Helping Preteens Experience God
I’ve spent this past week speaking at the BC Foursquare Preteen Camp in Canada, just outside Vancouver. I’ve never been to Canada before, so it’s been great to meet some new Canadian friends. They’re a pretty cool bunch, eh! I have so much to share about my experience at camp. So, I may end up doing several posts. I know most of you are out of summer mode and now in back-to-school mode. But I think this post will help you as you plan for the fall.
The Big Takeaway: God’s Presence Changes Lives.
Campers have been soaked in the presence of God all week. They are hearing Him speak to their hearts, worshipping Him with every once of their being and renewing their minds with His word. They’re learning that God can move mountains in their lives (do the impossible) and be used to move mountains in others’ lives. When campers leave, the one thing that will stick out the most is that they experienced God in some way. Our goal is to facilitate the presence of God. That is the most important thing we can do in preteen ministry. When God shows up, he changes lives. His presence brings students into relationship with Himself. He initiates a decision to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers preteens to follow Jesus in our everyday lives. When preteens encounter God, everything changes. Yes, it is a partnership of us choosing to follow what God is doing in and around us. But without God’s presence showing up in our preteen ministries, we are just spinning our wheels.
We facilitate God’s presence when it is a priority over everything else in our preteen ministries.