We took a high school boy (let’s call him Jimmy) to camp this summer on a full scholarship. He had an amazing time and at the end of the week, gave his life to Christ!  He came back a changed kid- on fire for God.  He decided he wanted to become a Wyldlife leader, to share this love he had found with more kids. We took him with us this weekend to the Knotts Berry Farm leader retreat. I don’t know if you are familiar with teenagers these days, but if you are you know that they are all about image. Jimmy and his fellow high school friend were singing worship songs, arms around each other’s shoulders in encouragement, excited to share this joy they had found in Jesus. Do you remember when you first became filled with joy because of God’s love?  Unashamed, excited, hungry for whatever new knowledge you could get?

This morning we dropped off Jimmy after the ride home from Knotts Berry Farm. He asked if we could pick him up later to go to church- and though exhausted, we said “of course!” But I added, “only if you bring your girlfriend!” somewhat jokingly. He said “ok, sure,” with a huge grin that comes with any new teenage relationship.  We’ll call his girlfriend “Jane.” So tonight we make the rounds to fill our van with five kids- including Jimmy and Jane. The other three kids had already been to this church’s night service many times. Jane hadn’t been to a church in a long time, and kept saying she was scared. She didn’t know what to expect, and said something along the lines of “you all know everything, I don’t know anything!” We told her not to worry. We got to the outside of the building and she said “Wow, this is like Disneyland. There has got to be a roller coaster in there somewhere!” It is a pretty big church. We walked inside and she took in the huge stage and all the seats and said “this is like a movie.”

We got to “our” section- the third floor, right side.  The kids automatically sat one row ahead of Matt and I, or “mom and dad” as we jokingly refer to ourselves sometimes. The worship songs started, other kids had their hands raised, faces lifted up. The whole time they were trying to make Jane comfortable, so Jimmy would take her hand, and then the whole row was holding hands in worship. Let me remind you, these are high school boys- image is everything. Not tonight, tonight was about joy that only comes from Jesus. It brought tears to my eyes just watching them, thinking that everything I do– all the talks and lunch clubs and car washes and camps– the one kid who finds everlasting life makes it all worth it. The world around that kid will change no matter what; their decisions will be different, the friends they hang out with will be impacted, their family will notice a change…Praise God that we have seen hundreds of kids saved, but I can’t help but get excited for ONE more.

We got to the end of the sermon and the pastor prayed and invited people into a relationship with Christ.  I started praying that Jane would stand up at the end. The prayer ended and I opened my eyes- there was Jane with two friends on either side, standing up to accept Christ!  God is good!  She got a Bible and a devotion book. “Where did Jimmy go?” we all said as we headed out to the van.  He had gotten a free Bible at camp this summer, but he came running up and was excited to show us another Bible he had just bought- a special “duct tape Bible.” I guess he just wanted as much of the Word as he could get!

You are welcome to come to our first club tonight. You will witness first-hand– kids experiencing joy, laughter, controlled chaos, and the message of Jesus’ love. If you can’t make it, please pray for the kids coming, that the message will penetrate their hearts. Please also pray for the leaders as we put on this club. Thank you! God Bless. Chelsea