Dear youth staff,
Just a brief word to tired people. Thanks so much for your labor of love for the souls of our students over the past two weeks of running camps in this ministry. Some of you paid high prices financially, in precious time, in health and …. all… in sleep. We are already seeing the Lord work powerfully through your labor. After all, your labor is part of the Spirit’s work. The Spirit bring students, provides funds, sends a speaker, gives you as staff and then will work (hopefully) uniquely to soften the hearts and bind them to Christ.
I have two areas to call our attention to. There are two major quests in the ministry to the soul of the majority of our students. First is the “Offer”…. Pleading with our students to yield to God as the ultimate Authority and Treasure. Then comes the next… in seamless movement… the “Jesus” issue. If God is to be the Authority and Treasure of any soul, He will only do this if the person understands and clings to the work of Christ as their sole hope for acceptance.
In things we have recently read… the “Offer” is dealt with by Piper’s book “God is the Gospel”, which we will begin reading in the near future. The “Jesus” element is the concept of the “Cross-centered Life” by Mahaney which we have already read.
Most of our kids are dealing with their true understanding and desire for the “offer”. Those who the Spirit moves to desire the “offer” must then be coached by you through what it means to trust in Christ. To miss this step is to lead them into faltering with the errors of the Galatians error, which God clearly despises and says leads to spiritual death (Gal 1: 6-8) I am so encouraged to see a number of our students express their desire to finally have “God be their God”. Lets encourage them in this and be sure they are not cursory in hoping in Christ.
Loving the labor of love
burns
