Billy's Thoughts 7-30-08

[So, after I met some of the people in my new church, I began to send out emails to let them get to know me and my family better! I am going to post a few of them!]

So, I have my mind on camp. I share the responsibility of deaning a 'herd' of 5th and 6th graders with a friend. We are in camp next week, and are making all the final plans. I believe there are 51 students signed up, which is a little smaller group than normal. But we are excited! We are going to be challenging them to ask the question, "Who's Your Idol?" It is kind of a spin off of the American Idol theme. We know for sure that only 19 of them have been baptized into Christ. Though we don't push 10 and 11 year olds too much, it is our prayer that if any of them are ready to make a decision to put Christ as number one in their life, that they would! Pray for that with me.

So what is your best camp experience? Here's mine: It was at family camp at Delmarva, almost 10 years ago. My family couldn't make it, but I was there. Sorry, but my most memorable moment was not one of the sermons or teaching sessions, but was a private conversation I had with a fella named Phil. Phil asked me what I was going to do when I grew up. (being 14, I figured I was grown up. ha!) I gave him the answer I gave to all the 'church people' I knew. I told him I might be a youth minster. I didn't really believe that, but it kinda made me look spiritual, and that was the look I was going for at the moment. Phil looked at me and said something I will never forget. "Billy, you might do that for a while, but you are going to be a preacher, because we need guys like you to be preachers!" In that moment something changed, and I was a preacher. I have never looked back. Moral of the story: Take opportunities to encourage young people to pursue God and ministry. You never know who it is going to effect.