Events

Apr 18 2016

Christian Extinction

I’ve recently been able to share at a few churches a growing concern over our youngest generation of children. Are our children just a generation away from Christian extinction?

Barna research indicates nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (43%), and that two out of three born again Christians (64%) made that commitment to Christ before their 18th birthday.

That is great news but let’s take that a step further.

Barna’s research also shows that 84% of those children that accept Jesus as their savior turn away from their faith before they graduate high school. Some reports are saying as high as 94%. To me this is alarming. We are not passing on a robust Christian faith and an accompanying commitment to the church.

If we love as Jesus loved and show children Christ by investing in their lives, the likelihood of “Christian extinction” diminishes. We may never see the influence we have on these kids while we’re here on earth, but you can never tell what seeds God has used you to plant in the lives of children.

Are we handing down our faith like Moses handed it down to Joshua or are we a Joshua that dropped the ball and “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” Are we leaving the spiritual development of our kids to chance or are we being strategic and intentional?

We are the Joshua Generation! Who are we handing down our faith to and who are we mentoring? It’s time we take a closer look at what we might have to do differently to reach this generation for Christ. What might we have to change and how might we have to approach our young people so that they don’t grow up “neither knowing the Lord or what he had done for Israel”?

If you would like for me to speak to your congregation and encourage them in the task God has set before them, feel free to contact me. I would love to come share what God has laid on my heart for this generation of children.

Apr 18 2016

High Ropes Adventure

If you were asked to climb up a 24’ telephone pole, stand upright on the top and then jump off, how would you respond? Well, that indeed was a question that I had to answer on this particular weekend. (And yes, that is me perched on the top of the pole like Karate Kid) We were looking for adventure and true to its meaning we had both fun and excitement interlaced with some running, swinging, climbing, jumping, and soaring. We pushed ourselves, tested our limits and literally went out on the proverbial limb.

But it went far deeper than that. We learned more about who we are and who we can become personally and in our walk with Jesus. We learned about ourselves in significant and transforming ways and the importance of unity and trust within a community of believers.

Ephesians 4:13-16 sums up our focus for the weekend, ^“until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

People may not jump at the opportunity to spend time team building but without working together how do we ever expect to spread the news of who Christ is and how He can change our lives. The weekend left us with great memories, created lasting bonds, and ultimately will help make us better people and Christ followers.

I encourage you to take your team to Cedar Ridge Adventures. The team there is amazing and will share their faith as they help your team find the unity that is needed to mature and grow in the Lord.

Apr 18 2016

Let your light shine

When Beetrice the honey bee visits Frederick, this was a day destined to ‘bee’ life changing. What begins as a conversation between Beetrice, the honey bee, and Dr. Stinger, ends with the salvation of seven children. Who is Dr. Stinger and was he actually talking to a honey bee? Dr. Stinger is a ‘bee’ therapist and Beetrice is a honey bee that thinks she needs to be a lightning bug so that her father would ‘bee’ proud of her. One day as she was collecting pollen she heard some kids saying, Matthew 5:16 “In the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Being a honey bee she interpreted that to say, that when she used her light to SHINE on how GOOD SHE WORKED then they would give HONEY to her FATHER who lived at the HIVE INN. She says she heard Matthew say that at exactly 5:16. Or, she thought that’s what time it was.

You can see why Beetrice felt like she needed to ‘bee’ a lightning bug, she had no light to shine but thanks to the kids she soon realized that her light wasn’t a physical light but rather her light shines when she does something that helps someone else know Jesus.

This might be a silly approach to the idea of sharing our faith walk with others, but it was an approach that led seven children to making a decision to invite Jesus into their lives and there is no silliness too great when that is the result.

Jan 23 2016

Spirit led and Spirit filled camp

God has been intentional in the way He has been leading me and how I then lead kids camp. Over the past few years He has moved me from being intensely focused on the details of running camp to being intensely focused on providing opportunity for kids to connect with God in a real and personal way. Being obedient to that leading has truly opened the doors for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of everyone at camp.

Three years ago our week of district camp piloted a different way of allowing kids to respond to God through several response areas that appealed to not only the audible learners but also to the visual, and tactile learners. We saw amazing things happening as kids were now open to hearing God’s voice in different ways. Each year we continued to educate both the kids and chaperones in the benefits of response areas and again the Holy Spirit touched hearts and lives.

Last year God impressed on me to take on a different role than I had previously filled and become more actively involved in the altar time as the Holy Spirit allowed me to be used to speak His truth and help lead the kids into the throne room of God. I’ve been in awe at what God was doing and I couldn’t fathom how it could get any better, but it did and there was no question that the Holy Spirit was in charge of what was happening each and every day.

If you want to be touched by the openness of the kids at camp just take a look at one of our times of worship during the week of camp.

Jan 23 2016

A bit on the Wildside!!

Is kids camp ever anything less than wild? Camp generally allows kids to operate a bit on the wild side and we, which included myself, Caleb and Tanner, were about to get a taste of inner city kids on the wild side. Adrian Black, youth leader at The Hope Center in Hagerstown was the master mind and we were there to give him a hand. From the moment we arrived there was activity; bounds of it as the kids were playing basketball, ping pong, video games and make shift volleyball.

Teens and young adults from local churches had rallied together to both guide and maintain some semblance of order. I was actually surprised at how well they did and how positively the kids responded to the rules that were shared at the very beginning of the week.

So let’s throw that together with small group time, a service to talk about Jesus, lunch, a short ride to the outdoor campgrounds and an afternoon of letting loose playing in the creek, ziplining, snacks and activities to learn more about the country of Africa and you have a full day of Camp Wild.

I suspect the staff was more tired at the end of the day than the kids but they came back each day to do it all over again. Not only did we get a glimpse into the lives of these kids but for many this was the first time they had ever been exposed to the person of Jesus and what He offers. What a privilege to share the love of Jesus and the hope that He freely gives. We are trusting that seeds have been planted and these kids will return for the weekly ministry of Wildside Youth Ministries.