When you put 7 leaders, 49 middle school students and a 5 year old on a bus, you've got yourself an adventure. Now add endless amounts of shaving cream and mud, questionable menu items (including riblets and funnel cake fries), as well as a band and speaker who has a passion for Jesus Christ, and you get The Great Escape.
The theme of the week was "Engage".
Engage in God's commands.
Engage in God's mercies.
Engage in worship.
Engage your mind.
Engage the will of God.
Simple enough concepts to grasp, but do we actually live our lives fully engaged in God? Throughout the week I found myself taking off my proverbial leader hat and slipping into student mode as I realized that I needed the message just as much as any of the students there.
God was not only speaking to me, but also convicting the hearts of the students that I was with. While the week held its share of middle school drama, pranks and frustrations, it also had amazing moments of worship and connection with the Holy Spirit. Multiple students dedicated their lives to Christ for the first time and several more revealed that they had recommitted themselves to God.
It is both my prayer and the challenge that we were given at the end of the week to take this theme of engagement outside of camp and use it in everyday life. Too often we worship ourselves instead of the One who gave us life and continually forgives us of our sins.
It is time that we go all in and get engaged.
Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will."
