Outsiders Kids Winter Camp at Granite Ridge “We are in His world now.”
By Joe Torosian
Every Outsiders season, people see my posts about Outsiders Camps at Granite Ridge and our persistent push for prayer…and the initial thought is that maybe we’re going a bit over the top.
“Joe T., it’s just camp.”
And that’s the miss.
It’s never just camp.
In the pulpit, it’s never just a Sunday. With only 52 Sundays in a year and roughly a half hour to preach, that’s only 26 hours out of 8,760 hours in a given year.
I don’t, and no pastor should, give away their Sundays. Especially in a church culture and climate where personal Bible Study is neglected, prayer is relegated to an ICU-level crisis, and fellowship with like-minded believers is limited.
We don’t give away Sundays because they are precious.
And we never declare a week or weekend at camp as just a kids’ camp. Where the outside view might be, it’s just fun, games, crafts, and marshmallows around a fire.
This is precious—some might think—sacred time. It is time for calls to be heard, relationships with Christ renewed, Christ to be met for the first time, and value/purpose/life infused into those who feel alone in this world.
It’s not to be given away.
When you agree to be part of a camp as a staffer, counselor, director, worship leader, activities director, or speaker, you enter something unique–even when you’ve been asked to pray for a camp.
You are stepping out of your world and into God’s.
As the start of Outsiders’ Kids Winter Camp at Granite Ridge approaches–we are in His world now.
The enemy is active (and yes, even if our modern theologians have gone off the rails on a crazy train and don’t believe. I do believe Intelligent Evil is working against us) and looking to disrupt.
And if we don’t recognize—as we come to camp—that we are in the Lord’s world now, the enemy will have his way.
We used to call it camp mode back in the day. Monday through Friday, the mission, not emotion, was about camp. Feel like you’re getting sick? Put it off until Friday.
Knowing we can’t afford to be sick, we transition into camp mode and focus on completing the mission.
…Because we are in His world now.
Staying in our world, our mind, and our thoughts when working a kids’ camp—that the enemy will target and may be the only camp a student attends this year—won’t work.
We have to recognize that we are in His world now.
So pray for our camp because it’s not just another camp. It’s this camp, the one the Lord had in mind ages ago, and it’s our opportunity—for those of us present & those of you in prayer—to fulfill his mission.
We are all in His world now.
#Outsiders #WeAreInHisWorldNow
