On a snowy evening, in a cabin at Winter Camp last month, seven High School guys sat together, sharing about what God was doing in their hearts. *Brady sat quietly taking it all in as each boy shared. He had a lot of questions. After hearing the speaker share the Gospel and his testimony that night and after experiencing the weekend surrounded by hundreds of students and leaders who were able to not just have fun together but learn and focus on Jesus, Brady began to wonder more of what God was trying to teach him. Earlier that day, Brady had some hard conversations about forgiveness and finding some peace when dealing with hard relationships. It was hard for him to get past anger and negativity.
But God…
As Brady sat there broken and questioning who God was, another student spoke up and asked him, “Are you ready to accept Christ into your life?” Without hesitation, Brady said, “Yes” and every guy in the room, without speaking, stood up around him and started to pray with him and over him. It was breathtaking as guys embraced at the foot of Jesus together.
The Holy Spirit was moving.
On the other side of the camp at the same time, the girls took turns sharing about their life and where they were at in their walk with the Lord. *Felicity who had been to several other camps and trips in years past with us finally piped up. “I’ve been on a lot of these trips. I’ve gone to church. But tonight was the first time I sang those songs with everyone and the lyrics actually felt like they meant something to me.” For the first time, Felicity felt God speaking to her and when she sang along with the worship band. She felt loved by Christ. Worth something.
She wasn’t ready, but she was listening.
Over the course of the weekend at Winter Camp 2024, our group experienced so many amazing conversations, shared experiences and focused teaching time without phones and without distraction. Leaders intentionally spent time with teenagers and saw Christ working through each and every student in different ways. It was a beautiful weekend full of laughter, worship, and growth.
*Names have been changed for confidentiality.
Check out the full photo gallery of Winter Camp 2024