Let me explain some background. Every year I take students to camp that do not go to church, my youth tell them they can go to the beach for a week. I had also been taking my group to a camp led by a youth pastor who paid non churched kids to go to camp.
This year was different. I took my students to camp with other churches in our local community. I love the youth pastors and volunteers in our community and have run things with them for 4 years!
I was so excited about camp! It was going to be like d-now, but for a week! I did what every good youth pastor does and I handed out the what to bring what not to bring list. I went over how I wanted to have our girls wear tankinis instead of bikinis... to make sure their shorts didn't show their butt cheeks when they bent over. Please remember I was a co-ed cheerleader and we wore soffees and sports bras as practice wear. So, as long as everything is covered, including your stomach, we are good!
Just like every other year a student came up wanting their lost friend to attend camp! I was excited and told them just to make sure their money got to me before we left for the trip. The girl came excited! She packed clothes she hoped were okay and then a bag of stuff that if she had to wear she would. This girl walked up to me telling me how she spent time on her outfit to make sure it was modest enough. My students were excited that they would get to minister to this girl for a week. No one cared how she looked or how she was dressed!
That quote has resonated with me. Youth camp has been over for 3 months and still this has been on my heart. I've been struggling thinking about how in Youth Ministry so many times we focus on our church kids. Shouldn't our church kids be focused on reaching and developing disciples. If that were to happen then we would be taking a bunch of lost kids to camp instead of my 1 girl in a sea of 150. I want to ask you, when did it become a place for just church kids. Maybe I am off and youth camp is about church kids and their "rededication" on Thursday night instead of a first time salvation experience. Don't get me wrong, I love youth camp and God broke me at youth camp in high school. I was a church kid. We didn't take any lost and non church kids with our groups. I often wondered why?! As an adult I realized something. It was money. We didn't take anyone who didn't have the money. We did fundraisers and such but you had to be apart of us to go. Our church didn't plan on extra spots for friends who didn't know Jesus.
Just like every other year a student came up wanting their lost friend to attend camp! I was excited and told them just to make sure their money got to me before we left for the trip. The girl came excited! She packed clothes she hoped were okay and then a bag of stuff that if she had to wear she would. This girl walked up to me telling me how she spent time on her outfit to make sure it was modest enough. My students were excited that they would get to minister to this girl for a week. No one cared how she looked or how she was dressed!
"Hmmm, I wonder when we all started thinking youth camp was just for church kids."
We arrived at camp and the first thing said to me was "Arielle, you have got to make that girl put some clothes on." I was probably not the nicest person when I responded about how I was more worried about the heart than the outward appearance. Later, I was speaking to another Youth Pastor and he mentioned her. Again, I went into my spiel. That Youth Pastor looked back at me and said, "Hmmm, I wonder when we all started thinking youth camp was just for church kids."That quote has resonated with me. Youth camp has been over for 3 months and still this has been on my heart. I've been struggling thinking about how in Youth Ministry so many times we focus on our church kids. Shouldn't our church kids be focused on reaching and developing disciples. If that were to happen then we would be taking a bunch of lost kids to camp instead of my 1 girl in a sea of 150. I want to ask you, when did it become a place for just church kids. Maybe I am off and youth camp is about church kids and their "rededication" on Thursday night instead of a first time salvation experience. Don't get me wrong, I love youth camp and God broke me at youth camp in high school. I was a church kid. We didn't take any lost and non church kids with our groups. I often wondered why?! As an adult I realized something. It was money. We didn't take anyone who didn't have the money. We did fundraisers and such but you had to be apart of us to go. Our church didn't plan on extra spots for friends who didn't know Jesus.
Our church didn't plan on extra spots for friends who didn't know Jesus.
I want to change the culture in our churches. Have at least 1 spot for people who don't know Christ. Get your kids to invite the unlovable. It breaks my heart to think about all we could do if we took 1 or 2 extra kids a year to camp, but we don't do it. I realized it more this year and then thinking back on my youth camp days as a camper. What would happen if every church vowed to bring at least 1 lost person to camp or better yet 2 in a group of 10? How would we plan different? How would we act? Funny thing, I was discussing this topic with my mom and she said, "What do you mean lost kids don't go to camp? You're dad always had 2 or 3 go to camp." My dad was a youth pastor 23 years ago via text message my mom started discussing the non Christian kids my dad took to camp. So, when did our goal change?
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If youth camp was just for church kids I wouldn't go because you know what...I'd be pretty miserable. The truth is I like having non Christian kids around. They will do crazy stuff, but guess what they are lost...AS WAS I IN HIGH SCHOOL.
I know the money is sometimes a problem because lost kids will rarely pay big bucks to go to a youth camp. But over the years I have always found a way to get ever lost kid that would go to the camp (and at times I even had to pay them to go)
So, maybe it meant personally I had to keep driving my 94 truck, or maybe it meant our church had to not fix the AC on the bus AC, but what difference is that going to make in eternity?
And I hate, I literally hate people who jump on lost kids for not dressing correctly. I know it is wrong to hate, but oh they just get under my skin so much i want to punch them.
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