Meaningful Fun at Jenness Park – Summer 2010
By
Jennifer Lloyd
The summer camping season at Jenness Park Christian Camp began with Centri-Kid children’s camp, a Lifeway programmed retreat for children in the 3rd-6th grades. Their theme gave children a “recipe” for following God, the Master Chef. 287 children heard messages about how God desires to adopt them into His heavenly family through the saving work of Jesus on the cross. There were forty-four campers who made salvation decisions during this camp, held June 14-18.
The “District Camp” series of camps was held for nine days after the Centri-Kid camp. The Central Valley, Delta Valley, and Mother Lode associations joined forces to provide a unique, personalized program for churches in their associations. The combined number of students who made first time commitments to Christ during those nine days was twenty-six, nine at the youth camp and seventeen at the children’s camp.
The first and second graders spent one night and two days discussing “Walking in the Spirit.” The messages encouraged children in two key practices of being a Christian: Reading the Bible and Talking with the Lord. This overnighter allowed for a short period of fun and a focused time of Bible study and prayer without being too exhausting for these young children.
The youth camp, comprised of 185 young people, followed the children’s camp. The theme for the youth camp was “Seeking Buried Treasure.” The key Bible passage was Matthew 13:44-46, in which Jesus tells the parable of the merchant who was seeking fine pearls. Upon finding the desired pearl of great value, the merchant sold his earthly belongings and bought the one item of true value. Speaker Joel Gardner focused his messages around the point that in order to seek after the Lord’s treasures, many of our own personal, material desires must be sacrificed.
Nathan Gardner, from First Baptist Patterson, was the assistant director and worship leader for the youth camp. He stressed the importance of authentic worship and an awareness of what we sing when we worship. Nathan stated, “In a job setting we would never go to our boss with a proposal without knowing what we were proposing. In worship, we can’t go into the throne room of God and lie to Him or be ignorant of what we are singing. We can’t sing about surrendering to God if we are consciously holding something back from Him. I want students to really think about what they are telling God when they sing.”
Frankie Lubner, a student from Sierra Baptist Church in Pioneer remarked, “The times in worship really meant a lot to me, especially after Nathan’s seminar. Now when I listen to a song, the words mean something. They aren’t just words.”
“I learned that the words ‘faith, hope, and love’ have been distorted and twisted by the world,” reflected Miriam DeSpain from Glory Bound Fellowship in Valley Springs. She continued, “I now know the true meaning of those words, and I’ll be able to apply them in the way God wants me to use them in worship and in life.”
Dale Torres, Jr. (D.T.), from First Baptist Patterson, was the director for the youth camp. He led a breakout session on the problem of pain. During the session, he shared about how God had used pain and difficulty in his own life during the past year to get his attention and to bring glory to God. Counselor Karen Campbell from Newman First Baptist Church remarked about the lesson she gained from Torres’ session. “My parents are 80 years old. Each day I care for them I need to remember that God uses these uncomfortable situations in our life to mature us and to glorify Himself. I just need to ask Him to help me to love unconditionally.”
In one breakout session entitled, “God’s sovereignty,” Jason McWilliams reminded the students that God is in control of all events. Marcus Cunningham, a camper from Newman First Baptist church, remarked, “Jason’s session really made me realize that I need to stop and think about my attitude. If God is in control, He knows what is going to happen. In any situation, the right attitude can change everything.”
Pastor Sean Paulson from Copper Canyon Baptist Church rejoiced in the growth that he was able to see during the youth camp. “Last year we only brought four kids to camp. This year, by the grace of God and with the youth leadership of Tasha and Shawn Westberg, we were able to bring twenty-two kids. Of those kids, six accepted Jesus as Savior. People have been praying for these kids for a long time, and it’s exciting to see them give their hearts to Christ,” Paulson stated.
The final “District Camp” team to enjoy time at Jenness Park was the children’s group which included grades 3-6 and was directed by Julia Berryman. These 265 kids experienced the theme: “He has you in His hands.” Their theme verse came from I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies if Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Pastor Dan Mahaffee, from Sequoia Heights Baptist Church, walked the children from the fall of mankind through the wonderful plan of redeeming people to Himself.
The camp missionary, Lewis Spears, from Mesa, Arizona, shared stories of his work with gypsies and people groups in multi-family dwellings. He challenged students and church groups that one of the “least reached” people groups here in the United States are those living in apartment complexes. Even to the young people he stated, “Notice the people who live near you. Notice those in apartments. You are never too young share Jesus with people where you are.”
Following the District Camps, during the majority of July and the first week of August, Jenness Park Christian Camp hosted 1,896 campers and counselors for the Lifeway programmed “Centri-Fuge” youth camps. Students investigated way that the Biblical characters Jonah, Daniel, Hannah, and Nehemiah learned about love, obedience, sacrifice, and integrity during their morning Bible studies while Speaker, Will Snipes from Greeneville, S.C., wove those same topics into the theme of “Kairos-Defining Moments” into each of his evening messages. Snipes advised students on their first evening at camp, “There are times when we are in the wrong place when God wants to use us. This week God chose you to be here to meet Him, to listen to Him, and to learn about Him. Don’t miss this opportunity for a “Kairos” encounter, a moment that may define who you are for the rest of your life.” Thankfully, life was dramatically changed for 102 campers during the five weeks of Centri-Fuge who made the choice to invite Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of their life.
Snipes also posed two particularly thought-provoking questions to the students during the five Centri-Fuge weeks. The first centered on the story of Jacob and Esau. Snipes’ first question to the students was, “Are you seeking instant gratification for short term satisfaction and risking some very detrimental long-term consequences?” The second question arose from Matthew 3:7-10 in which John the Baptist challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees to prove that they were bearing fruit. Snipes’ question to the students was, “Does your life make sense to unbelievers?” The point of the question was to help young people realize that our lives should be remarkably different from those around us who do not belong to the Lord. Non-Christians should wonder why the lives of Christians are vastly different than their own. Snipes challenged his audience, “Each of us should prove clearly, daily that we belong to Jesus and not to the world.”
One new feature of the Centri-Fuge camps this year was an opportunity for the youth pastors and adult volunteers to participate in ministry training sessions. The session leaders, which varied according to the week of attendance, were Paul Kelly, a teacher at Golden Gate Seminary here in California, Paul Turner, Rick Prall, and Sherry Spillman, who are ministry specialists from Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, TN. The goal of these sessions was to assist youth pastors and leaders in developing strategies for spiritually equipping their students. During the training sessions the focus was on the theme, “KNOWN – Know God, Own your Faith, and Make Jesus Known.” Spillman remarked, “We want to help youth workers grow in relational intentionality. Often churches will run ‘youth programs’ and become frustrated when they realize that programs are not helping with the complex issues that kids in today’s culture are facing. Our goal with the training is for youth workers to realize that the relationship with the student is the key. Once a foundational relationship is established, they can be the conduit for directing to students to the Father. Leaders need to help students go to God for their answers because He is the only one who can truly provide them with life. ” Approximately half of the adult leaders took advantage of one or more components of the training sessions while their campers were out doing Bible studies and participating in team-building games.
The photos depict the fun of camp, but in 2010, there have been 331 first-time decisions for Christ. These changed lives tell the true story of the way God’s power has been working at Jenness Park Christian Camp. Many churches brought students to camp this summer who do not regularly attend their youth group. According to Nathan Gardner, the fun events are a gateway to sharing the gospel. Gardner mentioned, “We use recreation as a way to break down barriers to initiate conversations about the gospel which is the real reason we are here. The kids are more apt to listen to someone who they see enjoying the games and having fun.”
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