Super Summer

For the past 2 weeks, I had the opportunity to be a Team Leader at Super Summer (Summer camp for Baptist kids). It was an incredible time watching the Lord do some amazing things in the lives of students, but also in the lives of leaders. My responsibility was teaching and leadership over the 9th graders (10th if you ask them). I was given 7 college students as small group leaders that I would directly pour into as they built more personal relationships with the students. I love hanging out with college student and pouring the gospel into them. It was awesome to see God work in their lives too. We saw a number of students surrender their lives to Christ and I wanted to share one specific story that I personally was involved in. This student, Jake, attended an evangelism seminar by Bob Caldwell to learn to share his faith. Bob gave an invitation to receive Christ (how ironic is that) and Jake expressed that he had never put his faith in Christ. I talk with him about it over dinner and he had a ton of questions. It was awesome to see his eagerness to get answers. He actually told me, "I don't have enough time to sit around and not find answers to my questions." I thought that we incredible. He told me that at one dark point in his life he tried to commit suicide but looked at himself in the mirror and realize that there was a greater purpose for his life (He didn’t know at the time that it was Jesus :) ). That night during an invitation to receive Christ, Jake stood up and went with the youth pastor he came with and received council. He was still seeking, still with some doubt but another step closer to having his soul saved. The next night he came forward to get prayer and I went off with him and we spend 20 minutes looking at the Scriptures and the meaning of the cross. The whole time he was literally shaking. He told me he had felt weird ever since he came to super summer, just something inside him wasn’t right. I told him it was the Spirit of God drawing Jake to Himself. That night Jake surrendered his life to Jesus. It was amazing! I’m blown away that the Lord allows us to be apart of the power of His gospel bringing a person from death to Life. Later on I received a letter from Jake that I want to share:

Dave, thank you so much for everything. I don’t think I can ever repay you for all you’ve done. Never have I shed so many tears and questioned so much and in the end give all that up. There is a song from Flyleaf called “All Around Me” and it’s about the feelings I was having and before this camp it was just a song and the lyrics were cool, but now that I’ve had that feeling it means so much to me. And every time I hear that song I’ll think of that night when I was standing there at the worship and the power of God called me. It was a rush of indescribable emotions. And I’ll think of sitting in that hallway, crying, shaking, and listening, and giving myself to Him with your help. So I want you to find that song and listen to it. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Thank you! Jake, Finally unleashed and free!

Praise God!!! I am blown away every time I read that! The power of God in a person’s life is unstoppable. John 6:44 says, “Anyone who comes to the Father must first be drawn by Him.” How true is that in Jake’s life!! I immediately purchased the song on iTunes and WOW. What a cool story and words that describe it so well. I never want to stop being around God’s activity in the world. His gospel is supreme and his changing lives. How foolish are we to sit around and not be a part of it. God has called every one of his Children to live lives on mission for his Name and renown. Might in the end our prayer be 2 Cor 4:5, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”