It is Jr. High week; they come in all shapes and sizes; they come in all stages of maturity; some appear to me should be in 4th grade, while others look to be old enough to be in high school; but they all come with the same spiritual needs. Each one will have an encounter with the Almighty this week; some may reject, but our prayer is that all would accept this encounter and respond with an open heart.
Many have heard my testimony; it was at a Jr. High camp in 1967, that I put my faith in Christ. I don't suppose we had more than 50 campers in camp that week; we had volunteer counselors made up of parents or college kids; I don't remember the speaker or my counselor's name, but I remember the last night sitting around the campfire. We were to pick up a stick, which represented sin in our life and walk up to the fire and throw it in; a little bit corny... maybe not so accurate theologically, but the effects were, that I left the campfire that night a new creation in Christ.
That is exactly what I want to happen this week to the nearly 200 Jr. highers.
Much has changed in 41 years; my biggest problems as a emerging teen was an upstart of a pimple or the way I looked with a mouth full of braces. I don't remember being tempted by the culture or the world, to engage in lifestyle choices that are considered wrong. We had our home, a couple of neighborhood farm friends; we worked walking beans, weeding the garden, scooping hog manure, mowing the yard with a push mower, and occasionally we would ride our bikes a couple miles to a creek to try to catch a bull head. We didn't own a tv, didn't get a newspaper, didn't know what a computer was, and we only used the phone when we absolutely had to contact someone. We chased ground squirrels in the neighbor's pasture, we built forts in the neighbor's barn, we still played softball anytime we could get a couple teams together, and we all ate supper together as a family... at home. We went to week long Bible school all the way through high school... which lasted from 9 am to 3 pm., and we had a big turn out. We attended church twice on Sunday and on Wednesday nights. I bought my first bike for $29, and I thought I had spent my fortune.
It almost sounds like I was Opie Taylor, instead of Earl Taylor; almost. We didn't know we had it so good. But we can't go back; our culture began to slide backwards in the late 60's, and it has been a downhill slide since then; we were taught to question authority, question our faith; question our nation. The results ain't very pretty.
Most would say that kids are smarter today; they have been exposed to more information, more cultures; they do have more of a world view than I had when I was 13. A big trip to me was going to Colorado in 1964. Kids know it all, live it all, and want to experience it all... before their 14.
Where does camp fit in today? It is still just a relevant today as it was in 1967. Young people come with the same emptiness in their heart; they come also with more baggage, more hurts, more disappointments in their lives: but regardless, they come in need of Savior. It is the camps role to meet these spiritual needs through the impact of God's Word, our speaker, and our counselors; it is the faithfulness of the staff that breaks down barriers, softens hard hearts through love and attention; but it is the Holy Spirit that work deep in the soul of each camper that will convict. It is our prayer that when campers leave Hidden Acres they will have had their campfire experience.
Pray with us this very important week; this might be the last week of camp for kids; we see fewer and fewer kids come to camp after they reach high school.... we don't want to miss an opportunity.
earldtaylor@yahoo.com
Many have heard my testimony; it was at a Jr. High camp in 1967, that I put my faith in Christ. I don't suppose we had more than 50 campers in camp that week; we had volunteer counselors made up of parents or college kids; I don't remember the speaker or my counselor's name, but I remember the last night sitting around the campfire. We were to pick up a stick, which represented sin in our life and walk up to the fire and throw it in; a little bit corny... maybe not so accurate theologically, but the effects were, that I left the campfire that night a new creation in Christ.
That is exactly what I want to happen this week to the nearly 200 Jr. highers.
Much has changed in 41 years; my biggest problems as a emerging teen was an upstart of a pimple or the way I looked with a mouth full of braces. I don't remember being tempted by the culture or the world, to engage in lifestyle choices that are considered wrong. We had our home, a couple of neighborhood farm friends; we worked walking beans, weeding the garden, scooping hog manure, mowing the yard with a push mower, and occasionally we would ride our bikes a couple miles to a creek to try to catch a bull head. We didn't own a tv, didn't get a newspaper, didn't know what a computer was, and we only used the phone when we absolutely had to contact someone. We chased ground squirrels in the neighbor's pasture, we built forts in the neighbor's barn, we still played softball anytime we could get a couple teams together, and we all ate supper together as a family... at home. We went to week long Bible school all the way through high school... which lasted from 9 am to 3 pm., and we had a big turn out. We attended church twice on Sunday and on Wednesday nights. I bought my first bike for $29, and I thought I had spent my fortune.
It almost sounds like I was Opie Taylor, instead of Earl Taylor; almost. We didn't know we had it so good. But we can't go back; our culture began to slide backwards in the late 60's, and it has been a downhill slide since then; we were taught to question authority, question our faith; question our nation. The results ain't very pretty.
Most would say that kids are smarter today; they have been exposed to more information, more cultures; they do have more of a world view than I had when I was 13. A big trip to me was going to Colorado in 1964. Kids know it all, live it all, and want to experience it all... before their 14.
Where does camp fit in today? It is still just a relevant today as it was in 1967. Young people come with the same emptiness in their heart; they come also with more baggage, more hurts, more disappointments in their lives: but regardless, they come in need of Savior. It is the camps role to meet these spiritual needs through the impact of God's Word, our speaker, and our counselors; it is the faithfulness of the staff that breaks down barriers, softens hard hearts through love and attention; but it is the Holy Spirit that work deep in the soul of each camper that will convict. It is our prayer that when campers leave Hidden Acres they will have had their campfire experience.
Pray with us this very important week; this might be the last week of camp for kids; we see fewer and fewer kids come to camp after they reach high school.... we don't want to miss an opportunity.
earldtaylor@yahoo.com
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