Summer Camp Follow-Up and Resources
Dear Parents,
As I sit down to write this email and reflect on camp, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of caring for your kids, preaching the gospel to them, calling them to faith in Christ, and encouraging them in their faith. I am grateful for the fun we had together and for the chance to get to know them better.
Our staff poured their hearts into making camp as fruitful as possible: extremely fun competition, over-the-top in the best way camaraderie and team-building, and most importantly, discussion groups, one-on-one discipleship, and personal encouragement. I hope each student felt the love we have for them. Most of all, I am grateful to God. His Word is clear, applicable, convicting, and helpful. The privilege of preaching at camp and pleading with the students from Scripture is unmatched. I am amazed and grateful that God would use me and the rest of the staff in this way.
Reviewing Camp Together
Now that the students have come down the mountain, I would love for you to help them remember what they learned and apply it to their lives. To help with that, you can download the leader booklet from camp. It includes the sermon outlines, discussion questions, and most importantly, the page called “Talk to your parents when you get home.” That page has questions designed especially for family discussion.
Download the booklet PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GFrBpB06zajHpjMKtXrSovsumK1Or5cc/view?usp=sharing
This year’s camp theme was Seasoned with Salt. We took up a question our students asked at winter camp: if we are not to be companions of fools, how are we supposed to live in a world that has rejected our Savior? Across three sermons we showed that Christians do not hide from the world and do not blend into it. They are salt and light in the world for the glory of their Father (Session 1). They live among outsiders prayerfully, wisely, and graciously (Session 2). And they are ambassadors entrusted with the message of reconciliation, pleading with others to be reconciled to God (Session 3). The final sermon pressed every student with one question: what will control you when you come down the mountain? Camp emotion will not last. Resolutions to do better will not either. Only the love of Christ controlling you will keep you walking with him at home.
The sermons from camp are now online on the GBC Student Ministries website and YouTube. You can watch them or read the transcripts here:
Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16): https://www.gbcaz.org/student-ministry/salt-and-light/
Pray, Walk, Speak (Colossians 4:2-6): https://www.gbcaz.org/student-ministry/pray-walk-speak/
Reconciled Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:14-21): https://www.gbcaz.org/student-ministry/reconciled-ambassadors/
It would be very helpful for you to watch these so you know what your students heard and can build on it at home. If you only have time for one, I would point you to the third one. It presses every student with the question of where their heart is and what will actually control them when they get home. However, I do believe that you would benefit from watching all three; and your students would likely benefit from listening to them again.
The students were encouraged to memorize Matthew 5:13-16 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. Almost all of them did it. Have them continue to say these verses to you, and discuss how their lives should be affected as a result of God’s Word they now know.
The students also had two breakout sessions where they dug into Scripture for themselves. The first breakout is in the booklet. The second breakout involved reading and organizing verses into six categories describing what a Christian is toward outsiders: compelled by Christ’s love, humble toward outsiders, reconciled to God, set apart from the world but sent into it, entrusted with the message of reconciliation, and wise and gracious under pressure. It would be helpful to look through those verses and categories together. You might consider memorizing, or at least discussing, one verse from each category as a family.
You may also have heard about the fun we had at camp. We will share pictures and videos soon. In the meantime, you may enjoy watching the intro video for the camp games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7rHiuJf0iw. The competition was really fun, and I want to congratulate the Red Team (Red Bull) for winning. This year stood out because everyone competed hard with great sportsmanship and an encouraging attitude.
Summer Plans
Student Ministries is taking a break for the summer. We will be back together in August. Watch your email for updates on the exact restart date.
I will continue praying that God would bear fruit in the students’ lives this summer. Our goal is to come alongside you in the evangelism and discipleship of your students. I pray we served you well in that, and that making these resources available helps you in this partnership.
If you have anything you would like to discuss or communicate, please reach out to me or your child’s discussion leader.
Your servant for His glory,
Jacob Hantla