Snapshot #1 Being Introduced to Your Father

During our final Sunday morning summer worship service we asked staff to share a “snapshot” (a brief story) of how they saw Christ work in the lives of campers.  This is something we do throughout the summer at all our locations. They provide encouragement, inspiration and another reason to worship our God.

One of our staff shared about a middle school camper who was extremely upset during lunch. He began to swear very loudly and became a bit out of control.  No one knew what was bothering him. One of our staff stepped in, took him outside and began to ask him questions.

He asked about his family and discovered that he’d been abandoned by his father when he was young.  As a result his mother was not around much because she had to work to provide for the family.

As the story of this young man’s life was unfolding, our staff began to share with him the story of another Father, one who never abandons His children.  Then our staff asked “Do you want a different life?”  When he said “Yes”, our staff answered “You can have a different life and a new Father by putting your faith in His Son Jesus.”

At that moment this young man accepted Christ into his life and became an adopted child of the King.  For the rest of the week this camper was a different person.  He was full of joy and had no anger.  He called his Mom at the end of the week and told her that he was “coming home a changed person.  I’m not going to be angry any more or am I going to do drugs anymore because I’ve given my life to Jesus.”

Our staff called home over the next couple of weeks to encourage this young man in his new commitments and to hear from his mom how he was doing.  She said “he is a changed person.”  When you meet your Heavenly Father for the first time, even if you are an angry young man, it’s hard to hide the transformation.