Reflections from Youth Camp 2021
Our youths had their camp from 17 to 19 Dec 2021, and Joshua shares with us how they learnt about and experienced God's lovingkindness during the camp.
Youth camp just ended and many have asked me how it went. Here are some reflections about this year’s youth camp.
The loving and kind God
We studied the book of Ruth during camp. 2021 was a tough year in many ways so we thought Ruth, which is situated in the midst of hardship, is an apt book to study. We wanted to understand more of God’s loving, kind and sovereign nature even during the difficulties of life.
Loving-Kindness
Hesed is the Hebrew word for loving-kindness. This word is often used to describe God in the book of Ruth. While studying Ruth, our youths saw and learnt about God’s loving-kindness seen in the unfolding events of this narrative. They (and us present as leaders) were challenged to think about how God has shown loving-kindness to them personally.
"But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!" (Ruth 1:8-9a)
Sovereignty
In Ruth, even though there is no explicit mention of God working, it is obvious that God is orchestrating all the events, illustrating His sovereignty yet again. This unchanging attribute of God is key in remembering that God is in control even in situations which do not seem ideal. In the turbulent teenage years or even particularly trying seasons like what we are presently facing, knowing that God is sovereign can help our youths to put their trust and rest securely in Him.
"And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”" (Ruth 2:20)
Redeemer
The theme of a Redeemer comes up a few times as well. A Redeemer is someone who repays, recovers, saves, or exchanges something for something else. In the book of Ruth, Boaz is one of the kinsman redeemers for Naomi’s family.
Boaz is portrayed as a godly man who always sought to follow God’s law, even in the time of the Judges where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Boaz generously seeks the good of Naomi and Ruth and sacrificially chooses to love and provide for them.
When we see the character of Boaz, we cannot help but think of Jesus Christ. Jesus redeemed us from sin and death. He saved us even when we were undeserving and generously provided for us with eternal blessings. Jesus chose to love us even when we were helpless and contributed nothing to the relationship.
Nothing beats meeting in person
With Whatsapp and Zoom we have the ability to instantly message one another, make calls and communicate with each other with the touch of a button. However nothing beats meeting in person. After a year of Zoom calls and home-based learning, God has blessed our youths with the chance to finally be able to meet in person at camp and they loved it. One of the highlights of camp for many was interacting with each other and talking face to face.
From a biblical perspective, what our youth experienced at youth camp was a small glimpse of why our physical gatherings at church are so important. There are just so many aspects of meeting in person that we forgo with online meetings. On top of that there is far more enjoyment in meeting each other in person.
Ask any of the youth and they will say that having camp in person is incomparably better than any online meeting. If you have not yet returned to the in-person services, I encourage you to do so. It is something you will not regret.
"... not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Heb 10:25)
Thank God for the church
Just like the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”, so it takes the whole church to run a youth camp.
This past month I have been so thankful to God for our church and the many members with a heart to love and serve our youth.
Our youth experienced God’s loving-kindness through the members of this church. Our youth camp could not have happened without the help of youth leaders, speakers, food providers, devotion writers, volunteers and prayer warriors. I cannot take credit for how smoothly youth camp ran this year because it was the whole church collectively working together to make it happen, and ultimately it is God who worked through our church.
"We will endeavor to raise the children and youth under our care in the training and instruction of the Lord." (GBC's Member’s Covenant)
Just as our member’s covenant says, it is the church's responsibility to raise our children and youth in the instructions of the Lord. It is not the ECL team, nor the youth leaders, nor the ministry workers’ responsibility. It is the whole church, and I am thankful that our church has responded to this call during youth camp. I thank God for all those who have contributed in big and small ways, and I pray that as a church we will continue the good work of discipling our youth.
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Eph 4:11-16)