Summer camps can be great times of growth. Young people seeing Jesus for the first time... Teenagers getting equipped to be faithful witnesses at school or college ... Sins being addressed and lifestyles turning around ... Leaders sharpening their teaching gift as they handle tough questions from curious minds ... But once summer draws to a close, the excitement (along with the exhaustion) of Bible camps can begin to disappear. And as our excitement dissipates, so our prayers can drift into oblivion too.
So, how can we keep praying for our young people and fellow leaders? Here are five ideas - to put into action before we all forget!
1. Apply
You're going to hear a lot of talks over the next year. Hopefully you'll have a lot of quiet times too. When you look at a passage, as well as asking yourself "how does this apply to me now?", ask "how does this apply to (selected) members of my camp?". Once you've answered that question, actively pray those things home. Maybe putting a note on your Bible will help you to remember to do that.
2. Build
Put photos from camp above your desk (you can go collage crazy if you like) or make a scatter-diagram in vibrant colours / a bullet-point list of all the prayer needs of which you are aware and put it somewhere obvious (though discreet!). The more you see the people / their needs, the more likely you are to pray for them.
3. Chat
Tell two other people what the highs (and lows) of camp have been this year. Arrange to meet up with them to pray and praise God for those things in 3 months time.
4. Diarise
Pick a day - any day - and once a week put a reminder on your phone to pray for the camp you've been involved in (or know something about). There are some great prayer apps around for the more technologically minded ...
5. Encourage
Send emails to selected people on your camp asking them to send you prayer requests throughout the year. Obviously, it's important to comply with whatever your camp's guidelines are on how to contact camp members but there's no reason why you can't encourage prayer requests from other leaders at least. When the responses arrive, you'll be encouraged to pray.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
