On Mission Together! Day Camp Commission!

 Is Day Camp worth it? How do you measure success of Day Camp? We will be ministering to hopefully over 100 kids a day. We have a great opportunity in front of us this week. Day Camp can change a child's life.

Children's Ministry and VBS Statistics

Child Evangelism Fellowship study: 63% of all believers profess between the ages of 4-14. Other studies say 83% of believers are saved before the age of 18. In 2020 Awana partnered with Barna group to look at the resiliency of youth in church post-graduation. They discovered that when kids have a meaningful relationship with an adult in the church, they are twice as likely to have an ongoing relationship with the church. They are 3 times more likely to be engaged in Scripture including understanding the metanarrative of scripture and integrating biblical principles in their life. They are twice as likely to say church matters to them, 3 times as likely to see church as a highlight, and 3 times as likely to read the Bible on their own. The conclusion drawn by the Barna Group? "The meaningful relationships individuals have as children fundamentally influences the stability of their future faith."

Barna study: 60% of all American adults attended VBS69

Lifeway study: 50% of all VBS attendees do not regularly attend church (they are unchurched kids). 69% of parents say they would encourage their child to attend VBS at a church they don't attend if a friend invited them. Most American adults who attended VBS as children say they have positive memories of VBS and that it helped them understand the Bible better and positively influenced their spiritual growth.

Biblical Recorder study: Over 95% of parents whose children attend VBS view the program positively, stating it aids in their child's spiritual growth and understanding of the Bible. 25% of all SBC baptisms result of VBS.

Stats about children who serve with parents are more likely to stay engaged with the church.

1. If you invite them. They will come. 

Luke 14:21-23 (ESV) "So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.'" This is the parable of the great banquet and show the heart of God.

John 1:43-51 (ESV) "The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!' Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' Jesus answered him, 'Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'" 

Philip invited Nathanael to meet Jesus. Jesus did the rest.  DL Moody became an evangelist because his Uncle made him go to a Sunday School Class. The teacher, Edward Kimball, went to the shoe store where Moody worked to talk to him about Jesus. "If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!" DL Moody.

2. Bring them to Jesus, don't push them away! 

Luke 5:17-26 (ESV) "On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, 'Man your sins are forgiven you.' And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, 'Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, 'Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say Rise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'-he said to the man who was paralyzed-'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.' And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen extraordinary things today.'" 

Jesus blessed the faith of the man's friends. We too are blessed for working in Day Camp.

Mark 10:13-16 (ESV) "And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them."

Bring kids to Jesus, don't push them away. We see Jesus get angry only a few times in Scripture, but this time in Mark, Jesus was angry w"ith his own disciples. He made time for the children.

3. A word for the kids 

Proverbs 20:11 (ESV) "Even a child makes himself know by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. "

1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

Kids, you will get a reputation this week. It will either be a good reputation or a bad reputation. People will recognize how you talk, how you treat your teachers, how you treat each other. The way you act and the way you live matters and it will reflect back on your parents and your church. If you have accepted Christ....it will reflect back on the Lord. You need to act the best this week. Set an example for everyone else. Day Camp can rise and fall on a few good kids. Don't be foolish.

4. Don't grow weary 

1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV) "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Galatians 6:9 (ESV) "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Day Camp workers don't grow weary. Spend time with the Lord yourself. It is so hard to pour out into others if you are emptied out. You need to be filled back up everyday. God blesses faithful servants.

5. PRAY 

Pray for Day Camp

Pray for your own children/grandchildren

Pray to see the kids the way God does...And pray for that special child. 

Amram and Jochebed: Shaping Children. Shaping a nation

 There is no greater responsibility than being a good husband and father. God has entrusted you with your children. When I die I want my kids to say that I taught them to love the Lord. The greatest mission field that you have is in your home...with your children.

Amram and Jochebed were the parents of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Moses, Aaron and Miriam shaped a nation.  Moses was the leader who lead Israelites out of Egypt and slavery. He knew God and spoke to God. He gave the law to the people. Moses was an amazing man, but he also sinned and therefore was not allowed to enter the promise land. Aaron was Moses' older brother and Moses' mouthpiece. He was the first high priest. Aaron also sinned (the golden calf) and did not enter the promise land either. Miriam was the oldest child. She waited by the river when they put Moses in the basket and placed it in the river. She convinced Pharaoh's daughter to allow her mother to be a wet nurse for Moses. Miriam was a prophetess. She was jealous of Moses and was stricken with leprosy and Moses had to pray for her to be healed. She too did not enter the promise land.

Don't raise your children to conform to the world, but to change the world.

Hebrews 11:23-29 (ESV) "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned."

Exodus 6:20 (ESV) "Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years."

1. Have Children! (Get married first)

Genesis 1:28 (ESV) "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV) "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

God will accomplish this through evangelism, but also through our own children. Holding your own children for the first time changes you. It is a huge blessing. If you want to change the spiritual make up of this country. Christians need to have kids and raise them to know and love God. Atheist and Secularists are self absorbed and do not have many children, but they can come after yours that is their plan. 

Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV) "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

The enemy hates babies, God loves them...so have them!

2. Your Child is Special 

1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV) "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

That child that God has blessed you with is your responsibility. You are that child's hope and future. No one can do what you can do for them. God will judge us for how we parent. Your discipline, your words, your teaching and training are important.

Romans 14:12 (ESV) "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."

3. Submit to God. Not to Pharaoh. 

The general disposition of this country is not to help raise Christian children. We need to make God's word as our standard. 

4. Never underestimate the seeds you sow. 

Everything we do with our children matters. The time that you have with them in your home is so special. Even the time you have with them once they  are grown is special. The seed that you sow in their hearts when they are young is so important. The prayers that you pray for your children are not said in vain. God hears those prayers.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Jochebed nursed Moses and raised him until he was 2-5 years old. The lessons taught him early remained with him and shaped his life. He identified with his people and not the Egyptians. 

Deuteronomy 6:4-10 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give you-with great and to Jacob, to give you-with great and good cities that you did not build."

When should you be teaching your children about God? EVERY DAY....ALL DAY! We should be looking for opportunities" to bring your children along.

Ephesians 5:16 (ESV) "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

Model behavior just as much or more than you preach it. Jesus modeled behavior for his disciples.

"Nothing trains and teaches so powerfully as love. Love attracts it does not coerce. If the aim of parents is to teach their children to love God they must show their love for him by loving each other and loving their children." Elizabeth Elliot

Don't quit when your grow up. They still need to have a good relationship with you. Grandparents don't give up on your grandchildren. You can be a huge influence on their lives and teach them to love the Lord. 

Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV) "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children"

5. Train them to fly 

Psalm127:3-5 (ESV) "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Arrows are meant to leave the quiver. Celebrate when your children fly.