It’s hard to believe that over a month has gone by since we finished teaching the 5 Day Clubs in the surrounding Charlotte areas!!  I currently going through thousands upon thousands of pictures from our time up at Camp Good News.  A counselor was kind enough to let me have all her pictures…ALL of them…since we didn’t bring a camera this year.  So I’ve slowly been going through them and will be making many collages.    Maybe they’ll get on here eventually.

In the meantime…here is a glimpse of our 5 Day Clubs.  We taught them for three weeks and had a blast getting to know the kids and teaching the Gospel to them.  I love being able to tell children how much God loves each and every one of them.

One thing we emphasize it that there is NOTHING anyone can DO to get to Heaven.  It’s completely by God’s grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9) that we are saved and have a place in Heaven.  It’s believing in Him (Acts 16:31).

One thing many people (not just children) don’t understand is that there is a PUNISHMENT for sin, and that is to be separated from God forever in a terrible place called Hell.  We don’t hide this from the children when we teach.  It’s imperative that they know WHAT they need to be saved from.  When someone says, “I got saved,” they need to know what exactly that mean.  Jesus is not a life-enhancer.  He’s a life-Rescuer.  When He willingly gave His life on the cross, He took upon every person’s sin.  He received the punishment we deserve.  What love!  By doing this, He made it possible for every person to be saved from the punishment of sin and have their sins forgiven.  If we believe in Him and receive the FREE GIFT of salvation, we can become a child of God (John 1:12), knowing that we’ve been saved from our punishment of sin and will one day spend eternity in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.

As my siblings and I have grown as Christians, we’ve become more aware of all-too-common misconceptions people have about salvation, Jesus, being a Christian, God, and just Biblical things in general.  That’s not to say that we know everything…but we’ve noticed certain topics that are overlooked or “glossed over” in the teaching world.  We’ve addressed many of these misconceptions during the Bible club because we want people (not just children) to really understand what the Gospel is and what it means to be a Christian.

Being a Christian means having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s putting your complete trust in Him.  While He does indwell your being (heart), the filling of one’s heart has NOTHING to do with salvation.  It’s a result of salvation, yes, but it’s not a means of salvation.  Salvation is receiving Christ as your Savior and putting your faith and trust in Him.  Simple as that.  And that’s Scriptural (‘asking Jesus into your heart’ is not Scriptural). 

There is no such thing as a “sinner’s prayer” as many call it.  Frankly, every prayer is a sinner’s prayer!  It’s not the words that save us, it’s what we believe with our hearts.  However, it does say in Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  My point is that just saying that won’t save you–just as going up front to an altar doesn’t make you nearer to God–it’s what you believe with all your heart.  I mean, even the devil and his demons will admit that Jesus is Lord!  But they don’t put their trust in Him.

Something our family is tries to be very sensitive to is the Holy Spirit’s work in the club and the children’s hearts.  We don’t make the children come back to be counseled after the Bible lesson.  It can be dangerous to say “raise your hand if……” and then pull those kids who raised their hands right away to the back.  There’s nothing wrong with the raising of hands, as long as the message is clear and children know why they’re raising their hands.  I’ve done that before.  But something I’ve (and my siblings have) done in the past few years is just tell the children–after reviewing the Gospel and making it clear that they can talk with me if they want to know how to be saved or if they have any other questions–that I’ll be in the back if they want to talk with me or another counselor.  I personally like this kind of invitation, because it allows the Holy Spirit to convict the children and bring them back…as opposed to me saying “oh you raised your hand…come back with me.”  It’s amazing that the children will leave club during the missionary story (one of the kids’ favorite parts of club) to talk with a counselor.  There are many ways to do an invitation.  I opt for the simplest and clearest way, so as not to distract from the Gospel and what was just taught.

We want to make sure the children understand what it truly means to be saved…and what they’re being saved from. We want them to know what being a Christian is…and what the costs are.

Being a Christian isn’t easy. It doesn’t mean life will be wonderful, funds will be plentiful, and things will be easy-going. That’s not promised in the Bible (though many pastors preach this). II Timothy 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” There are various forms of persecution, of course. But this verse is saying that being a Christian isn’t always easy. We don’t want to deceive people into thinking that being a Christian will make their life easier.

But we also make it clear that when we think of what Jesus did for us on the cross, whatever persecution we go through here on earth will be worth it. It’s living with an eternal perspective. Keeping our eyes fixed on what is to come, while in the meantime serving the Lord. It’d be a lie to say that I, as a Christian, am always happy. I’m not! BUT…I live with a joy that can only be explained by my love for my Savior…and His love for me.

We consider it a joy and privilege to teach these young ones. We don’t mind getting up early on a summer morning to teach 5 Day Clubs. It’s not always easy to get out of bed, but we also don’t consider it a chore.

The one thing that’s hard about 5 Day Clubs is that you’re with the kids for 5 days and then have to move on the next week. We can’t possibly keep up with all of them, though there are a few we do keep in touch with over the year. Our prayer is that the kids we’ve taught will remember the message of the Gospel and apply it to their lives. And that God would provide people to disciple them in their walk.

Enjoying a nice cold ice cream after our hot outdoor club one week.

Love these kids!

Bethany and her group dressed up one week and acted out the Bible lesson as she taught it.  Brilliant!

Distractions come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and noises.  This one was particularly difficult to compete with.  Thankfully he walked away after about 7 minutes of blowing right.next.to.us.

This girl said she didn’t have a Bible, so I printed off the first few chapters of Mark and gave them to her to start out with.

We enjoyed our time teaching 5 Day Clubs this summer.  Our challenge to each other (and to other Christians) is to continue to share the Gospel throughout the year.  Summer is a GREAT time for missions work…but it’s not the only time.  II Timothy 4:2a says “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season…”  It’s harder when we don’t have a structured time to teach.  But that’s the beauty of living in the United States of America…we are free (for the most part) to preach/share the Gospel openly.  Praise the Lord!!  Now if Christians will only do that…

That’s our personal challenge.  And that’s our challenge to you Christians who are reading this.  Find someone to talk with.  Ask God to help you change a conversation from the natural to the spiritual.  We have some fun and easy ways we like to do that that I might share on here sometime.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!!!