Seven Days After Camp

This Bible Reading Plan offers a blueprint for young people wanting to grow their relationship with God and maintain passion and fire for the things of God in everyday life. We’re covering topics such as, ‘Hunger,’ ‘Worship,’ and ‘Encountering God,’ from the real-life testimonies and experiences of teenagers just like you.

21 Days After Camp

Camp is over… but your experience with God doesn't have to be! Continue your new relationship or rekindled faith with this 21-day devotional designed to take you further in your faith.

First, we have seen great success with our bottle drop fundraiser. We decided to donate all the proceeds from the bottles and cans our church collected for May. We also had several students get together and go out to collect cans in their neighborhoods. We raised over $1200, and we are so proud of our kids for their hard work.

Secondly, we had a thought that it would be a great idea to get your Fine Arts students involved by creating prayer journals out of their artwork and photography. You can go online to Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and create a journal for free! Amazon handles all the printing and shipping for a small fee. First, create a profile for your youth group or church on Amazon KDP. Then you can download the students' art pieces into Canva to create the cover and then make lined pages to go along with it. You could add a scripture verse to the cover and, of course, add the student author's name to the bottom. The fee that Amazon charges for a 120 page, 6x9 journal is about $2.57. You could then sell the journal for $12 - $15 and make a nice profit to give to Speed the Light. This idea could even expand to the writers you have in your youth group. Have them create devotionals, or a book of poems partnered with photos from your students who are photographers. It will allow them to use their gifts and minister to others, all while raising money for another ministry!

You can see a full tutorial on how to create your journal by following this link: Amazon KDP Publishing Tutorial Make $300 Per Day Easy Side Hustle 

Our last idea is to have your Fine Arts students passionate about theater create and put on a play for the church and community. We have done dinner theater several times in our facility, where we have a stage and a full kitchen. Allow some of your students and youth leaders to prepare and serve food while the theater team puts on the production. All the ticket sales, food, and drink sales could go to Speed the Light! You could even do an intermission where one of the students or a leader could talk about Speed the Light. Have a slideshow running in the background of things that Speed the Light has accomplished, and take an offering to allow people to give toward the cause. 

People justify all that they do by the sum collection of true stories they have in their story book. Even gang members are completely convinced their actions are normal because they line up with their personal experience, their true stories.

The stories that you allow into your life, the stories that you consider and choose to receive as true shape who you are and what you become. This makes what you receive as true extremely important. What you breathe in determines what you breathe out. If you breathe in fear you will breath out paranoia. The same with foolishness… you will breath out hatred.

Wisdom is always essential and the greatest gift you can exercise. Be certain that the stories you are receiving are actually true. There are stories constantly all around us. The ones that you decide to tell yourself are true, are the ones that will shape who you are and what you become.

Just for a moment:
Pause the scrolling
Turn off the news 
Walk outside and see all that the Lord has done.
Breathe in
Not panic, fear, or anxiety, but his beautiful creation.
And know that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

May your storybook be full of stories that are true and life-giving.

The original Hebrew name for this book was Tehillim meaning ‘Praises’. It was later changed to its Greek name when the New Testament was being established: Psalmos meaning ‘Song’.

The Psalms capture our human experience. They express the emotions and attitudes of the average individual. People love the Psalms because they can identify with them.

In our experiences, no matter how deep the pain or how big the frustration or how great the joy, we can find a psalm that echoes our innermost being.

The first Psalm serves as the gateway into the whole book. This psalm takes topics found in wisdom literature such as Proverbs, and makes them the subject of song: the purpose is that those who sing the psalm will own its values. 

The psalmist reminds the readers that in the end there are really only two ways to live. The truly happy person guides his life by God’s instruction rather than by the advice of those who reject that instruction. 

The first two verses of the first chapter read:

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

Your happiness comes straight from studying the Word of God. Your capacity for happiness is directly proportional to your knowledge and application of the Word of God.

So, are you happy?

What are your habits concerning the word of God? 

Charles Spurgeon once said, “A Bible that is worn and falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

This man’s name was Paul.

Seven brothers were traveling into town and wanted to try and heal people too. These seven brothers came to the house of a man who was demon-possessed; they came in and declared, “I command you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

But then the evil spirit inside the man talked back: “I know Jesus, and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?” The Bible says the demon-possessed man jumped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them. All seven of the brothers fled out of the house as best they could, naked, bloody, and wounded.

“I know Jesus, I’ve heard of Paul…but who are you?”

There is no substitution for knowing Jesus. That’s what people mean when they say they’re not religious; they have a relationship with Jesus. At one point, people wondered if John the Baptist was the messiah.

John lets them know how they will know the messiah: You will know He who is the messiah because he will ignite kingdom life, start a fire inside of your being, the Holy Spirit will dwell within you. He will change you from the inside out. He will clean house- make a clean sweep of your life, placing everything in its proper place and order before God. Everything false will be put out with the trash to be burned. He will refine you with fire.

In the same way, judgment will come and separate the growing from the dying in this world…Jesus comes to separate the growing from the dead in you. Like a farmer He throws our lives into the air so what is good wheat can be separated from chaff.

His goal is not necessarily to come and burn the chaff, his goal is to save the wheat. The goal is not to take away all that is bad as much as it is to save all that is good. How well do you know Jesus?

The Bible says that some upon entering heaven will say “Lord I did all this good stuff in your name”. And he will say, “I never knew you.”

There is a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. How well do you know Jesus?

We go into the “deeper things” of scripture.

We talk about doctrine, relationships, ethics, etc.

They say: “It’s important that we don’t treat teenagers like children.”

In churches all across America, many pastors come to find out just how little most of their people know about the Bible. I know that was true for me. It took years of me pretending that I was keeping up with what the pastor was saying; proof-texting, cross-referencing, using scripture to illustrate scripture…I was lost.

So as a new believer or someone who isn’t well versed (pun) in the Bible, it can be daunting to pretend you know what’s going on and not ask questions because you don’t want to seem stupid or unspiritual. When people come to the Lord, many fear being outsiders and not knowing everything that you know.

Even after years of church involvement and hundreds of sermons, people typically understand doctrine, theology, Christian ethics, and proper relationships. What they don’t know are the stories of the Bible.

Preaching based on sound reasoning helps people form good doctrine.

Knowing the stories of the Bible helps people make good decisions.

Doctrine is only as good as the God-breathed stories that support them.

Good doctrine is great but worthless if it is not transferred to making wise decisions in life.

Way One: A Little Friendly Competition

I have no idea why, but kids go crazy for a good old-fashioned “Boys vs Girls” competition. Okay, let’s be honest- adults go crazy for it too. There doesn’t even necessarily have to be anything to win in order to get people invested in some friendly competition. In a small church context, you can even get the whole church involved. This not only helps get the kids excited about BGMC, but it also helps start the momentum and sets the example as the kids watch the adults generously give. No matter how you do it, the kids will be as passionate as you are. Get excited! Lean into the competitive energy (just keep it healthy)!

Way Two: Give A Goal Along With A Reward

“Why should I have to give out a reward?” Because it’s fun! Not only is it a fun way to change things up, but it’s fun to see people getting excited about Giving. However, I don’t mean a reward like giving out Dutch Bros gift cards. Do something that is going to get people really excited. I allowed kids to cover me in condiments and turn me into a human hotdog because we set a challenge to give $1,000 in two months. P. Sean ate a beetle because the kids at Eastern Oregon Kids Camp gave a huge BGMC offering. “I don’t like doing gross stuff like that…” That’s fine! I’m sure someone on your team (or even your lead pastor) would be willing to step in for you! (Tip: Get your lead pastor involved. You’ll see the excitement go to another level.) If you decide to go this route, just be sure to have a clear goal. That way, you can celebrate meeting it or even passing it with your group.

Way Three: Communicate

This is the simplest of all three ways. It requires no extra money, few materials, and no gross rewards. The vision of BGMC is one that, when communicated, can spark a fire within your group. Maybe that looks like talking about BGMC every week, even if it’s just for a few minutes. If you want to do more than just talk, the BGMC website has SO MANY VIDEOS. Videos from missionaries, videos about BGMC projects, and even videos from giving initiatives from years past. If you need more structure, there’s a free curriculum that was created by BGMC. It only needs about 5-10 minutes and can easily be added to your kids service schedule. Regardless of how you do it, get talking about BGMC. I think it can be easy for us to forget just how much BGMC does because it becomes another thing to tick off of our list. Intentionally remind your group about the value of their offering and get them excited about the mission of BGMC.

Well, take a deep breath and look no further because these three resources are going to change the game for you and your family.

1. AXIS

Axis is a one-stop-shop of phenomenal resources both paid and free to bring your kids timeless truth in a culturally relevant fashion. With a massive collection of written, audio, and video resources, AXIS has engaged in some of the most important topics of our day.

2. Parent Cue

Parent Cue is an awesome tool put together by the leaders at Orange. There aren’t very many websites with a wider collection of resources for parents and grandparents. Whether you’re raising a baby or a young adult, Parent Cue has the most well-rounded library for parents that I’ve ever seen.

3. Fuller Youth Institute

Fuller Youth Institute is one of the leading youth specialists in research and family resources with the goal of making the church the best place for youth to grow.

Hopefully, these resources provide a great launching pad for you and your family. May you be encouraged and equipped in your calling to cultivate the heart of your child toward God.