Adventure 2013: Into the Unknown

Karl Helvig, Pastor to Youth and Young Adults

Hiking, climbing, backpacking, camping, cabins, sleeping bags, tents, ropes, community, teamwork, campfires, worship, testimonies. These are just a few of the words that simmer in my mind when I think of a week at camp.  

I love going to camp.  God has a way of moving powerfully during these times apart.

In the past 15 years I have worked with over 600 students during more than 80 weeks of camp experience: backpacking trips, canoe trips, weeks at camp, weekend retreats.  Bearing that decade and a half in mind, I can confidently say that God moved in particularly powerful ways during our week together on “Adventure 2013: Into the Unknown.”

The entire week was full of honesty, teamwork, prayer, scripture and Jesus.  It was beautiful. 

In a lot of ways, the entire week gained momentum as our experiences built upon one another.  The team building on Monday prepared us for a 14er hike on Wednesday and everything helped cultivate the powerful times of worship and sharing testimonies around the campfire each night.  The trip was coming to a close when we arrived back at church on Friday night, ready for a final group of students to share their testimonies.  After a final late night time with God, a group of students began to pray together.  What proceeded from there was a four hour time of prayer and seeking God. While I was present, the prayer time was student initiated and student led.  We encountered God in a powerful way that night and I believe it was because, as a group, we had been drawing close to him and to one another throughout the week.  These four hours also stood out in a couple unique ways.  During the prayer time, we experienced a period of praying specifically against some dark spiritual powers working in the life of one student in particular.  This time ended with many of us in the group feeling a clear sense of peace and freedom in our spirits.  Following that, the group continued seeking God and then experienced what we believe to be a time when God spoke to our group in specific ways.

It’s hard to put into words exactly what happened, but we know that our eyes were opened to the spiritual realities around us and we know that we leaned into Jesus through prayer in a powerful and unforgettable way.

Experiences like this can be tricky.  They are both encouraging and confusing, yet we have seen a lot of fruit. We enjoyed a 2-hour time with about 75 parents, students, and church leaders debriefing and processing some of these extraordinary experiences. Students are eager to pray for one another and dig into God's word.  We are fully rejoicing in the ways God has been and continues to be at work.  However, we also know that we live in a fallen world and the reality of God's presence is much greater and more pervasive than any single experience we ever have.  There is no single experience that can fully and perfectly capture the work of God in us and through us.  So, we pray that God continues to clarify and confirm what he began that Friday night.

Our sermon series at church for the past weeks has been on BREAKTHROUGHS.  Even if an experience like this leaves us with as many questions as it does answers, we still pray that God would be creating breakthroughs in the lives of the students of Studio72.  May this be just the beginning of a work of God’s Spirit, breaking into our lives and into the life of our church.

Grace and Peace,

Karl