How Kids Stay In Church!

Do you remember Church Camp? I do. What I liked best about it were the things that every kid likes: The pool, the friends, the wilderness, venturing out on my own. But I came away from camp with something more: An increased awareness that I am a loved child of God, and a better understanding of that community of Christians that we call the Church. I had the seeds of faith planted in my home and watered by my church, but it was at camp that I went from a sapling to a tree.

At camp, the gospel was presented and God was worshiped without “stodgy” music, without the sermons and prayers of “grown-ups” that I didn’t understand. Instead, we acted out the parables, sang hip songs about Jesus, and hugged everybody. Even the “grown-ups” were mostly college-aged and the coolest things on two legs. We could call them by their first names! When they talked about faith, I listened. When they demonstrated faith, I imitated. When I was a teenager, one of my biggest dreams was to be a camp counselor. I eventually did it, and since you can’t exactly be a camp counselor forever, I became a pastor. Just call me “Ken.”

When I was in confirmation class, they kept telling us that being a Christian is not just about coming to church and saying your prayers. A Christian needs to serve! When we said, “okay, we want to serve,” they said, “you are too young to do very much.” It wasn’t long after that my church started youth mission trips. They/we discovered that young people could build a Habitat house in a week. Within a few years it was two houses, and then three!

On mission trips, I discovered the joy of serving, the pleasure of hard work, and the character-building of sleeping on the floor and sharing limited showers with 110 dirty people! I discovered that God could deepen my faith, when I put myself into a foreign culture, into hard work and hard floors, and into a profound experience with sisters and brothers in Christ. Mission trips are a big part of why I am a Christian and why I am a pastor today!

We all know some young people: our children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends. One of the best ways that we can pass along the faith is to get these children and youth to camp and/or on mission trips. It’s a little late for camp this year, but we have a wonderful church camp. Montlure has a wonderful property, and even better staff. It’s not too early to start thinking about sending a kid to camp next year.

Orangewood also has some great mission trips: Rocky Point, Mexico; Copantle, Honduras; and a new weeklong mission trip for youth that will likely become an annual event. You could talk a youth into going on one of these trips and maybe even sponsor them, OR you could stretch yourself and come yourself. Our faith is strengthened, not just by Sunday morning worship and weekday prayer, but also in action and in intentional community.