WORKING WITH THE CHURCH AT LOON
I am grateful for yet another winter season and how the Lord worked through our SFC Chapter and our local church. Every week, our youth group met at the local rope tow and rode together after the Bible lesson. It wasn’t long before two kids, who I didn’t know that well at the beginning of the winter, wanted to ride with me each week. It led to us challenging each other to try new tricks, but more importantly, it led to opportunities to have spiritual conversations with them. It was rad talking with them about how the Spirit God gives us is not one of fear, but of power and love and self discipline. It was extremely practical truth to remember as we tried new tricks, jumps, and rails. In addition, ski breaks on the hill led to some awesome conversations and I saw a TON of growth in them, and other kids too, in their understanding of the Gospel and spiritual concepts.
Secondly, camp was rad. We could not have done it without the help of the local church. To me, this served as a good example of why SFC’s values include being connected with the local church. We aren’t called to be on mission alone, but as a family. Jesus never sent His disciples alone, but rather He sent them in at least pairs. It is so essential that we share our mission with our church family and get them involved. The chairlift and on hill chats are always super encouraging as well at camp. But, there was one thing that encouraged me the most. Our camp theme this year was “Identity.” One parent shared with me the last day how when her kids came home from camp the previous night, she had expected them to come home and talk about the trails they went on or tricks they learned. Instead, she shared with me, they talked about that night’s lesson, discussing with each other about what it means to put their identity in Christ. That makes all the work of planning a camp worth it for me, to know that kids are walking away challenged in their relationship with Christ. God is faithful.
Eunice Bartlett – SFC Loon – Lincoln, NH