Rescued.

I frequently need to be reminded that this is not a picture of my spiritual state. Of course it is not now, as I have already been redeemed by Christ, but even before salvation this was never a good visual of where I was. Never have I been treading water, surviving on my own strength and efforts. I couldn't save myself and I couldn't even sustain myself long enough to wait for rescue.

Before Christ, I was dead. Not treading water on the surface, surviving for a while, but dead. Realizing the weight of the fact that Christ didn't just rescue me, but created life in someone who was absolutely dead and drowned in sin reminds me of the intensity of the gift of salvation!

Jump over and read Ephesians 2:1-10 today.

Behind the Scenes: Camp Bible Study

We often hear the question, "What do you guys do all year?" We do a lot of things, actually. Believe it or not, planning CentriKid Camps for the summer is quite a long process. In fact, we just finished our writers conference for 2013 and 2014 where we outlined the spiritual direction for each of these two summers. Here's a look at what our process looks like.

We begin with two questions:

1. What do we want kids to walk away with? Knowing that we can't spiritually form a child in a week of camp, we can support the discipleship efforts of the local church and weave the gospel message through everything we do.What's the big picture we want a kid to really know and understand when they leave camp? How will they be changed? How can they live it out?

2. How can we get there? With a big theme in place (studying who God is, or who we are, etc.) we can then begin to plan how we will get there. We work hard to shape the content -- what we'll focus on in Bible study and worship, and how we will keep in kid-friendly. Our writers take it from here and begin to really put the pieces together.

Believe it our not, our camp theme or motif does not come into play until after these first two steps are complete. We believe the spiritual content should drive our theme, rather than having the theme drive what we teach kids at camp. For 2013 and 2014 we finished these steps and just yesterday decided on a theme for each year. These are some INCREDIBLE themes, and you are going to love them! Look out for an announcement about 2013 this summer!

Meredith Teasley works directly with our Bible study writers and leads our writers conference each year. Camp Bible study is one of her favorite projects! Meredith also plans recreation for the summer, and loves to see staffers make direct connections between games on the rec field and content covered in Bible study!

Rest

God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity we plan only the things we can do by ourselves. -AW Tozer

Today, I read this quote and cringed. Most days, I am the person he is talking about. The one who plans only the things I can do by myself. It’s interesting how we do that. We say, “I believe that God will provide for me...now, what do I need to do in order to get there?” 

I’m always asking myself what I should be doing about a certain situation, even if I’ve “given” it to God. I’ve been taught to work hard for everything I have, however, sometimes, I think I need to apply that to my spiritual life as well. So wrong. God made the entire universe. I’m not even letting Him show me that He will provide for me. 

In the end, I end up driving myself crazy, exhausted, and thinking that I still have to solve all of my problems myself. Meanwhile, the Lord is saying "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

Today, I urge you to give up on having a plan that only you can accomplish and take part in the plan that only He can accomplish. 

Jen Hall is our camp intern. She loves to use what she has read and learned to encourage people. She can't wait to direct CK2 at Campbellsville this summer! Keep up with Jen via twitter.

7 Tips for Leading Response Time in Worship

Response time in worship at CentriKid is a special time.  We view it as our job to make sure nobody leaves camp without having an encounter with Christ.  We believe that life-change takes place best in the context of relationship so it is a time to celebrate when a camper in "my" Bible study or track time makes a life-changing spiritual decision.  Kids can make decisions anytime during the day, but the response time in worship is when most decisions are discussed.

At response time there are a few simple guidelines from CentriKid that can help you:

1. Point A to Point B  Kids are concrete thinkers so give clear instructions on what they are to do and where they need to go if they are ready to make a decision.
2. Guys with Guys  We make sure that guys talk with guys and girls with girls.  Occasionally at camp or in your ministry context there may be a situation where you really are the best person to be in the conversation with a child of the opposite sex.  If so, the rule is simple ... just bring in a 3rd person so you are not in that chat alone.
3. Always have your Bible  When sharing the life-changing gospel story with a camper, we want to have the Bible out to show them that it isn’t just at story but that this is found in God’s Word.  There are plenty of times you will have intentional conversations with kids when you don’t have your Bible ... but at response time in worship, be prepared for the Spirit to move and have your Bible ready.
4. Not Just for Staff  At camp, we train our staff and equip them to be the front line for receiving kids at response time.  But we know that we aren’t the only ones who can lead a camper through a spiritual conversation.  Camp staff happily hand off campers to church sponsors who want to facilitate that talk.  My tip for church staff members would be to do the same if there are parents who want to lead their own child through a salvation conversation.
5. Questions are OK  Not every child is ready to make a decision - some just need to ask questions right now.  And that’s OK.  We never want to persuade a camper or lead them too fast into something they aren’t ready for.  Asking questions is a healthy part of the process and can give you insight into what they are thinking about and whether they are really understanding the salvation decision.
6. Use Open-Ended Questions  Be sure to ask questions that require a response.  Avoid questions that can be answered with a yes or no ... or just a nod.  To know that the camper is ready and that he understands, you have to get him to talk through what is going on inside his head.
7. Not the Only Time  As much as we value response time in worship, we are always clear to say that there are other times kids can ask questions and make spiritual decisions.  This is not their only chance to make a decision for Christ.  We are not promoting delaying or resisting the Spirit...that is more of an issue with grown-ups.  WIth kids, we want to remove pressure so they never feel coerced or rushed.

Related Articles:

• Responsible Evangelism with Kids
• Explaining Baptism to Kids
• Kid-Friendly gospel presentation from Lifechurch.tv

Christmas Hangover

Nope. I’m not talking about that kind of hangover. I’m referring to that feeling that you get after you spend over 2 months preparing for Christmas Day only to find yourself on December 27th asking the question, “Is it over already? What now?” It is that void you find in your spirit that screams (no matter how you feel) that you are not satisified just yet.

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love the Christmas season. I dig all of the presents, the cold weather, the snow, the caramel brûlée lattes, the trees, and the music. It’s a lot of fun to me. But what I found myself doing, especially the past few years, is focusing all of my attention on all of these shadows instead of on the One who is casting those shadows. I’ve gotten myself lost in these shadows too many times. And recently, this has led me to an act of repentance in my own life. By repenting and re-focusing my heart and spirit on Jesus, that has helped me to enjoy all the fun with the Christmas season while never getting lost in the shadows.

I know in ministry, especially, the shadows can be overwhelming, especially during the Christmas season. As a constant reminder to myself, have fun & enjoy the shadows, but know where the shadows come from. Know the One who is casting them. This holds true not only during Christmas, but all throughout the year!

Andy Dukes serves as a Camp Specialist and works closely with our T&E Productions team. Dukes also serves on the VBS Preview & Kids Ministry Conference event teams. Keep up with Dukes and his interests on Twitter.

Explaining the Gospel

The CentriKid Office is right in the middle of another busy recruitment season for our summer camp staff. While we still visit several universities and churches for interviews, we also conduct a lot of video interviews over the web. During a given recruiting season, each of us will interview between 50-100 applicants. With only a limited number of spots open for hiring, you can imagine the difficult decisions our team has to make. 

We always walk away from a recruiting season having learned a lot. I keep coming back to this each year, but I continually learn the importance and the value of discipleship among young leaders. A huge part of the discipleship process is learning and owning your faith in Christ. As you mature as a believer, you can confidently and clearly communicate why you are a Christian and you can communicate how you live differently in light of the Gospel message. 

As a CentriKid Team Leader, you get opportunities all the time to talk to kids about their relationship with Jesus. For some, it is helping them come to know the Lord as their Saviour. In other instances, you are helping them grow closer in their walk. I think it's vital that before you ever put yourself in a conversation such as this, you need to own your relationship with Jesus and be able to communicate it clearly. I'm not saying you need a seminary degree or have your PhD. I'm saying that the Gospel is the most important living narrative in history and this isn't a place for us to just 'hit the high points'. But instead, we need immerse ourselves in the Gospel and live & act accordingly.

Inspire Someone!

I’ve been reading a book recently by Beth Moore called “Get Out of That Pit”. I would love to tell you all about it, but I think you should read it. I’m not going to go into detail. I would, however, like to encourage you with a quote that I’ve held onto since the first day I started reading.

Your wealth of experience makes you rich. Spend it on people who are hurting.”

                                         -Beth Moore “Get Out of That Pit”

When I read this line, I just had to stop reading for a while and meditate. I’ve always been enthralled with the fact that all of our stories are used to tell His story. Even though that’s something that I’ve always found fascinating, that’s not the part that caught my heart. To whom am I spending the experiences that the Lord entrusted to me? Am I seeking them out? Am I waiting for them to come to me? I’d love to say that I look for ways every day to share with people, but I don’t. I was a lot better at that when I was surrounded by non-believers in college, however, when you work for a Christian Corporation, you don’t always have as many opportunities. 

Seek to meet up with someone who could benefit from your wealth of experience today!

3 Reasons I'm Thankful for CentriKid

People often ask me why I love CentriKid so much. Strictly because they have to ask, it’s apparent that they have never worked for CentriKid Camps. Working camp has instilled so many different things in me. It has without a doubt made me the person I am today. 

Leadership Skills: If you would have asked me the day I arrived at Training my first summer of camp, I would have said that I probably would never hold a leadership position. That’s not because I’d never held one before, but I held the leaders that I saw in high regards. They were the best of the best.    I had people come alongside me, teach me the culture of CentriKid, and teach me what it means to be an effective leader. 

People Skills: Some people are not naturally drawn to having conversations with someone they don’t know, but people skills are necessary in the camp world. I often realize that because of working camp, I have learned how to build quality relationships in a really short amount of time...and sometimes I also forget that the rest of the world doesn’t really work that quickly. I was puzzled when I had been in Nashville for 8 weeks and still had not made life-long friends outside of the workplace. Regardless, I am thankful that I have learned valuable lessons in asking questions, conflict management, and being a friend because of my work with CentriKid. 

Hard Work: My first summer of camp, I worked on a team that traveled to many different locations. We had a great time, but more than that, our team knew the value of having a good work ethic. When you have a group of people who need to get something accomplished, there’s nothing that will bring them together like accomplishing a task that required all of them. That team had a great spirit and I don’t ever remember hearing anyone complaining. If you work hard, you can play hard. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things I’ve learned...we’d be here all day! I’m thankful for the blessings that the Lord has given me through CentriKid Camps.

What are you thankful for today?  

Camp Staffer Testimony - Michael

Meet Michael who served with CentriKid at Millsaps College in 2011.  This video was created to kick off one of the nights of worship at camp.

Deep Thoughts: 3 Reasons Kids Need to Understand WHY We Believe

A – Admit to God you are a sinner. B- Believe that Jesus is God’s Son…It’s as easy as A-B-C, right? I mentioned in my last post that many kids know the ABCs and may even be able to sing them to you. But do they understand the WHY behind them? Here are 3 simple yet profound reasons kids need to understand WHY Jesus, God’s son, came to earth to save us.

1. Because of our sin problem, we need a savior. Why? Check out my last post about understanding what it means to be a sinner. B doesn’t come after A just because. We believe because we see and understand our need for a savior. Believing is a heart issue, involving the work of Holy Spirit. It’s not about knowing in our brains, but knowing with our whole self.
2. Not just any savior will do, but only God’s perfect, sinless Son. We have Christ’s own record of a perfect life counted as our own when we trust Him for our salvation. So often we focus on Christ’s death, and not so much on his perfect life that’s counted as our own! What a gift, and what a sacrifice. Believing this is part of believing in the whole of God’s great gift.
3. Christ defeated sin through his resurrection. It sounds great, but what does it really mean? When we believe that Jesus, and only Jesus, saves us from our sins, we don’t have to try to save ourselves anymore. We don’t go to church, pray, or read our Bibles because we want to gain more points toward getting to heaven. We do these things as a result of God’s work in our lives through true heart-change.

In summer 2012, we’ll be talking more in-depth about these things at CentriKid Camps as we help campers understand what it really means to live a transformed life. As you talk with kids about their own response to the gospel, ask lots of questions. Remember, the ABCs aren’t the gospel, but simply one’s response to the good news of Jesus Christ!