Growing in faith can happen in a multitude of ways: worship, Bible study, serving, praying, interaction with others, and one of my favorites, being in God’s creation. I have grown up attending Camp Luther, a Lutheran family camp on Lake Erie, every summer of my life. In fact, our family has now camped there for four generations. Why do we keep going back? Is it because of the s’mores, the staff-led musical, seeing the sun set into Lake Erie, the wind blowing through the trees, seeing a nest of bald eagles take off and land in a nearby tree? Sure, some of it has to do with that, but most of our fondest camp memories and the reason we keep returning is because of the relationships that are built during a week at camp. When you break bread with someone, worship with someone, laugh with someone, cry with someone, and play games with someone, a bond forms that shows you the image of God in that person. Many people come away from their week at camp claiming that is the spiritual high point of their year.
This week, nine youth from Lord of Life are experiencing Lutheran Memorial Camp, in Fulton, Ohio for the very first time. We hope that you have been praying for them and their parents, as many of them left home for the first time for a week of separation, not only from their parents but from electronics as well. They will experience many of the same things I mentioned above in regards to family camp and will hopefully come back with a multitude of stories to share of how their lives are changed through faith, food, fun, and friends. We will share some of those stories with you over the next couple of weeks.
The first five youth registrations from Lord of Life were able to attend for free because of a scholarship from the camp. The other four youth were given a $100 scholarship from Lord of Life to help make camp affordable for them. Thank you to everyone at Lord of Life who has worked diligently to provide funds for youth programming. You may not see an immediate “return on investment” from supporting these kids, but studies show that a week at church camp has a profound, long-lasting impact on the faith of participants. Months after the camp experience, campers self-identified the following long-term changes: Increased self-confidence, More frequent devotional practices, Increased church attendance, Faith conversations/practices in the home, Increased faith relevance in their lives (https://vibrantfaith.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ECRP-Phase-2-Executive-Summary.pdf).
During the week of June 30 - July 6, five families from Lord of Life will be attending Camp Luther in Conneaut, Ohio. Please pray for those families in the same way that you are praying for our youth campers. There is still one FREE all-inclusive registration left for a family that may want to join us, just contact Pastor Corey. Lord of Life will be partnering again with Lutheran Outdoor Ministries in Ohio to offer significant discounts to first-time campers next summer, so be sure to make plans now to attend! No matter how you choose to spend your summer, the staff at LOL hopes that you are finding ways to connect with God and grow deeper in faith and loving relationships.
Soon to be swinging in a hammock,
Pastor Corey