Summer Insights

I have had the honor and privilege of speaking at a few camps this summer, serving the staff at those places and the local churches from where these students came from. This summer was an amazing one so far. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit do work in the lives of students that I have honestly never seen before. Let me share with you some of the things I have learned.

1. Preach The Gospel: IT WORKS…Why? Because it’s the power of God for salvation for all who would believe. (Romans 1) Give your students the gospel. They are longing for it. This past week we saw several students trust on and believe in Christ for their salvation, and at Crossroads Summer Camp we saw hundreds of students believe. Preach. The. Gospel.
2. Students are Generous: Every year at Crossroads, they take up a love offering for a ministry in India. For the past few years, they’ve been giving students the heads up about it several months in advance. During the 3rd week of camp, some 750 students gave an estimated $10,000 to missions. Why? Because they are generous…AND…
3. They Want to Be A Part of Something Great: We all want this right? I know I do. I long to be a part of a great movement. This generation though, they have the desire and the vision for the movement of God, and they want to ADVANCE IT. I’ve never been more encouraged in my life by students than I have this summer. They are hungry for the gospel to advance on their middle and high school campuses, and they are passionate about taking it to the ends of the earth. Some are literally deciding to put college off for a year and go spend a year overseas after high school, before they even step foot on a college campus. That’s radical.
4. I Have Got to Keep Studying: These students are hungry for truth, and they will lay it all on the line when asking you why you believe the gospel to be true. It encourages me and spurs me on towards studying the Word with more passion and vigor. But I can’t stop at knowledge. I’ve got to give it street cred in my life. As the old saying goes “Gospel knowledge without application leads to my devastation.“
5. Challenge The Status Quo: Just last night at the camp where I was speaking, we opened up the Scripture and began to uncover the lives of people who had literally said NO to the status quo, and risked it all for the fame of God. We looked at people like Joab and Abishai, Esther, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abendego, Paul, and Thomas. God is looking to raise up His people to advance the Kingdom in His power. To quote John Piper, God is asking “Where are God’s people in this day of God’s power?” Move your students out of apathy. Challenge the status quo.

Needless to say, I’m amped about the Fall. We’ve got a vision from God for our student ministry at The Summit, and we’ll do whatever it takes in our fight from salvation for the lives of students here in RDU.

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