What God Did at Summer Camp 2014 Baby

"I know fully now why I came to camp. God had to show me the way to Him." —A high school student

We are your disciplemaking missionaries serving with Cadre Ministries and we just got back from a great week of camp in Lake Geneva, WI, with students and youth leaders from Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL! I had the honor of speaking. And here's the story and pictures about what God did. Click on any image below to enlarge for viewing...

What's great about doing this camp is that I already know lots of these students. Some live in our neighborhood. Others we know and love because we are friends with their parents. (I'm sure their parents are way older than me though. Hey, I've got a 3-year-old. I'm young.) And we'll continue to see many of these students because we live in Central IL. How cool is that?

Not sure if you know this or not, but summer camp includes a good deal of fun and craziness. Of course, this is just one of the reasons I like summer camp. It's amazing what kind of games you can create with Qtips, tape, and a straw. Stuff your mother would never let you get away with—which is why we all left our moms at home!

The two youth pastors from Grace, John Vanne and Ryan Haggerty, participate in our Disciplemaking Learning Community in the Central IL area. We call this DLC, the Peoria Area Leadership Community. It's so much fun to partner with youth leaders—vocational and volunteer—who focus on making disciples of students—and helping them to help their friends.

Here's the Allison Camp Survival Kit. Guess what? It worked. Not only did we survive, but we thrived. Thank you Jesus and thank you coffee.

Most people know that the Bible has lots of stories in it. But what most people don't fully realize is that all those stories are really telling the one big true story God. Over five different chapel sessions, I told the big true story of God as found in the Bible—starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation. You're probably thinking, "Boy, those must have been some really long chapel sessions." Not really. One time I told the big story of God from Genesis through Revelation in a single sermon.

Small groups and small group leaders play a very important role in this camp. The main goal of the small group leaders was to continually intersect God's story with our story. This is where processing, life, and disciplemaking happens!

On Thursday night, I talked about how God rescued us. I finished speaking at about 7:30 pm. Then students went into a well-planned, hands-on learning experience based on God's true story in their small groups. That time lasted from about 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm with a bunch of students walking up to me and letting me know that they trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior! Other students who claimed to have a relationship with God already let me know they were sick of dinking around and were serious about owning their relationship with God! It was a great night of the Holy Spirit moving. It all ended with a spontaneous sharing time by the students that I will not forget.

What makes this camp really work? These youth leaders—both vocational and volunteer! With parents and God, these are the disciplemakers who will continue to walk with these students long after camp is over. Thank you for praying for us. God heard and answered you prayers.

And did I mention that it didn't hurt the week to have lots of coffee to drink?

Thanks for reading this far! We couldn't do Cadre without friends like you! We thank God for you.


Get Cup O' Joe with Bill in your Email Inbox!
Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual Cup O' Joe with Bill in your email inbox.
1. Go here and submit your email.
2. Check your email and click the Feedburner confirmation link.
Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from Cup O' Joe with Bill.