Z-Youth at Camp
by Kim Langley

Welcome to the Zerubbabel Fellowship youth! From reading The Intercessor, readers know about the great summer camps that the adults enjoy each year, but as youth we feel sure that our camp is not to be out-done. The youth at camp represent ages from 5 to 22. They come from all parts of the United States, Great Britain and Ireland; many come with their parents, some with friends. Some of the youth have been to summer camp every year since its beginning thirteen years ago, while others were here for the first time.

This year the youth, under the direction of Scott Prewitt, took a topical approach to the lessons with an in-depth study of the four facets of responsibility: maturity, accountability, stewardship, and service.

We began the week talking about maturity using some fun group work and a discussion of important figures in the Bible who took great responsibility at early ages. For example, Joseph was Potiphar’s right-hand man at around 17; David slew Goliath to save the Jews at 12; and Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus at 16. While none of us may be called to slay a giant or save a race, God expects us to take our responsibilities no less seriously than did the young heros in the Bible.

For some practical experience with responsibility, some of the older youth taught the morning lessons for the younger group (5 to 7 year olds) while our handful of young adult staff taught the middle group of 8 to 12 year olds. In addition, ten of us lead morning devotions before singing. The younger youth could see the example of the older ones as they shared their faith.

To learn the responsibility of service, the youth spent three afternoons doing volunteer work in the community. This was a first for us, as we had filled our afternoons in years past with recreational activities. While these activities were fun, we found our service projects to be both fun and fulfilling. We sent several crews out into the community to do a bit of painting, mowing, cleaning. Others pitched in with much needed work at the Alpen Acres Motel and the Youth House. Our service work proved to be the perfect complement to our lessons on responsibility and service.

God calls us to be good stewards of our time, mind, body, and other gifts. To bring ths point home, Scott Prewitt taught this facet of responsibility using the workplace as a metaphor. As employees of "God Unlimited," we were constantly battling our rival firm, "Evil Enterprises." Our boss, God, have us our prime directive–preach the Gospel. To allow us to do our job, God gives us an employee handbook, the Bible, which tells us about the model employee, Jesus Christ, and our trainer, the Holy Spirit. As employees of "God Unlimited," God calls us to manage His gifts perfectly according to His will. Because we can be sure the "Evil Enterprises" is constantly hard at work against us, even in our own territory, we must always be using our time and efforts towards God’s purpose.

The final facet of responsibility is accountability, which we discussed in small groups separated between guys and girls. Our small group times were devoted to sharing on a more personal level. Trust within the small groups was amazing, and it seemed that everyone had something to share, whether insight from past experiences or current issues needing attention. While the adults lay claim to the slogan "you’re only as sick as your secrets," the youth take this truth no less seriously. As a group, we came to realize that only through complete and absolute honesty can we be right vessels ready for the expression of Jesus Christ in us as us. It is through the intense sharing in our small groups that we secure the bonds that keep us in touch throughout the year.

Of course as youth we could not have serious learning and sharing without serious fun, and this year was no exception. When we weren’t having a blast in our morning lessons with Scott Prewitt, we were singing under direction of Carson Coatney, or playing fun group games. We also made our annual trip to the movies, took an outing to the Blowing Rock Park, and finished the week with a campfire.

The campfire on the last night has now become a tradition, and it makes for a most appropriate ending to a great week. After singing and s’mores, the younger and middle groups went off to bed leaving the older group around the fire. Then, one by one and in no particular order, each on in the older group offered to share what camp had meant to him or her. As in years past, the predominant sentiment shared was one of deep joy and gratitude for the opportunity to be at camp and to fellowship in the one true life that is Jesus Christ in us.