Five things to pray AFTER your summer camp

It was one of those gut-sinking guilt moments.

I came home from summer camp exhausted but bursting with gratitude for a really great week. (Shout out to the fantastic Linfield Venture!) It was a whirlwind of wide-games, Bible teaching, tents, prayer meetings, silly songs and great food.

The next day I went on a holiday with family. After six days of sunshine and châteaux, I realised one morning that I had barely thought about—let alone prayed for—the kids and the team I’d just spent an intense week with. (Despite urging people to keep praying after their summer camp in an article I wrote just weeks ago!)

Alas, life has a nasty habit of taking over.

Maybe that feeling resonates. So if you’ve been involved in a summer camp this year—as a leader, a parent, a sending church or a “camper” yourself—consider this your personal prompt to bring to mind and pray for the people you met.

Here are five things to pray in the wake of your summer camp—all taken from Philippians 1 v 3-11.

1. Thank God for your partnership in the gospel

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” (v 4-5).

Thank God for all the “gospel partners” that helped make your week happen: team members, helpers, caterers, parents, sending churches and youth groups, prayer partners, your organisation’s admin team. Praise God for the way in which he enabled you to work together for the sake of the gospel!

2. Ask God to carry on his work

“… confident of this, that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (v 6).

Thank God that it is he who begun a good work in the lives of the young people you met—not you. This is great news, because it means that although you’ve all gone your separate ways, he can continue to work in their hearts. Ask him to do that now.

3. Continued affection

“I have you in my heart … I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (v 7-8).

Thank God for the people you met and the friendships you built. Pray that God would continue to grow in you a love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Ask God to show you ways that you can express this love (without contravening child protection regulations, of course…).

4. Abounding love, knowledge and depth of insight

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (v 9).

Summer camp can be a real spiritual high point in a young Christian’s year. But pray for continued spiritual growth for your camp’s leaders and young people over the next 12 months. Pray that they would grow in their love for Jesus and his church; and grow in their knowledge of Jesus as they continue to study his word.

5. Discernment

“… so that you may be able to discern what is best” (v 10).

Think of one or two individuals from your camp and the difficult situations or heartaches they shared with you. Pray for them now: that they’d be able to “discern what is best”, choose to act in a way that is “pure and blameless”, and that God would use those situations to fill them with “the fruit of righteousness”.

How else can we pray for summer camps? Join the conversation and comment below. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and download The Good Book Company App straight to your phone or tablet.