13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
Camp is about a year’s worth of ministry packed into one week, I kid you not!
So much came to light in kids’ lives this last week: cutting, dabbling in the occult, identity confusion, and a girl was even rescued from a sexually abusive foster placement.
Kids accepted Christ, were praying for one another, led worship, had deep conversations with mentors, wrestled with their issues, and considered their relationship with God. Camp was fun and it was intense. Yet staff want to do it again!
Take a look at the photos you are seeing. Imagine being in that pool with your hand on a kid who wants to give their life to Christ. Or imagine seeing kids leading in prayer and worship among there peers. God was working on each individual person.
Angel came to church the weekend after camp and served in the food pantry. “He caught fire” his YFC leader said, “he was praying for kids.”
Sylvia met a kid, Divine, in the bathroom and asked her if she’d accepted Christ. “No, I haven’t, I’ve been afraid” she replied. After a follow up conversation Divine had new courage and Sylvia walked her up to her youth pastor who led her to Jesus.
A young boy from last year’s camp made incredible progress and was feeling the presence of God. He called his dad from camp to forgive him. He asked, “can I pray for you?” His dad replied, “I don’t need your prayers.” Can you imagine the bravery it took for the kid to forgive and then hear that in return? Lord have mercy.
YFC had 50 kids and 10 leaders at Old Oak Ranch alongside local churches from Fresno and Madera. What happened at camp is an accelerated microcosm of what we see and experience all school year long.
This last year we experienced incredible growth on our way to annually connecting 1,500 lost teens in authentic Christ-sharing relationships. Praise God!
1,500 lost kids in authentic Christ-sharing relationships is our big annual goal. We can get there together, but we need your help. Help kids meet Christ with prayer, with time, and with financial partnership. We have a critical need in all three areas. To get to 1,500 we will annually deploy 100 more volunteer ministry leaders, and about $250,000 more dollars. And I don’t for a second think we’ll get there without prayer!
God has not given up on this generation and He shines all the brighter in it. Thank you for going with Youth For Christ that more kids would be rescued from the dominion of darkness into kingdom of His son, Jesus.