Once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has read my blog and thank you for those have given feedback. Please do get in touch if you have any comments on what I write.
In this blog I am talking about something that has been close to my heart recently, something that can be a both a massive support and at times also a massive challenge to those who do youth work. The topic is summer camps.
Whether it be Soul Survivor, New Wine or one of the many different CPAS or Scripture Union camps, there are plenty of different opportunities for young people to meet their peers and learn more about Jesus in between crazy games and staying up later than anyone really wants to!
All of these offer different programmes and different ways to discover more about Jesus, but which, if any, are most effective, and how do they prepare young people as they go home and back to their day to day lives?
I have been involved with a number of different Christian based summer activities over the years, but I am by no means an expert on the subject and as always this blog is about my thoughts and what has worked for me and the young people I have met over the years.
I have been to Soul Survivor just short of 10 times and every time I have been I have been inspired by seeing thousands of young people come together to worship our Almighty God and seeing amazing things happen in His presence. Every year hundreds come to know Jesus and that is a massively powerful thing.
However, in terms of discipleship I think the 'big festival' model faces many challenges. With so many young people in one place it is tough to provide follow up support for those that attend, which is an understandable dilemma.
I have found that the CPAS Ventures camp that I have been blessed to be part of over the last few years provides a very different atmosphere for young people. For one it is a lot smaller, meaning that the ratio of youth to leaders is smaller. In terms of discipleship for the teenagers that attend there is always a leader who is willing to chat, pray and support them throughout the week and often after everyone goes home leaders keep in touch and provide support through out the year.
I'm not trying to ask the big events & the smaller camps to compete here, but to get us thinking about what each is aiming to achieve. I believe that both environments have huge benefits. It is invaluable for young people to see that they are not on their own in their faith in this world and what better way than to see 10,000 of their peers worshiping together. At the same time, having more leaders willing & able to invest in you non stop for a week (& hopefully beyond) can be such a precious moment in the development of faith.
Something we need to be aware of with any big activity, whether it be summer camps, festivals or youth weekends is the danger of providing a massive 'high' and then going back to 'normal' life and realising life outside the Christian bubble is hard.
This is where there must be follow up of some kind. Youth leaders need to be willing to carry on the amazing work done at these events: being more open in prayer and worship, trying new things, giving God space to do what he wants - these are all things that happen regularly at the big summer events and are things that need to form a regular part of our youth work so that our young people have the freedom to discover God all year round in ways that work for them.
Unfortunately, this year, I cannot make it to Soul Survivor, but do have the pleasure of leading on a CPAS Venture called @Brymore. I am excited about what God has planned for the young people that are going including 8 from Guiseley Baptist Church.
I want them to experience God in new ways at @Brymore but not just during that week. I want to provide opportunities for this to happen throughout the year. It will never be easy to be a Christian and there will be highs and lows throughout our lives but we can work to make the highs more meaningful and the lows more manageable.
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