the number of times I was told “leave it better than you found it” or some variation of that statement. Growing up in a household that had limited income but plenty of people, there were not a lot of flashy materialistic things in our home. However, everyone in the house was encouraged, at a young age, to have respect for what we did have. Knowing anything about kids, you can imagine how difficult a task this was which is why the unofficial Sturgill household slogan was “leave it better than you found it”. Every time we were headed to a friend’s house, our grandparent’s house, or anywhere near someone else’s personal possessions we were reminded of this. The shear quantity of times I was told to leave something better than I found it as a child caused it to stick with me to this day. The older I have become the more I have realized how applicable this saying is to many facets of my life. As a believer it is my responsibility to apply this saying to things like: friendships, relationships, and even my occupations. You may be wondering, “How so?”. And I would love to tell you! Let’s take friendships first. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” This means that within any friendship that I have one of two outcomes will occur: 1. I become a helpful, spiritual and physical sharpening friend. Or 2. I neglect my duties as a friend and become a harmful, spiritual and physical dulling friend. If my intentions are pure and I live up to the challenge given to me as a child to leave things better than I find them, it is obvious that my objective should be to sharpen my friends so that if time pulls us apart they reflect on our friendship as being a better person and more equipped to handle what life throws at them. This is also applicable to relationships I have had and may have in the future. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”. Asking someone where they are at spiritually when you are interested in them relationally is a difficult crossroad to be at. In our culture today people are not too worried about being on the same level spiritually when it comes to choosing who you date, court, and eventually marry. I have fallen victim to this more times than I would like to admit. Even though this is true, I can take comfort in knowing that my spiritual walk is still in place even though there were times of darkness within some fellowships. Instead of relationships ending disastrously every time I have entered them unequally yoked, the majority have ended with both parties agreeing that seeking God would be more important than continuing the relationship. I cannot speak for the counterparts of these relationships, but looking back it appears that all involved are better off than before the relationship started. Lastly, I have realized throughout the limited occupations I have had that this is applicable to them as well. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”. Every job I have had has been in the service industry (Chick-fil-A, Aubrey’s Restaurant, Camp). These jobs require a lot of interaction with others and open the door for people to create impressions of who they think you really are. I have not always succeeded at doing these jobs to the glory of God in all aspects of the job, but the overall experience and interactions I had with fellow employees was. I have been blessed to never have been fired from a job, but rather leave them all on good terms leaving all bridges built in tact. Thanks to the working of God in my life, I have been able to leave previous jobs with both employer and employee feeling better off. I want to wrap this post up by saying a HUGE thank you to my mom for loving me enough to teach me the importance of leaving things better off than I found them! I would also like to extend the challenge to you. It is easy to go through life not caring about how your actions affect those around you, but it is rewarding being able to reflect on your life and know that throughout all your friendships, relationships, and occupations you left them better off than when they started. A question I am almost certain we have all asked at one point in our life—Why is obedience so hard? The concept of obedience is just about as simple as can be if you break it down: 1. You are asked to do something (typically by someone older, wiser, and with more authority) 2. If it doesn’t bring harm to you or someone else…do it! However, I know that I personally struggled with obedience growing up in the same way most children do. Some examples: when playing outside we were always told to be back in by a certain time to get ready for bed but I always stay out so late that my mom had to come find me and practically drag me back home; every time I rode my bike my mom would ask me to wear a helmet and I never did; there was a tree in our neighborhood that we were ask not to climb in because it would be dangerous and we all (the kids) decided that the only place we could meet and discuss what we wanted to do was in that tree (it became a secret base of sorts). I understand these are rather childish examples of disobedience, but it helps set the ground work.
The reason I used these examples is because they show the nature of disobedience. Disobedience is a craft of the devil and its nature causes us to think “why should we” when we are asked or told to do something. If we are not in control enough of our body and thoughts, as most children are, the devil will sneak in and nudge us toward disobedience. This understanding of the nature of disobedience should open your eyes as to why being obedient is so difficult—it comes down to how much control we have over our own body. Before we receive salvation, we have 0% control over our own body because we are slaves to our sinful nature. Romans 8:5-6 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” ESV. There is a way to open the door for obedience to become easier though. As previously mentioned, obedience comes when our body and mind are under control. Because of our sinful nature, we cannot try to be the one who does the controlling. We must take the step of surrendering our control over to Christ. He was the epitome of obedience in what He did for us on the cross. It is naive to think that He was helpless and was forced to die on a cross for us. It was a choice, His choice. Luke 22:39-46 tells us about Christ praying on the Mount of Olives. In that prayer Jesus says, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” ESV. When living your life for God and His kingdom, there will be times that we want to be disobedient. Even Christ was so burdened by taking the weight of all our sins, that He ask for God to provide another way. His statement at the end of His request is what shows us the power behind real obedience—“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”. Obedience for a believer is the knowledge of knowing that God’s will, regardless of what it looks like on the surface, is truly the thing that is going to be the best for us! Matthew 16:24-25 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me sake will find it.” ESV. To be obedient to what God is calling you to do you must take up your cross, and surrender the journey over to Him! Team Up!
The last three bible studies we had were all about the same thing—Teaming. I know what you’re thinking: Why would you spend three weeks on one topic? Is there really that much to talk about when it comes to the concept of teaming? or maybe even Who taught you how to lead a bible study? All of which would be valid questions that I would have rather short answers to. We spent three weeks on it because it is important to the collective growth of our ministry. The concept of teaming could be months worth of bible study material so, yes there is plenty to talk about. As for the last question…no one did! In the eyes of many I am probably unqualified to be leading, but that is one of the great things about our God. He did not bring me here because I was the perfect candidate, He chose to use me because my skills are very limited and He can cover the gap from where my skills end and the truth about His glory begin! One of my most feared things about school was when the teacher decided to let the students pick their own groups. Those days always led to me slowly walking up to the teacher’s desk and sadly telling the teacher that no one wanted me to be in their group, then the teacher would awkwardly force a group to accept me. It was unbearably obvious growing up that I was not the kind of guy people wanted on their team. Imagine my surprise when I was told that the God who had created me was patiently waiting for me to join His team. A team that would stand the test of time, and never think less of me for not being able to pull my own weight. A team that welcomed me with all my ignorance and was ready to show and teach me truth. A team that linked me with people that loved me because it was the right thing to do, and not simply to gain something from me. It is an incredible experience being a part of a team like that! Some scripture we looked at over the past few weeks for our bible study is 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. This passage shows us how God’s team works: “varieties of gifts…varieties of service…varieties of activities”. God’s team is about being active, being a servant, but most importantly being together. These gifts, services, and activities come from a specific part of the Trinity—Father, Son, Holy Spirit. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord(Son); and there are varieties of activities, but the same God(Father) who empowers them all in everyone” verse 4-6. The God who created everyone and everything has set an example for us to know the importance of a well put together team and how that is what empowers the ministry! Think about the teams you have been on for a moment, and reflect on if they had these cornerstones. Now think about the kind of teams you would like to be a part of. Would it not be awesome to be on a team that has the driving force of the Trinity behind it?! I would like to leave you with a quote from a gentleman whose name is Mike Elder (a friend of the author of Leadership Essentials: Shaping Vision, Multiplying Influence, Defining Character , the book we use in our bible study). “We don’t have it all together, but together we have it all.” Our hope is that you never feel like we have it all together or have all the answers here at Camp Ba-Yo-Ca, but that you know together, with your support in prayer, financial giving, and all the other ways you help, we have it all!! When Life Gives You Lemons:
We have all heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This is one of the most motivating sayings about not being content with what life throws at you, but rather turn it into something new. As Christians we have to do this daily. The world we live in is full of people who are lemons, or people who are lost and do not yet know about what their true potential is. The commission of Christ was for us to go out and find those people, show them their potential, train them up, and send them out to do the same. (Matthew 28:16-20) The image of real transformation when a lemon becomes lemonade is inspirational. Lemonade is not made with the skin of a lemon, but rather with the core, with what is on the inside of the lemon. This is the exact same transformation we have when we become believers. Christ doesn’t worry about the skin or the exterior of a believer, He is in the business of using our core, our heart, and our character to make something new out of us. Now this idea of becoming lemonade when we were once lemons is great, but it makes it seem as though lemonade is all we can become. This is far from the truth. We should all desire to be transformed into something new and that transformation could be any multitude of things in the same way a lemon can be used for many other things besides lemonade. What are some other uses of lemons? You can make lemon wedges to be put in tea or water to add flavor. You can make lemon slices to be put with a nice fish meal, or use them to decorate a center piece for your dining-room table. These are just a few ways to use a lemon. If we assume that there is only one way to be used in God’s kingdom we are putting limitations on His authority and power. He may have a number of ways He plans to use you just as master chef has a number of ways to use a lemon. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 tells us a handful of the ways God may choose to use us. We can be a person who is content with having one single use, or we can be a person willing to accept the gifts God has given us and become a multi-purpose tool for bringing glory to His kingdom. What kind of lemon are you? Are you willing to use the gifts God has given you to be a better witness for Him? Or do find yourself being content storing up those gifts and never letting them transform you into what God has created you to be. |
AuthorMatthew Archives
May 2018
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