Discipleship in the Eye of the Storm

Every year at the end of camp, we do a debriefing. It's a chance for the kids to share the stories of what we did at camp and what they learned, what they experienced God doing. Time and time again, I heard kids name off devo leaders, band members, or interns who had poured into them wisdom and love over those short 5 days.

This year our theme was Eye of the Storm. We focused all of our attention on Psalm 73. It's a psalm that follows Asaph's mental, emotional, and spiritual state when King Sennacherib invaded Judah and surrounded Jerusalem. The story is all recorded in 2 Kings 18-19. But Asaph particularly had a really hard time understanding if God was really for them or against them for a while. Asaph had his doubts, but throughout, Asaph held onto his faith even with those doubts. It was a large part of our study that doubts, fears, and other areas of anxiety around God and faith are not only normal but part of a long history of great Christians who have struggled with the same things.

I had one conversation with a student who I've been working with for a while. He was a devo leader this year and was surprised by how hard it is sometimes. I told him that honestly what he is doing as a leader is something that many adults would find hard too. To lead their peers in deep spiritual conversation and urge on their friends to the things of God is a hard task! He especially struggled with talking through what was taught but not being able to go deep enough, as most of his team was younger kids. He and I talked about how camp is meant to give everyone time to do that and that he should look to someone older than him to talk to. So we chatted a few times about what he thought of the lessons, and he chatted with the other kids in his group about what they thought and didn't bother them too much with the incredible thoughts and insights he found in camp this year.

I've mentioned it before, but there is really no place I've ever been other than TFC camp that so perfectly reflects discipleship. Campers will look up to their devo leaders who love on them and share God's truth with them, and those leaders look up to the interns who work hard to do the same for the devo leaders, and the interns look up to the staff for guidance and encouragement. All wrapped up in the guiding power of the Holy Spirit.

Disciplemaking is at the very core of what we do at TFC; everything is geared toward not just helping students know Jesus but also to become disciples of Him. And true disciples heed the calling that Jesus put on us in Matthew 28, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This is our work: to help teenagers become ones who know Jesus but ALSO live out that Great Commission as a serious and lifelong calling on their own lives.

Dry and Weary Land

This year, we saw several students who worked through some of their own doubts, fears, or even sin struggles. I had the privilege of speaking with some about their futures, some who struggled with sin issues, and some who were struggling with friends and family that just don't know the Lord. In all of those, it's sobering to know how many just need more of the Lord, and yet they are walking back into a world that has almost no support for them.

In our neck of the world, things have been really dry all summer long. Abbie and I, mostly Abbie, have been watering things constantly to make sure that the gardens and grass don't die and will have some sort of fruit this year, but it feels like they just might not give much because it has just been so dry. In countless ways, this is what it feels like when these students are returning home from camp or mission trip. They are left in a dry land with almost no consistent water, and we are relying on their own ability to water themselves. God's Word can always give them the water or food they need, but the struggle is that it is a big ask and a big risk to get them to feed themselves with scripture.

Sometimes students find what they need in their TFC group, and sometimes they can plug into a church that helps to feed them, and some are blessed with strong Christian families that work hard to fill their spiritual plate and cup. And then some students go home to these dry and weary places with a mountaintop experience that starts them off on the right foot, but it takes the Holy Spirit to truly draw them close to the Lord and change their lives.

Cochrun Happenings

July flew by! Fun moments included: Building a fort out in some trees in our backyard for our boys to play in. Celebrating Josiah’s 8th birthday, and Luke’s 6th birthday! Josiah was THRILLED to receive shark teeth. :) We bought six baby chicks and our boys LOVE them. They’re living in our laundry room and are very well loved! Abbie and the boys came to visit camp a few times, and it was so fun to see our boys get involved in some of the activities! Abbie also got to take the boys to the local fair and enjoyed riding the ferris wheel with them! We are sort of successfully keeping our garden alive and have gotten quite a few tomatoes and cucumbers out of it!

Prayers

Pray for the students who are returning home to the hard life of following Jesus without much support; there are many, and our job as Christians is to support and love them, especially through prayer.
Pray for the start of the school year! As I write this, we are only 1 weekend away from school starting, and some of the schools in the area have already started!
Praise God for what he did at camp!
Pray for our home projects to continue. I’m hoping to get back into finishing some projects around the house; if all goes well, we are hoping to get another bedroom built into our basement this year!