Mexico + New York City+Ohio+200 students = chaos AND life-change

Today and tomorrow, our IMPACT team (24 Students and 6 adults) is in El Paso taking time to debrief the past 10 days in Mexico. This, in our book is the most vital part to allowing the IMPACT experience move from a great trip to a life-altering experience. From the reports I've received, there is plenty to process for this team.

On Thursday, June 28, Brad & Kelsey Bullock and Janelle & I will hop on a plane to New York City. We have two days of training and preparation for New York Gospel Outreach. Then, on June 30, 38 students and 9 other leaders will be joining us. We're there till July 6 taking time to be trained and practice sharing our faith. The last time we took a team to NYGO was 2003. I would mark that trip as a significant spiritual turning point in our ministry. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us this year.




Upon return, we have 6 days to get ready for our Camps in Sandusky, Ohio (Sr. High July13-17; Junior High July 17-20). There will be around 130 students, 30 leaders, 5 band members, and 3 cooks heading to Sr. High Camp; and around 75 students, 20 leaders, 6 band members, and 3 cooks for Jr. High Camp. Many view this trip as nothing more than a Cedar Point trip with a few days of fun... far from the truth. I would go so far as to say the majority of the students who sign up for our camps are looking more forward to our times of worship and seeking God together than they are riding roller coasters at Cedar Point. This is NOT a simple "fun and games" trip. All you have to do is come to one of our baptism services and hear from the students being baptized what kind of impact the Summer Camp experience can have on a student.

So, over these three trips there are over 200 students who are taking time to focus in on their walk with God, and seeking to take a significant step into God's story. The cool thing about these trips that I see.

• There are usually "themes" that develop through these experiences. These themes tend to help us see and know where God is directing us for the year to come.
• Students are eternally impacted. A common critique of these types of trips is that it only serves as a spot to have a spiritual or emotional high. I can't accept that critique through lens at which I've been able to view the long-term effects of these trips. Go ahead and ask a student who attended NYGO in 2003 or the students from any of our IMPACT trips if it was simply a "spiritual high".
  
• God Uses Students to Accomplish the Miraculous. I've seen it again and again. Squirrelly, confused, overemotional, theologically weak, hormone driven teenagers take part in God's work. Salvation, healings, deliverance, and visions have all been experienced at these events.

The next four weeks will be CRAZY, EXHAUSTING, and OVERWHELMING. At the same time, I look forward to this time of year almost as much as any.