Kingdom Workers (Current Article)

Kingdom Workers

Summer time is my favorite time for youth ministry! Every summer we pack the calendar with crazy events for our students, and this summer was no exception. We had Fortnite Night, where we created a live version of the video game adapted to be played throughout the entire church campus using nerf guns. We became colorful messes at color wars, and then we finished the summer by battling it out at Water Wars.  

My all-time favorite summer activity is camp. There is something so special about removing yourself from the normal day-to-day summer life and fully being immersed in the camp environment. This year for junior high summer camp we attended Mix, a camp put on by Christ in Youth (CIY). This camp took place on the campus of Chapman University so our students got a little glimpse into the college life. We stayed in the dorms, ate in the cafeteria, and worshiped in the auditorium. 

The theme for this year was Contrast and we read from 1 John. We looked at the contrasts of: light & dark, belief & denial, obedience & rebellion, and love & hate. Each day the students were  prompted with difficult questions made to help them process where they currently are in their faith journey in relation to where they want to be. During each small group discussion time a handful of students were given the opportunity to lead a portion of the discussion. Our students did a great job in leading these discussions and activities. Each day more students wanted to lead and there were often not enough cards to go around. It was amazing for me as their pastor to watch them minister to one another with such enthusiasm. 

On day three our students were presented with the kingdom worker challenge. They were presented with a list of how Jesus lived,  “Jesus: forgives, serves, includes, prays, and speaks”. Our  twelve students divided into two groups. Each group chose a specific attribute of Jesus to focus on.  One group chose “speaks” and the other chose “prays”. The speaks group was given the challenge to study and prepare a lesson for the group, while the prays group was given the challenge to keep a prayer journal for the next 30 days. It was awesome to see how many of our students were all in with this challenge. 

After we came home I had several students from the speak group ask me when they would be able to share what they had prepared. They came to ME! I didn’t need to remind them or keep them accountable. Our students have a passion for God and His word and it has been incredible to watch that passion grow. The last few weekends in September,  our junior high group during second service was lead by students! What an amazing thing to have junior high students share the word of God with one another. We have been home from camp for over three months now and I can still see what  they learned at camp at work in them. We have some amazing students in our junior high group, I am so excited to see how God continues to shape them.

Camp is a life-changing event. I believe that God moves in every event, but there is something incredible about how much closer we can get to God when we can get away from our regular routine for a few days. Regardless of your age, I strongly encourage you to find a way to retreat from your normal day-to-day activities. Put yourself in a place where you can connect deeply with God so you can be emboldened and challenged like our junior high students. I believe our students will be world changers because they said yes to these kingdom worker challenges; because they said yes to living more like Jesus. What can you say yes to that could change your world?

By: Pastor Mandy VanHolsbeck