Camp Essay
November 2009
Abigail Metzger
I hardly anticipated that a week at Pioneer Bible Camp would be so enjoyable! From the moment my brother and I arrived, I felt certain the seven days would go by in a rush. Although I didn't make friends instantly as some others did, once I did become acquainted with the girls in my cabin, I felt secure and comfortable. They were funny, welcoming, and interested in me. By the middle of the week two of the girls in my cabin, Hannah and Liz, had developed into my "bosom" buddies. I also enjoyed the company of the four other girls bunking with me, but our relationship hadn't become as familiar as the one with Hannah and Liz. Our counselor, Cinnamon, easily won my repect. She taught well on subjects of importance such as dating, God, teenage life, and more,and she was pleasant to talk to and ask questions. Since this camp included kids in grades 7-9, being in ninth grade gave me feelings of maturity, acceptance, and importance. Security also came from having my younger brother, Micah, and an old friend, Jessica Loomis, at the camp. I never was alone, which happened to be one of my fears. On the contrary, deciding who to hang out with, the girls from my cabin, Micah, or Jessica and her friend Tessa, was a struggle. I actually felt popular! The chapel speaker happened to be the father of my counselor. His words were simply amazing. Through God, he presented the ways I was not following God, and also taught me how to change my ways. Every day all the campers participated in a number of awesome activities and games. As a result of new friends, impressive teaching, exciting games, my week at PBC was truly enjoyable. I couldn't wait to come back next season.
For a whole year I eagerly awaited the arrival of camp. This time, instead of being one of the oldest in camp, it would be the opposite. The camp consisted of 10th through 12th graders, me being in 10th. Not only were the feelings of maturity and importance gone, but my brother and all the friends I had made the last year wouldn't be joining me to give me security and comfort. Despite all this, I felt God urging me to go in order to make new friends and deepen my relationship with Him, along with the fun of playing enjoyable games and watching interesting skits. Finally, the day of camp arrived! Although excitement filled my mind, nervousness dwelled within me as well.
Now before I continue, you must know some things about me. Shyness is a major part of my personality. The ability to make friends does not come easily and I dislike introducing myself to new people. Away from the security of my home and family, especially my mom, I feel lost. Being in the midst of so many teenagers who seem to have great self esteem and no fear of people simply terrifies me. This occurs mostly because my self esteem is quite low and also since I have a great lack of self worth. With all these odds against me, surely you must understand why I was frightened. Without God urging me to attend the camp, I'm sure I wouldn't have gone. Therefore, since He called me to go, I obeyed.
As soon as my mom left me in my cabin that June morning, I longed to cry. For the first time in my teenage life, lonlineness attacked me. The temptation to follow her out the door filled my mind. I fought the temptation and succeeded. The day advanced with opening speeches and rules, games, chapel services, meals, activities, and more. Attempting to exert myself and make friends came as a challenge. Lying in my bunk that night, all I could think was, "Only four more days. I only have to go through this agony for four more days. Then I can go home." Those thoughts occupied my mind quite often, especially when I felt out of place or lonely. Although most of my time at camp was distressing, a few positive things happened. The teaching was fairly interesting; I did abtain a few things that I applied to my walk with Christ. The games were fun, skits hilarious, and food very yummy. The negative aspects still outweighed the positive aspects. I was with people from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed, even when I was asleep! Usually, since I'm homeschooled, I'm only with my family. Because of that, and since I'm not sociable, that was just incredibly difficult for me. In addition to all that I have mentioned, most of the girls in my cabin were older than I and extroverted, so they easily made all sorts of friends. This made me feel inferior, unwanted, and lonely. Most teens there knew at least one person from their churchs, schools, or past years at camp. It seemed like I happened to be the only one who didn't know a soul. Sure, I had seen some of them at camp the year before, but they weren't my friends. Finally the camp ended and I was able to go back home. Never have I felt more relieved.
When I consider journeying back to camp, very few reasons urge me to go. Comfort is one major reason. God's word tells me to deny myself and take up my cross daily. I am convinced that my life is too comfortable; PBC is a good way to be uncomfortable. But that's it. I only felt pain when I stayed there. I didn't grow in any way from that awkward experience. Another important reason would be to learn more about Christ. How am I to know if the chapel speakers or counselors will help me in any way? Besides, there are many other places where I could learn about Christ: church, youth group, other camps, or from mentors. I believe if the camp was structered better, allowed the kids to have more free time to either be alone or just talk to eachother about Jesus, I may have enjoyed it better. Many of the kids who attended either did so just for fun and didn't give any thought to the Jesus part , or they were forced to go by their parents. If the camp was soley based on pursuing a more in depth relationship with Christ and being trained on how to improve the sharing your faith, only teens who were serious about God would attend. That's precisely the type of camp I needed. A place where teenagers were able to sit down and talk about what was happening in their life and encourage others about their struggles. I think, and hope, that teenagers who really love God aren't going to ignore you or let you be shy and lonely. They'll prod you to talk to them and ask questions about your life. Pioneer Bible Camp was basically just about having fun, with God served as a side dish.
All in all, my camp experience wasn't completely worthless. It helped me examine myself and determine that my personality happens to be reserved and modest. The realization that living the Christian life comes more easily to me than to most teens became evident in my life. Although frustrating and not extremely successful, I did improve my friendship making skills and I grasped the feeling of being out of my bubble of comfort. But I won't go back. In my mind, there's no point. I can improve all those qualities in a more enjoyable atmosphere. The friendships I made there aren't on going, the teachings didn't usually apply to my life or linger in my mind for an extensive period of time, and the verses I studied disappear by the next day. Therefore, I encourage those who want to take part in numerous games, survey hilarious skits, enjoy eating great food, sing songs, and learn a small amount about Christ, go to Pioneer Bible Camp. However, for those who desire to expand their knowledge about Christ and mature in their lationship with their Savior, choose to attend a more equipped camp or seminar that offers these values. Or perhaps, stay home and advance on your own or with the help of family and friends. That's what I did and continue to do!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Youth Ministry Essay featuring.....
Charity and Jordan Johnson!!!!
Before moving to Utah in August, Jordan and Charity Johnson worked with the youth in the lovely town of Lake City, Colorado for 18 months. These two developed leadership skills with their own youth groups even before they had graduated from highschool. "There was never a certain date that I became a youth leader," both claimed. Jordan grew up in a church pastored by his father. Enjoying youth group quite a lot, Jordan's youth pastor inspired him in various ways. This inspiration led him to also work with youth because he "liked what he saw." In other words, by observing his youth pastor and youth group, he realized that God designed him for youth ministry. Charity, fairly mature, began leading in her youth group at the age of sixteen. She continued participating in this way in her home church for four years, until she traveled to Camp Redcloud in the mountains of Colorado. Here she also was in charge of teaching youth, along with kids of all ages.
"I'm really passionate about it and people tell me I do it well," she told me.
At the ages of 23, both Johnsons are quite experienced in their ministry, having worked with teenagers for over 5 years. To them youth ministry is a major part of their life. When I asked them what their definition of youth ministry was, I received two similar answers. Jordan said, "It means a way to connect to people. It's our best form of worship. Some people worship best by giving or something; we worship best by serving the youth, because we feel we can connect with the youth easily."
Charity's definition was, "Connecting with people at a crossroads in their life where they make a lot of decisions in their life. It's a very important time to share the gospel with kids."
Usually with every kind of hobby or job, there comes a love for what one does. This is also true for the Johnsons; both love the profession God has called them to do. Jordan enjoys playing around with the kids. They're looking for people with whom they can be themselves. If adults come down to their level and provide safe friendship with the kids, many teens will accept that and come running. Most kids look up to leaders who want to hang out with them. If leaders provide that, they won't go looking elsewhere, like the world. Charity's favorite part is not having to act super grown up, but being able to act like teenagers.
These were her words, " They don't care about how immature we act. The more immature we act, the more they like us and we're able to connect." Youth leaders definately should pay attention to that statement. So often kids fall away youth group or church because the leaders don't come down to a level with which the kids feel comfortable. Youth view leaders as strict or unapproachable. What teenager wants a relationship with an adult who acts that way? Maybe if the leaders showed more of an interest in the kids' lives and didn't preach to them so often, the youth would feel more comfortable listening to and talking to their leaders. A way to talk to them and instruct them simultaneously would be to share their own life experiences, consequences, and results with the kids. This would definitely show God's and your own love to them. Charity really enjoys sharing her life with kids.
Along with its joys, youth ministry also involves many difficulties. The most distressing aspect is similar for most youth leaders. This would be, in Charity's words, "Seeing kids fall away."
Because their passion is to lead kids toward their heavenly father, youth leaders' hearts become saddened when kids reject God. For Charity, it's incredibly difficult to see them "decide that the world is more important than a relationship with God".
Jordan asserted that, "It's hard seeing crap happening to a kid, particularly an unsaved kid, and seeing him all alone without God. It's not my place to save them, but to point them to God. It's one of the worst things to see a kid fall away from the Lord."
Every youth worker comes across such challenging issues as depression, teen pregnancy, low self-esteem, and other common stuggles that kids undergo.
Charity copes with these issues in this way: "With a lot of prayer and patience. And also with love and acceptance no matter what kind of decisions they make. We're still going to love them and tell them that God loves them. That's most important. And then just sharing the truth with them even if it's hard."
"By providing a safe place for them and continually pointing them to God," pronounced Jordan. The world will never offer a secure place for youth traveling through life's battles . It may put forth alternatives justifying their actions or conflicts, but no alternative can take the place of God's secure arms. A youth leader can point a teenger to this shelter through acceptance, trust, and encouragement.
Therefore, since dealing with different struggles that youth undergo can be stressful, and sometimes even depressing, do youth leaders ever want to quit? Jordan has wanted to quit.
He claimed, "Yes, cause even though anyone can do what they love for a long time, even then, they need a break and refreshment. Sometimes you just feel so exhausted that you say, 'If that kid does that one more time, I'm going to freak out and bury him in the dirt.' You want to make sure that, yes, you're fulfilling these kids lives, but you also need to look out for your own well being. Yes, not want to quit permanantly, but yes I have felt like quitting."
Charity disagreed, saying, "No, I've never wanted to quit. Cause it's one of the very few things in life that I'm passionate about. I hate seeing teenagers alone and without knowing the truth. All I want for them is to know God's love."
Considering that some youth workers do want to give up at times, what makes them continue? I asked Charity and Jordan this very question.
"This is something I love to do, something I'm good at doing, something I'm called to do," said Jordan, "I still have a desire to be in there, so even though I feel like I need refreshment and stuff like that, I just need to pray for it then get back in there and love some kids."
Charity declared her answer in this way, "Cause of my desire to see all young people know the relationship they can have with the Lord and that there's something better out there than what they see in jr. high or high school."
I believe it all comes down to God and his love for us. He doesn't give up on His children, so how can we give up on the youth that we care so much about?
Just for fun, I questioned the Johnsons about coping with teenagers who don't listen or are disruptive. Jordan objects to drawing attention to unruly kids. Teens loathe embarassment and belittlement by adults before their peers. Establishing attention elswhere is a successful way to handle the situation.
"First of all, when you come across a situation like that, you need to be prepared for it," Jordan advised."Let's say a kid's playing with a ball and it's disruptive. You don't want to yell at the kid and make a big deal about it. What you should do is take the ball and you start talking to the ball. Like, ' Ok I told you ball that you can't be distracting ...' cuz what that does is it takes the attention off the kid and focuses on you acting like an idiot."
He also suggested to be flexible. "Take some time out to play an extra game or something if kids have extra energy or are jazzed about a certain event.And just make sure they know when it's time to calm down, it's time to calm down." Charity added that while working at Camp Redcloud, Jordan had kids run laps to get their extra energy out.She, on the other hand, admitted, "I'm actually not very good with loud and noisy kids. I always want to yell at them and tell them that they need to be respectful. So I leave it up to Jordan."
Following my interview with the Johnson couple, I concluded that being engaged with adolescents is a trying, yet exhilerating calling or profession. They supplied me with much consideration about my future ministry involving youth. I also grasped various instrumental techniques to supervise obnoxious kids, how to undertake troublesome issues, and what to do when I'm exhausted with managing youth.
Before moving to Utah in August, Jordan and Charity Johnson worked with the youth in the lovely town of Lake City, Colorado for 18 months. These two developed leadership skills with their own youth groups even before they had graduated from highschool. "There was never a certain date that I became a youth leader," both claimed. Jordan grew up in a church pastored by his father. Enjoying youth group quite a lot, Jordan's youth pastor inspired him in various ways. This inspiration led him to also work with youth because he "liked what he saw." In other words, by observing his youth pastor and youth group, he realized that God designed him for youth ministry. Charity, fairly mature, began leading in her youth group at the age of sixteen. She continued participating in this way in her home church for four years, until she traveled to Camp Redcloud in the mountains of Colorado. Here she also was in charge of teaching youth, along with kids of all ages.
"I'm really passionate about it and people tell me I do it well," she told me.
At the ages of 23, both Johnsons are quite experienced in their ministry, having worked with teenagers for over 5 years. To them youth ministry is a major part of their life. When I asked them what their definition of youth ministry was, I received two similar answers. Jordan said, "It means a way to connect to people. It's our best form of worship. Some people worship best by giving or something; we worship best by serving the youth, because we feel we can connect with the youth easily."
Charity's definition was, "Connecting with people at a crossroads in their life where they make a lot of decisions in their life. It's a very important time to share the gospel with kids."
Usually with every kind of hobby or job, there comes a love for what one does. This is also true for the Johnsons; both love the profession God has called them to do. Jordan enjoys playing around with the kids. They're looking for people with whom they can be themselves. If adults come down to their level and provide safe friendship with the kids, many teens will accept that and come running. Most kids look up to leaders who want to hang out with them. If leaders provide that, they won't go looking elsewhere, like the world. Charity's favorite part is not having to act super grown up, but being able to act like teenagers.
These were her words, " They don't care about how immature we act. The more immature we act, the more they like us and we're able to connect." Youth leaders definately should pay attention to that statement. So often kids fall away youth group or church because the leaders don't come down to a level with which the kids feel comfortable. Youth view leaders as strict or unapproachable. What teenager wants a relationship with an adult who acts that way? Maybe if the leaders showed more of an interest in the kids' lives and didn't preach to them so often, the youth would feel more comfortable listening to and talking to their leaders. A way to talk to them and instruct them simultaneously would be to share their own life experiences, consequences, and results with the kids. This would definitely show God's and your own love to them. Charity really enjoys sharing her life with kids.
Along with its joys, youth ministry also involves many difficulties. The most distressing aspect is similar for most youth leaders. This would be, in Charity's words, "Seeing kids fall away."
Because their passion is to lead kids toward their heavenly father, youth leaders' hearts become saddened when kids reject God. For Charity, it's incredibly difficult to see them "decide that the world is more important than a relationship with God".
Jordan asserted that, "It's hard seeing crap happening to a kid, particularly an unsaved kid, and seeing him all alone without God. It's not my place to save them, but to point them to God. It's one of the worst things to see a kid fall away from the Lord."
Every youth worker comes across such challenging issues as depression, teen pregnancy, low self-esteem, and other common stuggles that kids undergo.
Charity copes with these issues in this way: "With a lot of prayer and patience. And also with love and acceptance no matter what kind of decisions they make. We're still going to love them and tell them that God loves them. That's most important. And then just sharing the truth with them even if it's hard."
"By providing a safe place for them and continually pointing them to God," pronounced Jordan. The world will never offer a secure place for youth traveling through life's battles . It may put forth alternatives justifying their actions or conflicts, but no alternative can take the place of God's secure arms. A youth leader can point a teenger to this shelter through acceptance, trust, and encouragement.
Therefore, since dealing with different struggles that youth undergo can be stressful, and sometimes even depressing, do youth leaders ever want to quit? Jordan has wanted to quit.
He claimed, "Yes, cause even though anyone can do what they love for a long time, even then, they need a break and refreshment. Sometimes you just feel so exhausted that you say, 'If that kid does that one more time, I'm going to freak out and bury him in the dirt.' You want to make sure that, yes, you're fulfilling these kids lives, but you also need to look out for your own well being. Yes, not want to quit permanantly, but yes I have felt like quitting."
Charity disagreed, saying, "No, I've never wanted to quit. Cause it's one of the very few things in life that I'm passionate about. I hate seeing teenagers alone and without knowing the truth. All I want for them is to know God's love."
Considering that some youth workers do want to give up at times, what makes them continue? I asked Charity and Jordan this very question.
"This is something I love to do, something I'm good at doing, something I'm called to do," said Jordan, "I still have a desire to be in there, so even though I feel like I need refreshment and stuff like that, I just need to pray for it then get back in there and love some kids."
Charity declared her answer in this way, "Cause of my desire to see all young people know the relationship they can have with the Lord and that there's something better out there than what they see in jr. high or high school."
I believe it all comes down to God and his love for us. He doesn't give up on His children, so how can we give up on the youth that we care so much about?
Just for fun, I questioned the Johnsons about coping with teenagers who don't listen or are disruptive. Jordan objects to drawing attention to unruly kids. Teens loathe embarassment and belittlement by adults before their peers. Establishing attention elswhere is a successful way to handle the situation.
"First of all, when you come across a situation like that, you need to be prepared for it," Jordan advised."Let's say a kid's playing with a ball and it's disruptive. You don't want to yell at the kid and make a big deal about it. What you should do is take the ball and you start talking to the ball. Like, ' Ok I told you ball that you can't be distracting ...' cuz what that does is it takes the attention off the kid and focuses on you acting like an idiot."
He also suggested to be flexible. "Take some time out to play an extra game or something if kids have extra energy or are jazzed about a certain event.And just make sure they know when it's time to calm down, it's time to calm down." Charity added that while working at Camp Redcloud, Jordan had kids run laps to get their extra energy out.She, on the other hand, admitted, "I'm actually not very good with loud and noisy kids. I always want to yell at them and tell them that they need to be respectful. So I leave it up to Jordan."
Following my interview with the Johnson couple, I concluded that being engaged with adolescents is a trying, yet exhilerating calling or profession. They supplied me with much consideration about my future ministry involving youth. I also grasped various instrumental techniques to supervise obnoxious kids, how to undertake troublesome issues, and what to do when I'm exhausted with managing youth.
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