PYV Summer Camp 2016 - Day 5

Today has been full. Beyond full. I haven't been able to find time to write my blog. But I will when I can.

I know that by then everyone will be home and you can just ask your children what happened. But maybe reading it in a few days' time will be an encouragement to get them talking anyway.

(Nearly one week later)

Day five has been a full and a fun day. We started as usual with our leaders meeting which had the opening devotion from Sarah Weber. We have been greatly blessed with the pastoral care team we have on this camp. They have great experience and compassion and are able to talk to our campers and leaders with wisdom and grace. 

Prayer meeting was a little small today, but still a good number attended. 

In our worship session today, the campers heard a testimony from the oldest bloke in the room (when did I suddenly become the oldest bloke in the room?!?!?!!) Rather than recite it now, if you had children at the camp ask them what they remember. I also got conned into doing a 'dab'. I still don't know what that is!

More importantly, we heard a great sermon from Jared about the plagues that came to Egypt. There is so much to learn about these plagues and why they are relevant for the people of Egypt at that time. Three things stood out for me. First, these plagues were natural events of biblical proportions. Some have suggested that this means they really are a run of bad luck with natural events, but that cannot explain the final plague. Second, these plagues directly challenged the gods of Egypt, even pharoah himself. Third, when Pharoah said, "Who is the Lord?", the plagues answered that question in a powerful way. 

Our study groups had a good chance to talk through these issues and see how the Pharoah responded to each of these plagues. How sad that the more he hardened his heart, the more he found his heart being hardened. There's a good lesson there for all of us. 

We had planned to take a large group of campers to the local pool for a swim, but a breakdown in communications somewhere meant there was only one guard on duty and we had to limit the numbers Once again the activities team were able to make some changes and divided the group into three so they could all have about an hour each at the pool. I was one of the leaders who spent the afternoon at the pool with these groups. 

When we returned, it was time to get into our New Year's Eve costumes. The theme for the camp was 'Cartoons' so people had all kinds of cartoon characters costumes. We had at least two Pikachus, but I think one of them was too tall. The team who made up 'Winnie the Pooh' characters looked great -  except for the dragon. Why was there a dragon in this group?

I always enjoy the colour and spectacle of this part of the camp. Well done everyone for making the effort. And thanks once again to David Johnstone for taking some great photos.

Dinner was magnificent, and then we began the New Years Eve activities. It started with a Trivia Quiz. A shout out to the YouthMETRO team for joining in here tonight. This was a good and simple way to start the evening. One the sun was setting, it was out to the oval for an outdoor cinema experience. Now, I'm not a big fan of youth group movie nights. It makes little sense to get a group of teenagers together and tell them not to talk to each other for two hours. But tonight was great. Perhaps that had something to do with it being an outdoors cinema, or because it was near the end of a long camp, or because it was a lovely night, or because it was The Lion King. I don't know what made it work, but it did. (The popcorn and zooper doopers probably helped too.)

After the movie some people enjoyed the dance floor, some enjoyed board games, and others played table tennis or just talked. Whatever they were doing before midnight, at midnight we were together to welcome in the New Year. After a few cheers and handshakes, we sang. We sang to God's glory as one year ended and another began. Then we broke into our study groups and we prayed. What a privilege was mine to sit with this group and pray for those who are beginning at university in 2017.

What a great way to finish one year and to start a new one. 

It was a full day. 

PYV Summer Camp 2016 - day 4

It was a bit foggy this morning

The rain came yesterday, but the cabins were still warm, even a little uncomfortable. Or perhaps it was just me who didn't have a great night's sleep. Either way, I was up early to get ready for our leader's meeting. Today it was Clinton's turn to lead our devotion and he did so by reading from a children's book that helps children see the big picture of the Bible. We do well to start helping our children to see the Old Testament as much more than a collection of moral stories. 

Our prayer meeting was smaller today, which might reflect the fact that people are feeling more tired as the camp goes on. Nonetheless it was a good gathering of people to pray. 

After another great breakfast our study groups meet again to discuss what we heard from the sermon the night before. As we answered some questions about Moses and his encounter with God at the burning bush, we saw not only that God was able to answer the objections Moses had, but we also saw the connection between Moses' experience and our own. Moses was reluctant to be God's spokesman to Pharaoh and most of us feel the same. "Send someone else." 

But as we compare what Moses was told in Exodus 3&4, with the instruction and promise we have for the disciples of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20 we found the same promises - we go in the authority of Jesus and we go with the assurance of his presence with us. This should be a great encouragement for us all. 

The morning activities had groups running around the campsite looking for princesses and other cartoon based prizes. The weather was closing in but we were able to get through the activities without being disrupted. 

Today's timetable is different to other days and we had our worship session in the afternoon. During the session we heard a great testimony from our camp convener. God is at work in our lives. 

Part of theYouthMETRO Crew

I missed the sermon today as I went to sit in with the YouthMETRO crew. This group of young people are learning what it is to have a ministry mindset and how to put it into action. This afternoon they were doing some evangelism training and I was witnessed to by a team of them. It's encouraging to hear this group taking some solid steps in sharing their faith. Please pray that what they share with their friends will reap a harvest. 

Tonight we had another session with our study groups. This time our focus was what happened to the Israelites when Moses began to speak with Moses. Basically, it doesn't go well for them. But really this doesn't last for ever. Again, we were able to see the relevance of this for our own lives. We were able to also see the fulfilment of those promises in Jesus. (Romans 8:28)

"You can do it!"

Then with the weather cooling and dry, our evening activities could go ahead without any need to worry about changing our plans. I'd like to explain what was happening with this event but I missed the explanation of the rules and when I went out to watch, it looked like a big game of capture the flag and rugby union (without the tackling). The boys in my dorm certainly enjoyed it. 

My dorm is made up of some of  the young men who are heading into year 11/12 next year. I have greatly enjoyed the conversations that have happened in this room and the encouragement that has been shared. There's been a whole lot of laughter as well. 

Now we prepare for New Year's Eve. It should be fun.

PYV Summer Camp 2016 - day 3

As I commence this entry I am sitting under a shady tree enjoying a lovely breeze and a good view of trees & hills. Why would I be doing this in the middle of the afternoon of a camp? Well it's not because I'm being lazy nor because I'm hiding from everyone. Quite the opposite. I am here because our activity groups have been instructed to find me near the Rawson Village sign. When they get here I ask them a series of riddles they need to solve before moving to the next challenge.

"a seven letter containing thousands of letters."

Why are we doing this in the afternoon? To answer that we need to go back to what happened this morning.

Like all days, we began with a leader's meeting. Today we were encouraged by the words from Philippians 4 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." As leaders of a youth camp, this is a very important reminder. We rely on the strength of Christ to serve him at this time & in this way.

We enjoyed a time of prayer and then breakfast, although some boys were almost determined to miss breakfast. They said that 'someone forgot to turn on the alarm.' Don't worry mum. We got them out of bed and made sure they could have breakfast.

From there we went to our study groups to talk through some questions based on the sermon from last night. A key focus here, or at least one that I thought stood out, was recognising the holiness and love of God without being focused on just one of these. It was good to hear this group talk through the dangers of just focusing on the holiness of God & rejecting his love, and vice versa.

While we were in our groups, the rain began to fall, which meant that some of our groups needed to move under shelter. It also meant we needed to change our plans. So, because we have bold and talented leaders on this camp, a decision was made to follow morning tea with the second session of workshops. This was a good move.

Today I sat in on the workshops on "Pleasures we can't have" and the second half of "Too far gone". I am very pleased that our teenagers are being challenged to live holy lives while also being reminded that in Jesus we can find forgiveness. This is a message that never gets old.

The workshops led to lunch, which was plentiful today, and then to our afternoon of activities.

I'll add some more notes later today.

Some Time Later

The afternoon activities kept people busy for a good while today. Free time gave people a chance to play soccer, board games, table tennis, or just sit and chat together. Or they did until the storms that ravaged Melbourne made their way here. It got really wet really quickly. 

Which meant that again the planned activities for the evening needed to be changed. I want to give a big shout out to Callum & helpers for being ready to change their plans quickly and still have something for us that keeps us active and entertained. Tonight was the biggest game of fruit salad I've ever seen, and was a whole lot of fun. 

Fruit Salad

Between dinner and our activities we had our third worship session. Tonight we answered some questions (What is predestination?) sang some great songs and heard another great sermon from Jared. Tonight we heard about Moses wanting to avoid what God was asking him to do and putting up all the objections. But God answered all his objections and urged him to stop looking at himself and start looking at God instead. 

That's a good lesson for all of us.

Pictionary

PYV Summer Camp 2016 - day 2

7.00am. Leader's meeting. It feels like an early start, but all the leaders are in the room together. Clearly we all had a good night's sleep 😎

"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" were the Bible words we start the day with. We are reminded that what we do impacts the campers, so we want to be like Paul when he said "Do what I do" and be a faithful example for others to follow. 

Breakfast was good and as most people love a cooked breakfast, they were well fed. From breakfast (after a quick break to brush our teeth) we divided into our study groups to discuss what we heard from Jared last night, to see how the words of Exodus are relevant to us today, and to get a glimpse of how this points to Jesus. I really enjoyed the group I am leading this year. There is good conversation happening amongst the group and some good wisdom being shared. 

The weather did get in our way today for the planned activities. But because we have talented and capable people in charge of things at PYV camps, we moved chairs around and moved indoors while the rain was falling.

After lunch we had our first session of workshops for camp. Rather than list them all here, you can see that list in a previous post here. I sat in on the Gospel workshop with Sam and greatly enjoyed watching people learn what Romans 6:23 has to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ and then talking to each other about what they had just learned. Brilliant.

Our worship session again gave us the opportunity to sing in worship, pray, read the scriptures and listen to excellent preaching. Tonight Jared show from Exodus 3, the burning bush. We have been confronted with God's great holiness and how wonderful and terrifying that is. Then we were confronted with the fact that even in his awesome holiness, God allows Moses to approach him. What an awesome God we worship.

We also heard a testimony from one of our younger leaders. God bless those who challenged her about her own faith and then encouraged her to grow as a disciple of Jesus.

God is good in all things. Please keep praying for what He is doing among us here.

PYV Summer Camp 2016 - day 1

Where's the sun?

After spending much of this week concerned about the expected heat I arrived at the campsite with rain and a cool breeze.

It was good to see people arriving, registering, finding their rooms, and talking with each other. I always enjoy seeing teenagers reconnect at the start of camps.

We started with some large group games on the oval. It was humid and uncomfortable for some of its, but it didn't stop anyone getting involved. From there we went into our first session together, but this wasn't a worship session. Instead we spent the time introducing our key leaders, the pastoral carers, & camp parents.

Dinner was great, and the noise suggested people are talking with each other across the tables.

Our first worship session tonight included the first message from Jared Keath from Exodus. Tonight we heard about God's faithfulness being shown as he was quietly keeping his promise to Abraham even in times of difficulty & oppression. God's faithfulness makes a difference in our own lives too. We might not see all that he is doing, but he is there.

Our camp has begun well, and we look forward to more.

2016 PYV Summer Camp Workshops

Every year at our Summer Camp we have a series of workshops. Sometimes these are connected to the main topic of camp and sometimes not. Here is a run down of what we are doing in 2016.

Singleness

(with Sarah Weber)

When you are young, you might often find yourself interested in people of the opposite gender or maybe even the butt of all your friends jokes because you talked to a boy/girl who really is just your friend. Until you turn 18, you are not of an age where you can get married. So if the purpose of relationships is to intentionally spend time with someone for the purpose of marriage, then what does this mean for you? How should you view relationships even though you’re too young to get married anyway? Singleness is a blessing, so how can I make the most of this time? 

The Gospel 

(with Sam Moody)

The Gospel is such an important word to followers of Jesus. It is the foundation of our faith and the reason we continue to serve God. But what about non-Christians? Why does the Gospel not make sense to people who aren’t followers of Jesus? Why do we need the gospel? Why is it a good thing to know that we are sinners and in need grace? If you have been asking yourself these questions or you would like to know how to answer these questions to encourage your non-Christian friends, then this workshop is for you.

Feeling Stuck
(with Clinton LePage)

Sanctification is a big word found in the Bible that is important for people who follow Jesus. It is the process of being made of becoming holy, of being set apart for particular use in a special purpose. Why is it so important? What if I feel stuck in the process? How do I know where I need to grow? How can I make sure I am constantly growing? A workshop for people who are looking to grow in their faith, no matter where they are now.

 

Pleasures We Can’t Have
(with Toby McIntosh)

Do not be drunk. Do not murder. Do not have sex outside of marriage. Do not have a hint of sexual immorality. Why does God tell us not to do these things? What is the point in being restrained? Why has God told us to do some things and not others? If you would like to understand why God commands these things of us and how we can choose to find fulfilment in Christ instead, then this workshop is for you. 

Too Far Gone

(with Dean Carroll)

Sin is what separates us from God. It makes us unworthy to spend eternity with him in heaven and it means that we will never measure up to Jesus, who is the standard God uses for those he calls his people. The good news for us is that Jesus defeated sin on the cross and we can now have a relationship with God. But what if I am beyond the reach of grace? Is my sin so bad that God doesn’t want to have anything to do with me? Or what if I rely too much on God’s grace, doing whatever I like because I know that God will forgive me for it anyway? If you want to know what your attitude toward sin should be and what it means to have God’s grace, come along to this workshop.

Important Events coming up

There are three important events coming up in the next few months that I want you to know about. I'm listing these in reverse order.

February 1 2017 - Evening lecture

I know the word 'lecture' might conjure up images of boring people, but this event will be anything but boring. Andrew Root is a teacher and writer that I have learned a lot from. His book "Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry" had a huge impact on me when I read it, and his short series that begins with "Taking Theology to Youth Ministry" is a series well worth reading.

Andrew will be in Melbourne lecturing all week, and on Wednesday Feb 1, he will be giving a lecture on 'What is the Theological Turn in Youth Ministry? Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer'. His book ""Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker" is an outstanding book that will be well worth your time to read. At this event, you will get the chance to meet the author and ask your questions.  I've attached a picture about this, or you can click here to see my blog http://ministryandyouth.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/ministry-youth-theology-and-bonhoeffer.html

January 26 - 29 2017 - Engage'17

For those who have been to Engage before, you know that this is a conference where you will learn to read the Bible better so you can teach the Bible better. This conference will have Rev Mike Raiter preaching from the book of Numbers, a variety of workshops, and most importantly, the strand groups that will help you to read and teach the New Testament, the Old Testament, Doctrine (worship) and a fourth strand on Ethics. 

Registrations for Engage'17 are open now. The website has also been upgraded, so please take a moment to check it out. http://www.engageleadersconference.com/

December 27 2016 - January 1 2017 - PYV Summer Camp

 
The Annual PYV Summer Camp is an event that people get excited about each year. Not only is the weather good, but there are plenty of good people to meet and the preaching is excellent. This year we have Rev Jared Keath from Frankston coming to preach from the book of Exodus. We had a training day last weekend and heard an outline of the six talks that Jared will be delivering. So when I say the preaching is excellent, I'm confident I'm using the correct word. 

Kirsten Bryant from Drouin is our convener for Summer Camp, and with her experience and leadership, and the team she has put together, I have no doubt it will be a camp worth being at. Please encourage the youth in your church community to come to this camp. 

Postcards have been sent to every church, but if you haven't seen any at your place, please let me know urgently and we will send you a bundle. For more information and registration, go to https://www.pyv.org.au/camps/summer

Finally

I conducted some training at Drouin in Mid November. I recorded this and there are now two extra recordings available to you all.

• Why youth ministry is essential - http://files.pyv.org.au/audio/Why_is_Youth_Ministry_Essential__compressed_version.mp3
  
• The practice of youth ministry - http://files.pyv.org.au/audio/The_Practice_of_Youth_Ministry_compressed_version.mp3

There are other recordings available at https://www.pyv.org.au/training/pyv-training-events-recordings


Thank you for all you have been doing through 2016. I know it's not over yet, so I hope it will finish well for you and your team.
God bless you all.

Ministry, youth, theology and Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a name well known to many Christians. His writings and his life example have confronted many of us as we wonder how to live as faithful Christians in a non-Christian world. But most of us have known very little about him as a minister amongst youth and children. There is much about this that we should know.
You could read Bonhoeffer's work, which is quite extensive. You could read biographies on him, but there seem to be as many of these as there are stars in the sky. You could read Andrew Root's book "Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker", which is outstanding. (I was going to put a link here to my own review of the book, but it looks like I didn't actually write one. I was sure I had. I will get to that soon).


Or, you can come and hear Andrew Root speak about Bonhoeffer as youth worker in Melbourne on Feb 1 2017. That's what I'll be doing.

Jason Goroncy's blog will give you more information.

Dancing with teenagers

Last weekend, Nov5-6 2016, Anne and I travelled to Benalla in Northern Victoria for an annual dinner dance. What interested me most about this is that it is a youth group event for the Benalla - Balmattum Presbyterian Churches and it is a formal event. People are expected to dress up for the night - and they did. It was also more than just a local event. There were youth from Broadford and Albury churches there as well.

I should confess that this photo is a different event to the one in the blog.

It was also used a fund-raiser for Barnabas Fund and their work to support people fleeing from war-torn countries. These young people are aware of what's happening in the world and want to do something to help.

But beyond this, it was a terrific night for youth and a much older generation to get together. There were only a few older ones who were taking part in the dancing, and Anne and I at least had a go at some of them. In the background though were a team of people who had been cooking, who were now serving and then washing up. And it was great to see.

So, when I read this blog post today on inter-generational ministry, my mind went back to last week.

I encourage you to follow the link and take it in yourself, but here are a couple of stand out comments:

As one senior adult woman put it, “The Snow Ball was a way to get to put names and faces together. We laughed and giggled lots during the line dances. I became acquainted with some I did not know.”

The author made this comment:

I would argue that the value of these connections is a two-way street—the adults benefit as much as the youth.

I agree.

Can you help to connect some of the youth in your church to some of those older saints?

Dancing with teenagers

I should confess that this photo is a different event to the one in the blog.

Last weekend, Nov5-6 2016, Anne and I travelled to Benalla in Northern Victoria for an annual dinner dance. What interested me most about this is that it is a youth group event for the Benalla - Balmattum Presbyterian Churches and it is a formal event. People are expected to dress up for the night - and they did. It was also more than just a local event. There were youth from Broadford and Albury churches there as well.

It was also used a fund-raiser for Barnabas Fund and their work to support people fleeing from war-torn countries. These young people are aware of what's happening in the world and want to do something to help.

But beyond this, it was a terrific night for youth and a much older generation to get together. There were only a few older ones who were taking part in the dancing, and Anne and I at least had a go at some of them. In the background though were a team of people who had been cooking, who were now serving and then washing up. And it was great to see.

So, when I read this blog post today on inter-generational ministry, my mind went back to last week.

I encourage you to follow the link and take it in yourself, but here are a couple of stand out comments:

As one senior adult woman put it, “The Snow Ball was a way to get to put names and faces together. We laughed and giggled lots during the line dances. I became acquainted with some I did not know.”

The author made this comment:

I would argue that the value of these connections is a two-way street—the adults benefit as much as the youth.

I agree.

Can you help to connect some of the youth in your church to some of those older saints?

A song (poem) for our time

Today we heard a sermon from Psalm 10 from Rev Dean Carroll. I was leading the service so was looking for songs that we could use that were appropriate. So I looked at the Scripture Index in the Rejoice songbook of Presbyterian Church of Victoria. We didn't sing the song, but I used these words as a benediction.

It is truly a song for our time.


In my hour of grief or need
When a friend is friend indeed,

Now, when Satan walks abroad,
Be not far from me, O Lord.

When the powers of evil ride
Through the world in open pride,
Flaunted sins and boasted shame
Bring contempt upon Your Name,
When the godless man is strong,
When his mouth is filled with wrong,
Bitterness, deceit and fraud,
Be not far from me, O Lord.

When the poor becomes his prey,
When the weak are led astray,
Right is wrong and truth is lies:
Then, O Lord our God, arise!

Timothy Dudley Smith – Rejoice 496

PYV 2016 North Camp - Day Three

Crazy Hats - North Camp 2016

On the PYV regional camps, the final day always seems to come around very quickly. Waking up today to see clear blue skies and the sweet sound of no cars meant it was shaping up to be a great day. The early morning leader’s meeting, a prayer gathering, and then breakfast led us to the agonising part of camp – cleaning out our dorms. It is always my hope when this is done that everybody takes home all of their possessions and there will be no lost property for us to deal with.

Our morning session again included a time to answer questions that youth had placed into the question hat. Which reminds me, did I say that our camp theme is “Crazy Hats”? Last night before dinner we had a camp photo with everyone in their crazy hats. Some people have gone to a great effort to either find or create a crazy hat. They may not all be practical, but they were fun to see. Anyway, that’s why we had questions in the question hat.

 

In our session we have sung, we have prayed, and we have had another ‘Chats with Gresham’. Today we heard from two young men who know each other very well, but still were kind enough not to tell any embarrassing stories about each other. Brothers can be nice.

The singing at this camp has been terrific. We introduced some songs which were new for some of us but which were picked up very quickly. Hopefully we will have them listed on the PYV website or Facebook page soon. Perhaps your church might like to learn them as well. The talks from camp should be there soon too.

Adam spoke this morning on the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Just imagine what it must have been like at the moment Jesus said “Open the grave”. What would be going through your mind as you heard those words? Would you think about the smell? Or the sight? Or would you be wondering how mad Jesus must have been to have said something like this. But then imagine what it would have been like to actually see Lazarus walk out of that tomb! Isn’t it interesting then that for John as he wrote the gospel, the main thing wasn’t the miracle but the sign – what the miracle was pointing to. Nothing, not even death, can stop Jesus. John 20:30-31 is a key statement in the gospel of John. If you’re reading the gospel, read this first.

Morning tea was followed by the final study group session. This study was on the greatest of miracles recorded in the gospels – the resurrection of Jesus. The teenagers who have been at this camp have been confronted again and again by the miracles of Jesus and what they point to. They have been given excellent reasons to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. If you have a teenager attending this camp, please talk with them about this.

After lunch we cleaned up and as I write this, most of the campers have gone. We just have a few leaders here who will be taking these campers home soon.

So, all too quickly, our time has ended and we will all soon be on the highway heading home.

Thanks for praying for us. Thanks for supporting PYV with your prayer and by sending your children to camp. We hope they have found it worthwhile.