School Holiday Camp...

I was recently involved in a school holiday program in Rochester and Kyabram. Located in Northern Victoria, not far from Echuca, these two small, farming centred towns are have been hit very hard by the devastating effects of drought. The plan was simple, a group of cadets from our training college would put together a 3 day kids program, as part of their mission experience and Nari and I would put together a small mission team from around the division to support the program.

I always get a bit edgy leading up to any event as anxiety about whether people will come can sometimes overwhelm the anticipation and excitement that opportunities like this present. There wasn’t really a need to feel nervous; as mission started we had a total of 6 teenagers from Bendigo, Maryborough and Echuca Corps. On the second Tuesday of the school holidays we travelled the 70 kilometres from Bendigo to Rochester to commence the school holiday program.

The first morning we met for prayer and planning. As we met there was a great sense of nervousness: What was going to happen? Would we have two kids or two hundred? Will the program work? The prayers were simple; Lord we pray that you will change the lifes of some kids this week. Some wholehearted amens, a few last minute changes, and then before we knew it the first kids arrived.

Some very talented cadets were running the week up front, and there were a bunch of corps members who were there to help out and prepare lunch and snacks. However, the small group leaders were all teenage, mission team members. It was going to be up to these guys to come alongside the kids and ensure the message was getting through. As the first kids headed to their small group, I will never forget the look of horror as one of the girls glanced across the room, shrugged and mouthed the words “what should I do?”

Despite the initial hesitations, the team was quick to cotton on to what was required. As we sat back at the accommodation on Tuesday night, there was a different emotion. The looks of horror, had been replaced with a sense of confidence and encouraging memories of the meaning relationships that had started to develop over the course of the day.

One of my favourite images from the three-day program is of a truly bizarre dance move performed by one of the leaders. The move, conducted by a 17 year old team member, involves standing on leg, using your left hand to hold the left ankle, placing the right hand behind the head and the convulsing (the only suitable word from my point of view) in such a way the person rotates like a sprinkler in time with the music. While the move itself is impressive, on the last day of the program, one of the kids approached the leader and said “check out this!” she then perfectly executed the sprinkler. The teenager was blown away.

As we reflected after the last day of program, we talked about the influence these guys, only teenagers themselves, had had in the lives of the kids. Although ‘the sprinkler’ made us all laugh, as a groups we remembered that we had also showed that Jesus was alive. While there had been dancing and games, there had also been real discussion about who Jesus is, about what it means to be Christian, and about why we should read the bible.

As the week finished up, I was chatting with the Corps Officers. One of them said “you know I find it amazing, that these teenagers would give up a week of their holidays, travel up here each day and invest in the lives of these kids.” What he says is true, when given the opportunity our teenagers will surprise us with their competency and passion. Too often we reduce our ministry with teenagers to entertainment and turn church into a product and our kids into consumers.

Jesus spoke some words that we in the west have really run with. He said “If anyone would come after me, he must be prepared to party and shop like everybody in else in the world does.” I’m pretty sure that’s what he said, or perhaps that is what we’ve heard. As we open the book and read the text we are reminded that it says “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” There is good news though; there is more joy and meaningfulness in sacrificial service than there is in a thousand, iPods, playstations and other toys.

--Stuart