2.0 2009 Begins!
July 6, 2009
Today was an excellent beginning to what we hope will be a challenging, engaging, and edifying week for students and staff alike at Camp Longridge!
After the students arrived, they were given the opportunity to choose from a list of themed small groups. The object here is to match up students–from all churches and backgrounds–with each other and with staff that share their passions, for music or the outdoors or sports or for missions. The groups that they are placed in will play a significant role in the dynamic of the week, fostering a safe place for students to express creativity and curiosity, and to bond with each other and with staff.
Today, after students and staff had a blast down at the lake, we came around the table–staff, students, leaders, all– to enjoy a meal in each other’s company. After this, we split up and met with our small groups for the first time, and introduced each other, broke the ice, and got to know about each other, from curious facts to driving desires.
After small group time, we gathered as teams to prepare for worship. Monday night’s worship centered around the story of Nicodemus, seeking out Jesus in the night after hearing stories about him. Stories that we wouldn’t normally associate with the identity of God, of Christ, like the wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine and kept the party going or the story where Jesus cleared the temple in righteous fury. In exploring the story of Nicodemus, students were challenged to be a part of the worship experience. The teams created skits and acted out the stories of the wedding at Cana and of the clearing of the temple with a modern flavor. And after Mark’s sermon, elaborating on Nicodemus’s encounter with Christ and the long journey he must have endured to get there, students, during the invitation time, engaged in different centers of convergence, or stations, where they were invited to creatively express or inwardly ponder different aspects of the message.
And after worship, we ended the day with a bonfire/s’more extravaganza, creating what was a fantastic start to an exciting week for us all. I can’t wait to see how God will continue to encounter us here!
-Hillary
Posted in Staff