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| The giant crowd of teens getting settled in at the lock-in! |
Greetings from Southeast Georgia!
When you think of summer
you think of time with family and friends, a slower pace of life, time for
vacations and additional leisure time. When you think of summertime in ministry
you tend to see attrition with families on travel and so forth, as well as PCS
(Permanent Change of Station) season with many families moving away and coming
in. This summer is the first time in three years here at the installation that
we have decided to work with the slower pace that summer naturally brings and
give kids some fun in the sun. Not only does this relaxed plan provide an
opportunity for the students but it also allows rest and relaxation for us and
the leadership team as well. This summer, we are choosing to meet the kids where
they are and offer events that they might not typically get to enjoy during the
school year. The rest of the summer will include moments where we go ‘where
they are’ as we are Christ to teens all over Fort Stewart and Hunter,
specifically pizza at the pool, water wars, cookouts and whatever else comes to
mind.
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| The Stewart HS squad reppin' during the lock-in! |
To kick off our summer programs, we held a lock-in,
an outreach event to not only serve our regular students that come but also
reach out in the community to those that may never dream of attending a faith-based
ministry event. We rented out the family fun Center on Fort Stewart which
offered skating, laser tag, pizza and drinks where students could have fun all
night long in a safe atmosphere. We weren't exactly sure how many students to expect
but God blew our minds when 135 middle
school and high school students showed up ready to have some fun.
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| The line of teens grows as they wait to enter the event. |
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| A snapshot of the laser tag room ready to go! |
As the dust settled in the
completion of the event Saturday morning, we had the pleasure of waiting with
one of the new students who enjoyed the event. Amy I and I got the chance to
hear all about this young man’s life at home, school and beyond. It was surreal
as the layers were being peeled back on his life while we sat and listened to
what he had to share in enduring life in the school system here locally and what
life is like. All it took was providing the place and space where this student got the chance to
share about his life and where someone was intentionally listening to their
heart as they shared. Both of us knew
that this student would have never attended a regular weekly Club event, but
the lock-in brought a place for the walls to come down.
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| This was a squad getting ready to hit up some laser tag! |
The event was a huge
success and we have already seen some of those students return for the game
night that we had mid-month. God is doing amazing things here at Fort Stewart
and Hunter Army airfield and we are excited to see how he continues to work
here as we continue serving the families of those that serve our country.
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Some of our Stewart and Hunter ladies
hanging outtogether during the evening. |
Thank you for your
continued prayers and support that allow us to reach these military teens right
where they are and point them to a relationship with Jesus we are gearing up in
the next few weeks for middle school and high school summer camp. Please be
praying that our students will either encounter Jesus for the first time or
continue to grow and develop their relationship with Christ.
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| The group waits on the 36 pizzas to be broken out! |
