Revolution is more than just a worship team and a group of crazy counselors to me. It was the body of Christ. It was like having church all the time this summer!! I’m not lying when I say that it was Christian community at it’s finest. Sure we disagreed and argued from time to time, but through it all our hearts were one and the same. These men truly desire and seek after Christ. I remember thinking during training week of how you become like the people you surround yourself with. I decided quickly at the beginning of our adventures together that I was very very okay with that, and in fact I wanted a little piece of the hearts and personalities of all of the guys to be transferred to me throughout the summer. If nothing else we developed the same expressions and mannerisms by the end lol. God blessed us so much this summer it is hard to believe looking back. From here it’s our desire to not let the summer go – and by that I mean to not stop encouraging, praying for, and challenging one another to follow harder after Christ and to build the kingdom of God on this earth. We can’t let up after a summer like this one!
Thank you all for reading and following along this summer. We honestly could not have done what we did without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and the prayers of you all. We cannot thank you enough. Continue to pray for the decisions that kids made this summer and continue, if you would, to keep the guys from Revolution in your prayers as we continue to pursue our great Creator, Savior, Redeemer and Lord.
Now, We Shine
“We are the redeemed
We are the ones who are free
And we belong to Jesus
We are now alive
And in this world we will shine
Cause we belong to Jesus
The spirit of God is freedom reins
So come on, come on throw off your prison chains
We're liberated by the King only freedom remains
For the people of God, yeah, the people of God
We're livin in a kingdom that will never end
We're livin in the power that defeated sin
So come on everybody let your praise begin
Cause Jesus is alive and he's comin again
And now is the time for the poeple to rise
Lift up a shout, everybody cry out
Raise your voice, shout out a noise
And dance a dance of joy
We are the redeemed
We are the ones who are free
And we belong to Jesus
We are now alive
And in this world we will shine
Cause we belong to Jesus
We're goin into all the world
Carrying the light of Jesus
And we shine, yeah we shine
In the darkest place we shine
We are the redeemed
We are the ones who are free
And we belong to Jesus
We are now alive
And in this world we will shine
Cause we belong to Jesus”
WE BELONG TO JESUS!!!!!!!
God bless you all!
Monday, August 9, 2010
FCA
FCA camp was an incredible time of rejuvenation and reflection. The camp was held at Indiana Wesleyan and provided all of it’s own counselors - Christian collegiate athletes. Our team stayed at home base in Bowman all week and were able to enjoy the peacefulness and sanctity of having our own space to unwind after a crazy but incredible summer. We had a meeting Sunday night and set up the stage in the Globe theatre in the morning. There were two services Monday, and we played for both. The incredible thing about FCA was that the campers there were all leaders and had an evident desire to worship. We were able to sing with one voice with them from day 1, which typically had taken longer other weeks. The kids had a great desire to learn and excel, having the discipline and healthy spirits that athletes tend to possess.
The kids had a blast with all of the songs but certainly their favorite songs were We Shine and Counting on God. We were able to participate with the kids in several competitions like volleyball and basketball tournaments. We were also able to eat with the kids in Baldwin every day and spark some relationships that way.
The week was light over all which allowed for a spontaneous water fight… the biggest and most dangerous water fight I may have ever been a part of… just ask Denny, Chris and Chris. Seth, with his RA instincts stopped us before we really hurt anything haha. The week also allowed for a late night pizza party with some old friends from Bay Shore. Papa Johns mmMmmm! Thank you Chris!
The speaker this week was Sean McDowell, the son of Josh McDowell. Sean did a great job presenting the kids with evidences for Christ and the Bible. He also spoke on Forgiveness and how that relates to our lives. It was truly a pleasure to get to hear him speak. The other amazing speaker we had this week was Tanya Crevier, the greatest basketball spinner in the world. Seriously ☺ She has traveled all over the world doing camps, conferences, NBA half time shows etc. She was a truly incredible woman of God. She performed an awesome show for the kids and then gave her testimony, talking about setting goals and keeping her integrity high. Keeping her eyes focused on Christ gave her the ability to do the impossible, as she demonstrated with a stick and a basketball! Her last feat of awesomeness was spinning 10 basketballs at a time. It was ridiculous!!
FCA was only three days long, and so we played for the last time together on Wednesday night at a banquet for the kids and their parents. We played the songs Happy Day, Jesus Paid it All, and Counting on God. It was a blast once again and it seemed the kids could hardly contain themselves with the Joy of the Lord inside. After the banquet the kids headed for home and we began the process of wrapping up the summer. We debriefed on Thursday and after we had returned, cleaned and packed everything, we all said our goodbyes, thanked God for the best summer of our lives, and headed home.
The kids had a blast with all of the songs but certainly their favorite songs were We Shine and Counting on God. We were able to participate with the kids in several competitions like volleyball and basketball tournaments. We were also able to eat with the kids in Baldwin every day and spark some relationships that way.
The week was light over all which allowed for a spontaneous water fight… the biggest and most dangerous water fight I may have ever been a part of… just ask Denny, Chris and Chris. Seth, with his RA instincts stopped us before we really hurt anything haha. The week also allowed for a late night pizza party with some old friends from Bay Shore. Papa Johns mmMmmm! Thank you Chris!
The speaker this week was Sean McDowell, the son of Josh McDowell. Sean did a great job presenting the kids with evidences for Christ and the Bible. He also spoke on Forgiveness and how that relates to our lives. It was truly a pleasure to get to hear him speak. The other amazing speaker we had this week was Tanya Crevier, the greatest basketball spinner in the world. Seriously ☺ She has traveled all over the world doing camps, conferences, NBA half time shows etc. She was a truly incredible woman of God. She performed an awesome show for the kids and then gave her testimony, talking about setting goals and keeping her integrity high. Keeping her eyes focused on Christ gave her the ability to do the impossible, as she demonstrated with a stick and a basketball! Her last feat of awesomeness was spinning 10 basketballs at a time. It was ridiculous!!
FCA was only three days long, and so we played for the last time together on Wednesday night at a banquet for the kids and their parents. We played the songs Happy Day, Jesus Paid it All, and Counting on God. It was a blast once again and it seemed the kids could hardly contain themselves with the Joy of the Lord inside. After the banquet the kids headed for home and we began the process of wrapping up the summer. We debriefed on Thursday and after we had returned, cleaned and packed everything, we all said our goodbyes, thanked God for the best summer of our lives, and headed home.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Indiana Central Family Camp
Frankfort Indiana
Family camp was interesting! This was our first camp that ran from Sunday to Sunday without any sort of break before the next camp – FCA - which began Monday morning. Since I have already explained this camp to many of you in person, I will [try to] be brief. However, if I haven’t personally told you the stories from Frankfort yet… hopefully this will be helpful.
When we arrived Sunday night we met with Ryan, the youth director at the family camp, and found the youth tabernacle where we would be playing. After some interesting complications with our lodgings, the kids and our team were thankfully allowed to move to another building for the week. After setting up the stage that night, we got to meet some of the kids and finally fall into bed, which may or may not have been a good choice since the mattresses weren’t the most comfortable things in the world. It was difficult for some of the guys to get to sleep, which made the next day a bit more challenging. However, the neat thing about this week was that our entire team was staying together in the same cabin with the kids. This gave us cool windows of opportunity to build unique relationships.
The schedule at Fankfort was simple. Wake up, breakfast at 8:00, group game at 10:00 (ie, shaving creak whiffleball, volleyball, softball, amazing race with blow up water slide and slip & slide, and beach ball soccer), lunch at noon, 3:00 youth service, 5:00 dinner, 7:00 Family Tabernacle, 10:00 night game (grog, pizza party/concert, scavenger hunt, mission impossible, movie night, and rain date card night), and lights out at 12:00 am. Chis K, Denny, Seth and I decided to throw in our own event in the mornings - a 7:00 a.m. trip to a local coffee shop! As you can see, the camp was pretty simple as far as schedule and busyness. The rest of the time was free time for the families and the kids. Needless to say we played lots of euchre, ninja, and ball that week.
In the afternoons we played teen tabernacle. We played a concert for one of the night events and we ended up playing twice for the family tabernacle event in the evenings. The tabernacle services were always inspiring and something to look forward to. The sermon from John 3:19-21 especially stuck out to me Tuesday night. It was a message that summed up the whole summer for me since it seemed that the basic message at every camp was about letting our light shine as Christians (Matthew 5:14-16). The speaker, Dr. Mark Weeder, presented the passage by showing how our purpose is to seek out the darkness with our light. We are not to retreat from evil and sin, rather we should seek it out and share the light that we have been blessed to receive. The verse tells us how the darkness hates the light because its deeds are evil. Therefore, we who have the message of reconciliation are to seek out the darkness and simply burn bright. This illustration was given:
“As evening shadows faded and dusk was giving way to darkness, Robert Louis Stevenson, a small boy at the time, had his nose pressed against the window pane of his home. He was fascinated by the old-fashioned lamplighter coming down the street lighting the gas street lamps.
"Look," he cried out in excitement to his nanny, "there's a man coming down the street punching holes in the darkness."
I love this illustration. A vivid analogy to what our lives should be like: springs of hope amidst the surrounding shadows, which the world will see from miles away. Heads will turn when we burn for our Savior and remove the “bushel basket” that may be covering us from the eyes of those who need the light to set them free. Therefore, we let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and give glory to God!
Worship this week was tough since the response was far from overwhelming. However, the effectiveness of God’s ministry through us happened during our cabin time and hang-out time with kids. We were able to minister to lots of kids, getting to hear their stories and then helping equip them for going back home. One of the senior counselors purchased several bibles for kids who didn’t have one. We were able to personally give them to the kids and encourage them to live in the power and peace that it possesses.
We learned a lot from this week! We discovered just how addicted we are to coffee, we found we always need to prepare for sets (even when we’ve been playing together for 2 months), we experienced the full extent of what body odor can do to a cabin (AaAhhHhhhhGhhh), learned that old people cheat at games when playing with kids and teens, and finally we got to experience the blessings of a random act of hospitality and kindness. It was truly a week well spent!
Family camp was interesting! This was our first camp that ran from Sunday to Sunday without any sort of break before the next camp – FCA - which began Monday morning. Since I have already explained this camp to many of you in person, I will [try to] be brief. However, if I haven’t personally told you the stories from Frankfort yet… hopefully this will be helpful.
When we arrived Sunday night we met with Ryan, the youth director at the family camp, and found the youth tabernacle where we would be playing. After some interesting complications with our lodgings, the kids and our team were thankfully allowed to move to another building for the week. After setting up the stage that night, we got to meet some of the kids and finally fall into bed, which may or may not have been a good choice since the mattresses weren’t the most comfortable things in the world. It was difficult for some of the guys to get to sleep, which made the next day a bit more challenging. However, the neat thing about this week was that our entire team was staying together in the same cabin with the kids. This gave us cool windows of opportunity to build unique relationships.
The schedule at Fankfort was simple. Wake up, breakfast at 8:00, group game at 10:00 (ie, shaving creak whiffleball, volleyball, softball, amazing race with blow up water slide and slip & slide, and beach ball soccer), lunch at noon, 3:00 youth service, 5:00 dinner, 7:00 Family Tabernacle, 10:00 night game (grog, pizza party/concert, scavenger hunt, mission impossible, movie night, and rain date card night), and lights out at 12:00 am. Chis K, Denny, Seth and I decided to throw in our own event in the mornings - a 7:00 a.m. trip to a local coffee shop! As you can see, the camp was pretty simple as far as schedule and busyness. The rest of the time was free time for the families and the kids. Needless to say we played lots of euchre, ninja, and ball that week.
In the afternoons we played teen tabernacle. We played a concert for one of the night events and we ended up playing twice for the family tabernacle event in the evenings. The tabernacle services were always inspiring and something to look forward to. The sermon from John 3:19-21 especially stuck out to me Tuesday night. It was a message that summed up the whole summer for me since it seemed that the basic message at every camp was about letting our light shine as Christians (Matthew 5:14-16). The speaker, Dr. Mark Weeder, presented the passage by showing how our purpose is to seek out the darkness with our light. We are not to retreat from evil and sin, rather we should seek it out and share the light that we have been blessed to receive. The verse tells us how the darkness hates the light because its deeds are evil. Therefore, we who have the message of reconciliation are to seek out the darkness and simply burn bright. This illustration was given:
“As evening shadows faded and dusk was giving way to darkness, Robert Louis Stevenson, a small boy at the time, had his nose pressed against the window pane of his home. He was fascinated by the old-fashioned lamplighter coming down the street lighting the gas street lamps.
"Look," he cried out in excitement to his nanny, "there's a man coming down the street punching holes in the darkness."
I love this illustration. A vivid analogy to what our lives should be like: springs of hope amidst the surrounding shadows, which the world will see from miles away. Heads will turn when we burn for our Savior and remove the “bushel basket” that may be covering us from the eyes of those who need the light to set them free. Therefore, we let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and give glory to God!
Worship this week was tough since the response was far from overwhelming. However, the effectiveness of God’s ministry through us happened during our cabin time and hang-out time with kids. We were able to minister to lots of kids, getting to hear their stories and then helping equip them for going back home. One of the senior counselors purchased several bibles for kids who didn’t have one. We were able to personally give them to the kids and encourage them to live in the power and peace that it possesses.
We learned a lot from this week! We discovered just how addicted we are to coffee, we found we always need to prepare for sets (even when we’ve been playing together for 2 months), we experienced the full extent of what body odor can do to a cabin (AaAhhHhhhhGhhh), learned that old people cheat at games when playing with kids and teens, and finally we got to experience the blessings of a random act of hospitality and kindness. It was truly a week well spent!
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