Guest Post by Cindy Bledsoe
As summer arrives, many churches are gearing up for summer camps. What will your summer camp look like this year? Will you have a lot of fun activities, games and sports; will your camp impact the campers on more than a recreational level; will they grow spiritually?
Over the next couple of days, we will be discussing these questions in a 3-part series.
Part 1: Follow a gospel-centered approach
This means to place the gospel at the center of your camp and all activities. We tend to compartmentalize things in life and in ministry. It usually looks like this: We have fun activities and games throughout the day, at some point we stop and “do” devotional time and then resume the activities. This approach only helps to further compartmentalize our lives in spiritual and non-spiritual spheres.
To follow a gospel centered approach means that we incorporate the gospel into all activities. What we aim for is a seamless integration of activities and spiritual truth.
What does it look like?
The gospel message is shared not only in devotional time, but is integrated throughout the day in multiple ways and through various activities.
How to do this:
The first thing to do is to pray. Ask God to show you how to be gospel centered in camp this summer.
Then ask the following questions:
How can I incorporate the gospel into the various aspects of camp?
How can I integrate the activities of the day with the gospel message we are giving?
