Follow the link to their article which also includes strategies for you as the youth minister or parent.

Here is a reminder for us from the liturgy for Holy Baptism.

Celebrant addresses the congregation, saying:

Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this person in their life in Christ?

People: We Will.

As believers in Christ and members of the Church, we vow to support spiritual formation and growth of every baptized individual. Not only do we vow to support them, we vow to do all in our power to support them. If we dig deeper into what it truly looks like when we support others, we realize that it is a heart-shaping process that can be painful. Supporting someone in their formation means that we take the back seat, we stabilize the ladder for them to stand, and we walk behind and encourage them forward. It is the painful process of giving up part of ourselves for the sake of another human being.

One part of supporting the children and youth in our churches is about providing them a place to serve. Imagine the formational shift that would occur in our congregations if that happened. Our senior adults could teach a teenager how to pronounce words in a reading before the service begins. A new family could be greeted by a fifth grader at the door. A ninth grader could walk alongside a parent to bring the offering to the altar. This endeavor to step aside embodies the theology of lifelong formation.

My encouragement to you is take small steps. Discern with your Rector ways to support the youth Sunday mornings. Perhaps the first step is to encourage the youth to sit in the front two rows and observe the fine details of the service. Maybe the next step is having youth greet newcomers with a smile and handshake at the front door. I do not think you should immediately ditch your youth Sunday service, but I challenge you to think about its mission and how it can be more widely applied.

My prayer for us as a community is that we begin to live into our baptismal vows and step aside for the sake of another. It is when we give up part of ourselves that we are changed as individuals and as a church.

“Growing up in a small church with a small youth group, relationships were all that we had. Today, the group I work with is much larger, with full-on light-and-sound experience. From knowing how incredible those relationships were growing up, smaller groups and relationships have formed out of our larger group. Years from now, I don’t want the youth of today to remember how great the lights were. I want them to tell me that I made a difference in their lives, like the difference so many people made in my life years ago.”

The challenge for many of us as “smaller church youth workers” is that we want to be like the bigger churches. We want the unlimited resources. We like to imagine the hundreds of youth pouring into our doors for youth group with lights and music pulsing in the background. We long to be the youth programs that have too many sponsors and are forced to turn some away from events or weekly programs.

Stephanie Caro writes, “Kill the phrase, ‘but we’re just a small church.’” Salivating over and longing to be another ministry is idolatry. God has given us all a ministry regardless of the size, resources, and volunteers. We are called to reach out and form relationships with the flock God has placed before us. The blessings of small church youth ministry are huge! You have the opportunity to know each of your youth by name and the opportunity to invest in their lives individually. Our ministries – big and small – are focused on relationships. Frequently, we measure growth numerically, but also through healthy relationships that stem from a relationship rooted in Christ. As a youth worker you have an opportunity that many cannot claim. We are called, challenged, prodded and dropped into a ministry not by accident, but purposefully placed. My prayer is that we live into our calling where we are and give our attention to those five, ten or fifty youth that are looking for a mentor, a minister, and a friend.

Kill the phrase, “but we’re just a small church.” Just be you.

Stephanie's book can be purchased online through Group.

Caro, Stephanie. 99 Thoughts for Smaller Church Youth Workers: Doing More with Less. Loveland, CO: Group Pub. : Simply Youth Ministry, 2011. Print.

Back in November, I started thinking about what to do with our EYC over Spring Break.  For the past few years, we have tried to schedule a ski trip but it has become financially prohibitive.  So this year, I tried to think out of the box and came up with the idea of a Staycation (visiting fun places in the Houston area).  I also thought that we should tie into the Staycation one or two service projects.  I was discussing this idea with my Root group at our lunch in November and Jon Henson (St. Christopher’s, League City Youth Minister) wanted to jump on board.  After brainstorming a while, we both came to the conclusion that we needed to do a service project and fun activity every day during Spring Break. Both of us were getting very excited about the potential of a Spring Break Staycation and Service Week that we started spreading the word.  Shortly after, Maizeanne Scarpati (Youth Minister at St. Cuthbert’s) found out about our plans and jumped right in on the formation team. 

At our first team meeting in January, we decided to also incorporate a daily devotional into our day of service and fun.  Each of us contacted different service organizations and set up five days of service work for our group.  We purchased the Houston City Pass for each of our youth which allowed us to visit 5 attractions throughout the Houston Area.  Having a Staycation allowed our youth to participate all week or choose what days they could participate.  This allowed for those who had Spring Break plans at the beginning of the week or end of the week the opportunity to join us for a few days.  It was also helpful to our older youth who have part-time jobs to participate and still go to work.  We kept the price of the week low by buying the City Pass which gave us up to a 50% discount to the Houston Area Attractions and having everyone pack a picnic lunch.  Not one youth spent over $50 for the full week of activities.

Click here to see what they did each day!

Suzy Spencer is the Youth & Family Director at Good Shepherd Episcopal in Friendswood.

Before loading the buses to head to Colorado, Eric Moen (Director of Youth Ministries, St. Martin’s) told the youth, “We do not leave a place the same way we found it. As Christians and Episcopalians we leave it better than when we found it.” The youth on this trip not only got a great opportunity to have fun as a community together, they changed lives. Whether it was starting conversation with someone on the chair lift or thanking the cashier at the coffee shop, people’s lives were changed. We forget about those small moments where God is at work in our simple conversations and interactions. Snowfest builds community around those divine moments.

Every night of the trip youth had the opportunity to tell their “dork stories” for the day. The youth have the chance to stand in front of the room and tell about an embarrassing moment where they felt like a dork that day. Dork stories remind us all that we are created in the image of God and loved in our dorkiness. These moments of being vulnerable draw the youth closer as a community and help us all remember our connection together as the body of Christ.

The youth and adults leave Colorado with memories of a great spring break trip, as a stronger community, and the community of Breckenridge, CO “better than when they found it”.

Working with students, it is our charge to speak truth into their lives. What a blessing and a challenge. Two weeks ago, I attended a day conference of the Orange Tour (www.whatisorange.com). One of the ideas that really stood out to me is that we should say less for more impact. We need to decide exactly what truths God has put on our hearts to say to our particular set of students and say it with certainty.

In an age of constant communication it seems we aren’t saying much of anything. Real and meaningful communication can be pushed aside for convenience. One of the things I believe God has put on my heart to share with students is that God loves them, in spite of and because of their faults and gifts, and it is their job to share that with others, and to share it with certainty and conviction. It is my ultimate desire that they leave my time with them knowing they are loved by their creator and that we are each charged to love others in that way, and that my students truly believe that… in the original meaning of the word.

It should not be our aim to produce a set of blindly rule-following kids. They should know what and why they are doing it all. It requires a change of heart, not an acknowledgement of a list.

This generation of students has the potential to change the face and heart of the church, to show the world that the love of Christ is relevant. It is our job to equip them. It is our job to say something real to them, to speak truth into their lives.

This poem, of sorts, by Taylor Mali called ‘Totally like whatever, you know?’ is a great reminder not only to our students but to us and our leaders as well, how important it is to know what God is trying to use us to say and to really SAY it, with our words and our actions. View poem and video here.

May we strive to align our hearts with God’s and open our ears to what he wants us to say.

Kim Rogers is the Director of Youth Ministries at St. Mark's, Bellaire and the Root Group East Harris Convocational Leader.

Table fellowship time is the first thing to go in many busy families. That time is so important.  It’s the time of day to sit down and talk about your day, discuss what happened at school and work, and really hear what your teenagers are saying. 

In youth ministry, table fellowship is crucial.  It is a chance for the youth to just visit, and foster that relationship we want them to have, especially for students that do not go to school together.  Meals during youth time are the chance for the youth minister and volunteers to really hear what is happening in the lives of their youth.  It’s those candid moments that the youth know there are adults that care about them, that want to hear how they are doing and be a part of their lives.  The time around the table enjoying a nice home-cooked meal (well, actually pizza or fried chicken!) gives your group a chance to really get to know one another on a more personal level, and is something that no activity can equal.  It’s not about the content of the conversation, it’s about the quality.

So parents, I know how hard it can be to sit together as a family for a meal, but give it a shot if you don’t already.  Look at your calendar and pick one night a week to be the designated family night.  If you have more than one night a week for a family dinner, go for it!  Sit together, turn off the television, cell phones, iPads and computers.  Give everyone the chance to talk about their day.  I hear some parents say, “My teenager won’t talk to me.”  Here’s one way around that - make “Blessings and Bummers” a part of your family dinner.  We do this almost every week in youth group, and the kids can’t wait to share their blessing and bummer from the previous week with everyone.  “Blessings and Bummers” is the equivalent of “Highs and Lows”, with the stipulation that you may have more than one blessing and bummer per person, but you cannot have more bummers than blessings.  See what you get tonight when you sit down for dinner and discuss your day.  Give everyone a turn, even the parents.  It’s important for the teenagers to hear how your day was as well.

Happy eating, and talking!

Erin Busby

Director of Youth and Family Ministries, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Waco

Oftentimes this familiar sentence from Mark’s gospel stirs up conversation focused around outreach, humbleness and worldly possessions. While that is a significant topic to focus our attention, only one word spoke to me this time around. The entirety of the church’s mission to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ is summed up in a two-letter word that we perpetually gloss over: go.

We spend a great deal of our time talking about how we as believers can form disciples and learn how to follow Christ in our own life, but how often are we challenged with the call to “go”. Just like the man in this passage, who had become comfortable following the commandments, we also become too content with what rituals and rules we need to follow. Jesus is transforming the way that we should view a life of laying down our possessions and desires to carry His cross. As fellow believers Jesus guides us away from the enslavement of commandments and into the freedom of going out.

As fellow youth ministers my encouragement for all of us is to go. Leave the office. Walk away from the MacBook and coffee. Step off of the church steps and into the schools for lunch. Join your youth for breakfast at a doughnut shop before school. Ask them how they are doing other than at the beginning of youth group. It’s time for us to leave the confines of what we are comfortable with and reach beyond the walls of the church building. The moment that we move out we learn what it truly means to radically form disciples and follow Christ. Let’s challenge ourselves and go.

Both take place at Camp Allen from Feb. 24-26. Register here.

Every year thousands of people flee their homelands to escape the threat of violence and persecution.  Their time in exile can be long – sometimes years or decades.  Sometimes, they have no hope of returning to their home country. Episcopal Migration Ministries is one of only nine agencies that work with the US Department of State to resettle refugees in communities across the United States.  As one of the largest ministries of the Episcopal Church, EMM is a statement to the world about Episcopalians’ commitment to welcome the stranger, shelter those in danger, and learn to be neighbors all over again.

Whether you’re interested in community engagement, international justice, or the politics of immigration, you are invited to join other young adults from across the Episcopal Church for a six-day immersion experience to learn about refugee resettlement in our country, to see first hand how the Episcopal Church engages this worldwide issue of justice, to explore the faith basis for our work for justice, and to reflect on your own vocation as it interacts with this work.

Young adults  (18-30 years old) from across the Episcopal Church and its networks are encouraged to apply. Applications are due January 15, 2012. Click here to read more and apply today: http://www.formstack.com/forms/DFMS-ELIYA

For more information contact Jason Sierra in the Office for Young Adult and Campus Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center
jsierra@episcopalchurch.org or 646-316-0783 or visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Episcopal-Young-Adult-and-Campus-Ministries/144339395595177

Small group ministry models are nothing new.  Many churches have built themselves around some sort of small group system for years.  At St. Martin’s we are in our second year of a youth program that revolves around midweek small groups (Key Groups) that meet in parishioner’s homes.  The change that we’ve seen take place in the lives of our students is unbelievable.  The connections that our students are making with one another are incredible.  Parents are becoming more in tune with what their children are talking about at church and students who would never step foot onto our campus are demanding that their parents get them to Group.  Maybe the last bit was a bit of an exaggeration but the results have left us asking ourselves one question:  “Why didn’t we think of this sooner?”

Small groups may not work for every youth group depending on attendance and geography but I encourage you to consider the possibility for the next few minutes.

We were not made to be alone.

Humans are designed to be in relationship.  We are built to interact with other people.  Think about the greatest moments of your life; it’s unlikely that you immediately reflect on a time that you were alone.  Our greatest memories are seasoned by the people who were there with us at the time.  Jesus’ life and ministry were no different.  Yes, solitude was an important part of Christ’s life and we should each seek time to be alone with God.  However, it doesn’t take a comprehensive knowledge of scripture to know that Jesus spent much of his time with a group of close companions.  These disciples were not only present for each of Jesus’ miracles, they were together in times of need.  The disciples relied on each other as well as God.

We were not made to get lost in the crowd.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

(1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV)

We know that scripture tells us that we are all equally important in the Kingdom of God.  No man, woman, boy or girl is considered useless.  No one is considered “just another person”.  Even though we know in our hearts that we are of great importance to God, we often find ourselves lost in the crowd.  It’s even easy to get lost at church sometimes, the place where we should feel most valued.  Our goal as ministers is to ensure that each person receives some sort of personal contact while they’re on campus but inevitably, we miss a few.  Even EYC can be a difficult time to have a quality conversation when there are so many students moving around. 

Small Groups give students the opportunity to find their voice and let it be heard.  Small Groups have provided countless stories of students speaking up and speaking out for the first time.  This newfound confidence has carried over to our larger events and helped our students gain a greater appreciation for kids that they may not engage with otherwise.  On the other end of the spectrum, Small Groups are a great opportunity for the more outspoken students to talk out their beliefs and listen to the beliefs of their fellow Small Group members. Small group settings are the perfect place to feel valued, appreciated, and heard.

We were made to live in community.

We are called to live out our faith together.  Christ had a close group of friends who shared his life with him.  We are charged with living as He did.  Our communities serve as our support system.  They are where we turn when things go wrong, they are the people we want around us in our moments of greatest achievements.  Small Groups are ready made community.  If you’re looking for a way to develop a greater sense of family in your youth ministry, I think there is no better way than putting students with students and letting them grow.

Barry Moore, Small Group Coordinator, St. Martin's Episcopal Church

While I am paraphrasing Jesus’ actual words to his disciples during the last supper, that statement is true. Food brings people together. It draws wanderers into a warm home, a crowded church or a soup kitchen and gives them eternal sustenance. As individuals gather around a table and good food is taken out of serving dishes, blessings are lifted to God and each other, loaves of bread are broken into pieces and plates are shared between friends, our souls are drawn together. We are reminded of our calling in the church to be a community that finds its identity in the passion of Christ and as we eat together we realize that we are all broken people who need one other.

Many youth programs across the diocese have recognized the need for their communities to eat together. Any normal youth loves food. What a good way to remember Christ! These youth programs are holding progressive dinners where youth pile into vehicles and travel to parishioner’s homes to eat and worship together. Food brings us back to the last supper, draws us closer to one another and gives us food for eternal life.

How do you start a progressive dinner?

• Recruit three sponsors or parents to host a course in their home (appetizers, entrée and dessert).
• Recruit youth sponsors to drive the youth between homes. Another transportation option is to rent a party bus and collect money from each youth (depending on the number of youth signed up).
• Have youth register for the event and let the hosts know how much food to prepare.
• Plan a schedule out for the event and remember to take into consideration the transportation time in between homes). Plan at least thirty minutes for each home.
• Some youth programs split the Holy Eucharist service into three parts and do each part at the three different homes as they eat together.
• Try not to rush and leave time for conversation at each home. Remember that the purpose is to have fun and build the community.

For more information on progressive dinners, here are a few churches that are holding dinners in December.

Sarah Taylor, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Houston

Jeremy Bradley, Christ Church Cathedral, Houston

Eric Moen, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston

My prayer for our youth community during this season of waiting with expectant hearts is that we remain focused on that holy night. As we walk through this season together, let us prepare our bodies and souls for the coming of the Lord.

Many blessings to you and our youth during this Advent season.

When? November 20 5:00 pm -7:00 pm

Where? 1015 Holman St. Houston TX 77004

Deatils? Mass at 5:00 followed by meal and open dance floor.

This is a great opportunity to bring your youth and worship with a larger diocesan youth community.

For more information contact Ed Ziegler. 

When planning any youth group event, I try to align it with at least one of the following ideals; Scripture, Worship, Service and Fellowship. Our 80’s Prom was an amazing way to build on and enhance the foundation of fellowship that has been created. It was amazing to see how the group mixed, mingled and included each other. I know that many seeds of friendship were planted.

Since then, we’ve had two Sunday Night Youth Group meetings complete with yummy food, a talk about knowing who we are in Christ and that we belong to Christ, a Senior High Retreat to Port Aransas where we learned about Growing the Kingdom and two Monday Night Bible Study meetings where we discussed Romans and how Paul’s wise and challenging words can be applied to our own lives.

I encourage you to decide what ideals you will build your program on, and continue to refer back to them. Make sure that each event reflects the purpose, mission and vision of Youth Ministry at your church and in your community. I, along with the St. Mark’s Youth Community are looking forward to a year full of scripture, worship, service and fellowship while learning to live in a way that responds to God’s Love, Mercy and Grace.

For more information, please contact Kim Rogers at kim.rogers@stmarks-houston.org.

Youth Group Summer 2011

Hi, my name is Hunter and I am in 8^th grade at Doerre Intermediate. Wow. What a great summer this has been! To kick-off the summer the Junior High went to the Beacon in downtown Houston. The Beacon is a place that feeds the homeless and cleans their clothes. When we got there it had just opened for lunch. Man, the line was looooong! They usually feed about 500-700 people per meal! Well, as soon as we arrived I was put on kitchen duty. Person after person, tray after tray, I scooped food, food, and more food. But, it was really eye-opening to see these people who had next to nothing just be so grateful for me to scoop them some fruit! Just to see those people who had so little to be so excited about something as small as a meal. So thankful I gave up only a mere half of a day of my life to serve them. It really taught me to be thankful for what I had and not just always want more. The latest iPhone, the newest purse, the cutest clothes, the best makeup. Then Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 This verse is soo true and the people at the Beacon really live that verse out. They are so happy and thankful for what little they have. Well, that was definitely a great experience. But ohhhh the best was yet to come….

Arriving at the church after three straight weeks of being gone from home! I had only been back not even a day and I was about to leave, yet again. I had been to New York, San Diego, and a Horseshow in Tulsa! Anyways, I was super excited. At the beginning summer, I had grown soo close to God but I had been so busy I could feel myself drifting away. Camp Eagle (an outdoor Christian adventure camp) was just the thing to have a blast and build my relationship back up with God. After 7 long hours with 12 other junior high kids (I felt sorry for the adults especially Papa who drove all the way!) we had finally arrived! As soon as we got out of the van we were introduced to our counselors Heather and Gibby! Man, were our counselors sooooo fun and excitable! After we had unpacked our stuff we made our first hike over to where we were having dinner. Loud music, whipped cream fights, and good food really assured how much I was going to like it here!

After the dinner was time for worship where we sang, heard stories, and much more! Well, that night, we were told the most fascinating story and there was not a dry eye in the place! This was a story about a person who was locked in this room with each wall filled with these accordion folders each labeled different things like, “Laughs I’ve had.” And more intense things like, “Sins I have committed.” And this person opened these folders and read every single card, each signed with her name at the bottom. Some making her laugh and some making her feel ashamed of herself that she had ever done these things. But then there was one folder left, “People I have shared the Gospel with.” She opened the folder and started to cry. There were so few cards in this folder she could count them on one hand. None could see these cards she thought. So she tried to destroy them but none would destroy. And then Jesus came in. And he took this red pen and wrote his name over hers on every card. This story really touched my heart and reminded no matter what you do God loves you and he died on the cross for your sins, every single one of them.

The next day, we did the coolest thing. We all found a rock that represented you and we had to carry it around. We had no idea why but we all did. Then we split up as a church, guys and girls, and went on our separate ways. That day we found out the rock was representing our life story and we shared that story and why the rock represented us. Each day we learned how to tell our stories better and that Jesus should be the hero of our stories.

Camp Eagle really taught me to overcome my fears, my worries, and to just let everything go and give it up to Jesus. From zip lining to bible study it really opened my eyes up to God and how beautiful he thought I was. The really cool thing about this camp was that everything we did had a purpose. I remember the first day we were told we were banned from the campsite like Adam and Eve because someone ate from the Sacred Tree of candy! Then one day was Christmas and Jesus’ birth and one day we even had Manna from Heaven!  The most empowering thing of the whole camp was the last day. That morning we had had sooooo much fun playing games and just having a blast! Then, that afternoon they told us everything was getting a little more serious. We were going to walk around and every once and a while we would stop. When we stopped our counselors would read a miracle and 2 people would be silenced for the rest of the day. And at that moment my heart dropped. In my head all I could think was, I was going to be the first one silenced, I knew it. And sure enough I was silenced not allowed to say a peep. As we were making our way around silencing people as we went we had bible studies. Not being able to talk I sat back and listened. One thing that was very hard for me because I love to talk and have all the answers. But not then. It really opened my heart and my ears and taught me yet another valuable lesson.

Finally, after we got back to the main campsite everyone was silenced even Ms. Britney! That night we ate basically what the disciples ate at the Eucharist dinner (which taught me I am not a big fan of raw parsley dipped in salt water) and our counselors even washed our feet! At worship we all took our rocks and we were given the ultimate decision: give up your rock, your story, to Jesus so he can control your life story or keep your rock and keep controlling your life until you’re ready to give it all to Jesus. They gave us 20 minutes to find a place and pray and make up your mind. After praying for the entire 20 minutes I knew in my heart what was the right thing to do was: give up my rock and take up a cross symbolizing giving it all to Jesus. As you can see there is writing on my cross: “Jesus is the Hero of my story. And also I put I will not show you what is on the road ahead, but I will thoroughly equip you for the journey.” This cross means sooo much to me and I pray with it every day.  So I went from a rock very similar to this one, to a cross. A rock showing my struggles and uphill battle all the way, to a cross your burdens given to Jesus. If you take away one thing from this speech take away this; I went as Hunter, just a normal lukewarm Christian. I came back as Hunter, God’s beautiful and fearfully made child. I learned so much from this summer. About myself, about God, and about who the true hero of my story is, Jesus.

His message is true. Many of our Generation Xers and millenials (transgenerational post-modernists) are coming from broken homes and families and they are searching for close-knit communities. As a church we have to begin discovering ways to create those groups. We have to come to the realization that we can no longer continue to offer flashy programs with the hope that youth will come to us. We are called to go out and get them. In the parable of the landowner and the laborers in Matthew 20, the landowner “went out” several times throughout the day to find laborers to come into the vineyard. In the same way, we have to go out. School lunches, coffee after school and small groups are all great ways to reach our younger generation. We need to begin thinking outside of our normal practices and start feeling slightly uncomfortable. Our youth have a need to be connected but we need to take the initiative. These two generations are the ones who will “recapture the heart of the Christian movement-the heart of God expressed in Christian community”.

My prayer for us as ministers in the Church is that we can push ourselves to think creatively and be intentional about building our youth and young adult community. It is a community that needs connectedness. Let’s go!

McNeal, Reggie. "Community." A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Print.

I often wonder if we have forgotten the basic roots of our faith. Have we forgotten the place where that seed of faith began to grow? Have we forgotten that this man named Jesus came to take away our transgressions?  It is the faith that our sinful, imperfect and unworthy self could be forgiven by a jealous, angry, perfect, and loving God. I think as the Christian community we need to do a better job of remembering those basic roots of our faith. So often we are clouded with the arguments found within the Church that originally brought us together. Let us put aside our arguments and come back to the center of it all.

I am looking forward to revisiting the basics of faith with our youth and digging deep into these truths. That in coming back to the basics, we can then build a stronger foundation in our beliefs enabling us to truly live out the Great Commission. 

For more information on the youth program at Christ Church Cathedral. Click here or email jbradley@christchurchcathedral.org.

I preached that morning on the transformational words: take, bless, break and give. Through those four words God transforms bread, wine and lives. I was reminded that Camp Allen is simply a place. It is made up of concrete and wood. It is a conference center, high ropes course, blob, pools, campsites and a pavilion. It is a place and does not change lives.

God transforms our lives. God takes us from wherever we are in our lives, blesses us by giving thanks, breaks us apart, and gives us true life. We are changed from the inside out. Camp Allen doesn't transform lives, God does.

We are called to go out. We are called to leave Camp Allen and bring our new selves out into the world and share those four transformative words with others. We are called to breathe youthfulness and life into our churches. We are called to revitalize programs and change lives through Jesus Christ.

God is definitely working through summer camp at Camp Allen. God is changing lives and inspiring youth to go out to their churches and share their faith in Jesus Christ. It is a hope that takes, blesses, breaks and gives.