The end of something special..the start of something epic (cheesy I know)

Alas...What a Summer

The Saint Boys from Kenya

Hello my precious readers, prayer warriors, family and friend....this will be my last post of the summer (but don’t fret!, I’ll continue to write during the year, in case you were worried haha).  And what a crazy wild ride it has been.  It started in January with the seemingly impossible goal of raising over $9,000 for my trip to Africa and my internship.  God provided.  Next was my trip to Africa.  The humility, perspective and fire I caught for the Lord on that trip was priceless (to read more about my trip to Africa visit my blog archives in May-located at the bottom).  God moved.  And finally my eight week internship with New Life Church during our summer Leadership Training program was an incredible experience.  I was part of bringing life change to 150 UofM students and although I’m exhausted, that is exactly where God wanted me this summer.  God knows what He is doing with my life, even when I don’t believe Him ha.  So this will be the first of many thank yous…but thank you.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  You were all a part of something big this summer in my life and in the lives of others.  So with this last post of the summer I’m going to recap some of the highlights from “LT 2011”, give you a look into the current state of New Life Church and our plans for the fall and where I fit into that along with some of my thoughts from this summer.  I hope you enjoy!

This was our promotional video for LT 2011 that we made in January this past year.  I figured I'd start with this as I recap the summer.  It's hilarious, epic and oh yeah, so good.

Recapping Highlights of the summer: (I might add that our theme this summer was “unprecedented”…ohhhh God did some crazy things in the lives of students this summer).

-Let’s start with the program itself.  We had over 150 UofM students sign up to be a part of LT 2011…  150!!!...that’s the biggest we’ve ever had at any LT in the history of our church.  We also had the fewest amount of interns ever along with a worship band that had never played together.  So needless to say, from the start we needed God to come through and use our weaknesses to pull of this program.  And by George- He did just that.  This LT program I believe has set the ground work for huge advances in bringing Christ’s kingdom to UofM.  I believe there are big things in store for New Life Church this fall and in the coming years.

OC Blue!

To listen to all the talks at LT visit this link CLICK IT!

-Kick off Retreat:  Spring Arbor University is where LT 2011 was kicked off.  The week was spent getting acquainted with New Life Teams (teams of guys and girls...that’s how we break down campus since UofM is so big, our Church splits it into sections based on dorms and locations) and small groups (men and women separated).  The week was also filled with beautiful worship, great sermons and plenty of challenging topics to students and staff a like.  Steve Hayes (our lead pastor) gave a talk on holiness and challenged us to think about what we need to give up to be truly holy as God calls us to be (To listen to this talk, click on this link! awesome talk ).  That sermon has stuck with me all summer and I feel challenged and called by the Lord to take the next step in my faith, to live a life pleasing to the one true God of the universe and to take responsibility as a man of God and all the responsibilities that follow.  Students were challenged with how they are called to live during their college years.  Society tells us college is a four year span where it’s ok to get drunk on the weekends…it’s ok to sleep around…it’s ok to experiment with drugs….The gospel of Jesus Christ is such a rebellious way to live in society today and I think students started to catch that vision.  During this week students were challenged to confess their last 10% (the last 10% of your life that you don’t share with anyone...I mean anyone) to their life group.  In the life group I lead, my guys were so real, so raw it was incredible.  God moved in our group all summer and for the first time students were able to share their past shame and be in an environment where there was no judgment, only love and compassion.  And we are only able to love like this because Christ loved us first, died for our sins so that we could be made right with God. 

During the kick off retreat all 150 students learned how to share their faith.  How to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Think about how powerful that is.  I was actually fortunate enough to share the gospel with a girl from my New Life Team who had not accepted Christ.  I shared it with her, she prayed and believed that Christ is her savior and she was saved!  How beautiful is that!  Kick off week- boom- God just doing work! (for more in depth depiction of kick off retreat, see my entry on July 1st located in the archives at the bottom) 

Some of the men in my small group- yeah we're tough

-Mid LT retreat: This retreat was half way through the LT program, hence the name, and split up the men and women.  I think this was one of the biggest highlights/moments of the summer.  For the guys (I heard the girls retreat was great, but I wasn’t there ha) we focused on sexual addiction and flew in a counselor specialized in the area of sexual addiction from Florida to give three talks on this area (to listen click on this link and select the talks under men's dual retreat talks) .   To say that we were all challenged would be an understatement.  The porn industry in the US is a multi billion dollar industry.  Let that sink in.  Think about how many husbands, fathers, sons, even women that are addicted sexually and how that affects their relationships and how they view women and men.  It’s not how God intended us to interact with the opposite sex and the consequences are devastating.  Just look at how broken families are today.  We learned that sexual addiction is not about sex.  It’s something deeper.  That people use these addictions to numb themselves so they can’t feel the deep hurt from their past or in their current state.  It challenged guys to look deeper into their broken pasts and ask Jesus to help heal their heart.  It brought men to a deeper understanding of their brokenness, which I believe helps to bring us to a deeper realization of how much we need a Savior.  That no matter what we do we cannot EARN God’s love, that Christ paid the price for our sins and we need Him.  I believe it was a big step forward for the men at New Life Church to begin to see this truth and will greatly impact how men in our church view and treat women.  Women are the crowns of creation and deserve to be treated with ultimate respect, love and dignity.  This retreat rocked some guys world’s but it was necessary…it was good....it was powerful...(To read more about the mid LT retreat, visit my archives on July 12th and click on the title- "Slowly turning, and seeing reality).

-Evangelism: It has become so taboo in society today to share your faith.  It’s as if society has deemed taking a stand on certain issues such as faith and believing your faith to be true is ignorant and prideful.  I’m not saying that I don’t believe in equality and fair treatment of all people.  I do, but I am saying that more and more people are scared to share their faith for fear of the repercussions and persecution that can come from society.  I believe Christianity to be true.  I don’t try to force it on people, but I do believe people need to hear it.  So many people have a wrong view of who God really is. And why wouldn’t they?!  If you come from a broken home, have been abused, neglected, hurt, your view of God is greatly manipulated.  I believe that people project these views not only onto other people, but to God and it becomes almost impossible to believe in a good God.  Well, evangelism..sharing of one’s faith, is something we stressed this summer and the gospel was spread around campus like wildfire.  Throughout this summer I was able to share God’s truth to 22 people!  Something I never thought I could do.  (Listen to this great talk on evangelism click it! )

I didn’t force my faith onto them, or tell them that they are wrong. I simply asked them if I could share with them what I believed and I asked them what they believe.  You’d be so surprised how many people think about life after death, think about God, but are never asked their opinions or thoughts on the matter.  150 students learned how share their faith and were sent out each week to conduct surveys on campus and ask other students what their thoughts were about God.  Many of these conversations turned into opportunities to share the gospel.  I was fortunate enough to talk with a Muslim and share with him about Christianity.  He asked me pointed questions and I didn’t lie to him, but told him the truth about what I believe.  He told me his views on Islam and Christianity and we were able to have a civil conversation with each other.  It was beautiful.

I can’t convert people to believe in God, that’s not my job, that’s God’s job.  The bible does say in Romans 10: 13-15- “For everyone, who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

But we can share our faith with courage, boldness and strength.  If I truly believe that the gospel is the key to salvation- why wouldn't I want to share it with people, especially the ones I love? (granted I don't do this all the time, but that's a thought provoking question eh?)

-Party at the Rock: One of my job descriptions this summer was to pull of our huge outreach event called Party at the Rock.  I was in charge of coordinating over 150 people to set up this party three times in July.  We had live bands, music, games and provided a safe atmosphere for students and community members to have fun.  Many LT participants met people, built relationships with them and were able to share their faith with them.  I shared the gospel with a student I met at the party who is desiring to come to church, but is torn between the party culture and God’s ways.  It’s a powerful moment sitting down with him, talking about life and sharing my faith.  Although the last party was rained out : (  the other two were great successes and with the help of many people, and God leading the way, I was able to lead our students into pulling off a great outreach event!  (side-note, I learned a ton about budgets, delegation and leadership during this time- it was huge for my life, extremely challenging, but even more rewarding).

-Life Group:  As I stated before I was a co leader of a life group that included 10 guys this summer.  Although it was a huge group, we became close and God moved in the lives of a lot of these men.  That’s the most rewarding part of doing ministry.  To see lives changed.  3 guys in particular had monumental summers.  One was struggling if he even believed in the Lord, his life was a struggle to say the least and he was not in a good place.  Despite his doubts, he had the courage to sign up for LT and God gave him what He was looking for this summer.  I’ve never seen a person with more joy than this guy.  He is truly inspiring to me and I've never seen someone act with more courage and face the tough questions in life like this man did.  It was a privilege to be a part of this group and an honor to lead them.  In the fall, my co leader and I are apprenticing two of the guys from this group and leading separate small groups.  Another two from the group this summer will be co leading a different group.  Multiplication people!  It’s beautiful, we’re changing the world!

My role: Although I was stressed at times, I loved the responsibility I was given this summer and I loved pouring my life into something I truly believe in.  Students lives were changed this summer.  Many of them are facing the demons that have haunted their pasts and are finding tremendous victory.  It was a gift to be a part of pulling this program off.  I learned a lot about myself as a leader, I learned I have a lot to grow in, but I also found that I do have gifts to offer and that God can use me, even at my weakest point (ex: the first party at the rock, the day before the party I had a melt down haha- I  was really stressing out, I got some help from the staff and despite my weaknesses, we had the biggest party we’ve ever had in the summer, over 320 people, not including LT participants showed up…how cool is that!  Also, despite our many purchases, somehow we were under budget hollla!)  Through Africa and LT I am more and more convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that will truly change this world.  It’s the only solution that can change a person’s heart at its deepest level and place a desire in them to love others and fight for others.  I believe God has given me more boldness than I have ever had in sharing my faith, and although I am still terrified at times, He will use me despite my weaknesses and doubts.   I believe that we were created by God to love him and be loved by Him.  We chose not to love God in the beginning of the world and are reaping the consequences.  Look around you, look at this world.  People are living for themselves and corruption, poverty, war- these are all results of sin I believe.  There was a problem, the creation could not be united with the creator unless some sacrifice was made. God is a righteous judge and He is just in handing out punishment.  I believe that Jesus Christ was that ultimate sacrifice.  That God took his wrath that was due us, and placed it on his son, Jesus Christ, who bore our sins so that we could be united with the Father, God.  All He asks us to do is repent of our sins (which means turn to Him- God) and believe that Christ is our savior….It’s powerful stuff people- it’s what changes people’s hearts, it’s changed mine.  I  don’t desire to live for myself in a society and culture that screams at me to do so.. I desire to live for other people and to live for a God that I don’t see and even doubt at times…it sounds crazy...and it is!  Jesus was the biggest rebel this world has ever seen....I can’t explain my life other than that God has captivated my heart and changed me…and it’s been an incredible ride ever since!  Doesn't this world need more selfless people?  Jesus was that person.  And His true followers desire to be like Him (we're not perfect, Lord knows I'm not, but I'm striving to be like Christ).

Whoa…this is a long post…For those of you who are still reading..thanks!  For those of you who are not, I don’t blame ya!  So I’m going to transition into the present state of things and the vision for the fall...If you need a break watch the video below...I mean how excited are you for Michigan football!  WOOT!

We just recently finished LT with our closing ceremonies where we stayed two nights at the classy and elegant Amway plaza in downtown Grand Rapids…it was a beautiful way to celebrate an incredible summer of life change and growth. 

During the weekend Steve Hayes gave two talks.  One was the Churches 10 year vision, and the other was the vision for this upcoming fall.  I'll start with the Fall.

 

The theme for the fall (if you want to listen, click on this link!  It's so good! listen!) is “the light of the world.”  We want to be a light to this campus.  To bring freedom, truth and life at UofM.  We will be focusing on these three aspects.

-1.  Authentic not hypocritical: Most of the world believes Christians are hypocrites, and I don't blame them!  We can be very judgmental and hypocritical, but that's not how our God is who we worship, and that's not what Christianity is about.  This fall we want to focus on who we are in Christ, proclaim truth in his word and be who we really are.  Who are we?  We are broken...Christians don’t have it together....we need help….that’s exactly why we need a savior.  We want to be real with this campus about our brokenness and share with them what has helped us and the only solution to our brokeness- Jesus Christ. 

-2. Set apart not judgmental: God calls us to live a holy life.  As Christians we are living for God, so we will be set apart from the world who is not living for God- we should have different values, morals and live differently…but we are no better, we have no right to judge.  But we should strive to live as God has called us to live.  To be Holy, which means set apart.  1Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action: be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.  For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

-3. Loving not selfish: The key to changing the world people…Love.  Love never fails.  Philippians 2: 3-5 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”  What would our world look like if we all modeled this?

Wow- I ask that you would all be praying for this.  That these three cultures could resonate and permeate throughout our church, spread like fire throughout our campus and change the lives of many.

Life is epic, is it not?

So going forth into the fall, I will be apprenticing a guy from my small group this summer to be a leader and also leading a life group.  I will be on the lead team for our New Life team, OC blue (OC=Off campus)  This is pretty cool.  Off campus is huge (What I mean by Off campus is all the students not living in dorms, which is a lot).  We’ve had one New Life team in off campus for years, but God has blessed us with numbers that we now have two teams going into the fall.  It’s like we’re starting our own little church.  Our own community.  I’ll be helping lead that community this academic year and I am extremely excited to see God use us.  Throughout LT this summer God has brought our group together and I believe we can reach a lot of students who live off campus this year.  Pray that we would.  Pray that God would multiply our group so that next summer we have to split again.  Pray that God’s love would spread throughout off campus and that He would use OC Blue.  Pray for team unity and against the devil to split us up.  Satan will be gunning for us.  Pray for OC Maize (the other off campus team) They are on the same mission, with the same vision (two of my close friends are leading that group).  Man, think about the change we could bring to students this year.  Mmmmmmmhmmm- so good : )

So that’s the fall vision, the 10 year vision is quite compelling and gives me goosebumps.  If you’re curious I encourage you to listen to the sermon, because I can’t do it justice (Click and Listen! ).  But I will say that I am heavely considering going on staff with our church after graduation and desiring to meet the qualifications of an elder/pastor (if you're curious just read through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  In the summer of 2013, our church will take 5-10 of it’s staff and plant a church at Wayne State University in Detroit, and if I go on staff, that’s what I want to be  a part of.  Now I am not entirely convinced this is where God is leading me.  But God brought this idea on my heart during our kick off retreat, and I’ve been praying about it ever since.  It really excites me, to start something in Detroit, a city that needs change.  So if you could be praying for God to lead me in that decision, that would be great : )

This is my brother and my best friend..HOLLA!

Wow- what a post, what a summer…what a God! Ha….Again, I can’t thank you all enough for support emotionally, financially and for you continual prayers.  You all played a part in making this summer unprecedented for 150 students.  You all played a part in changing the lives of many of these students and setting the ground work for something BIG in the future.  I won’t lie, I’m nervous…but I couldn’t be more excited for what God has in store for His church and for my life.

I will be writing on my blog throughout the school year and will make it a point to update every two weeks about what God is doing at our Church, with OC Blue and my life.  I may occassionaly share thoughts too so check out the blog if you want to stay posted!  You can also follow me on facebook and twitter if your curious (see the right column for my twitter account).

Thank you all so much.  God bless you all.

-cam

p.s One last thing...This video was made for our closing ceremonies and is sort of recap of LT.  Click on the link and Enjoy!  http://vimeo.com/27323999