 Sometimes problems can be good….
We received an e-mail from the District Office informing us that we needed to get 4 more counselors from our church to go to camp at Lakeview (we are required to send 1 counselor for every 4 youth). By the time you get this newsletter we will have hopefully filled our quota, but just in case you’re available on short notice, camp is July 6th-10th. Give Sarah a call and she will let you know how you can help. We are taking all three of our church vehicles in order to transport all of our youth to camp, so Sarah is busy setting up drivers to deliver and retrieve campers. And, this congregation has always offered 50% scholarships for its campers. Camp costs $220 per camper. The funds that we had available for scholarships have been totally depleted and we find ourselves in need of more funds. This is all good news! It means that our youth program is thriving and growing! We are sending 32 youth to camp this year (last year we sent 6)!!! This is amazing and something to celebrate. I am thankful for the leadership that Sarah is giving our program and, also, the commitment and dedication of the parents to help get their youth plugged in—I know that getting kids here and encouraging their participation can sometimes be taxing. We all pray for renewal of the church, but when that renewal happens it requires increasing our level of commitment in order for the momentum to be sustained. It reminds me of the old story told by comedian Flip Wilson. It seems an African-American preacher was talking to his church about stewardship. "Let this church walk, brothers and sisters. Let it walk," he said. "Amen, brother," came the reply, "let it walk." "Let this church run," said the pastor, "Let it run." Again, the congregation responded, "Amen, brother, let it run!" "Even more," said the preacher, "Let this church fly." "Amen, brother, let the church fly" responded the church. With increased energy, the pastor shouted, "Let the church soar brothers and sisters, and let the church soar to new heights!" "Amen," shouted the people, "Let the church soar!" At this point the pastor said, "Now, brothers and sisters, in order for the church to soar, it’s going to take money, lots of money." And the people shouted in unison, "Let the church walk, preacher, let the church walk." This article isn’t about your money, it’s about the commitment necessary to support and maintain a thriving ministry. Whether it is in the youth department, the children’s department, the mission’s work area, adult Sunday school or any area of the church, renewal requires additional commitment if it is to be sustained. You will be given an opportunity to support our church camp scholarship program through the communion love offering this week. You can, also, offer to serve as a youth counselor at camp or during Wednesday or Sunday evenings. If your love is children, serving in hands-on mission, or teaching adults, we have opportunities for you. If we are going to be renewed…it can’t happen without you. Thankful for good problems! Pastor Scott |