Camp Confronts Students with Biblical Truth
Not only does camp give Gen Z students the opportunity to step outside their circumstances and build biblical community, but it also allows them to encounter the objective truth of God’s Word. “Students in this Gen Z culture struggle with what is true and with placing their experience on the same level with the Word of God,” Kyle explains. “What do you do when a camper says, ‘My hurt seems to weigh more than the hope of God?’” I ponder Kyle’s question, considering the heaviness of issues such as anxiety and depression faced by so many Gen Z students. According to Tommy Sewall, Gen Z students are advocates for mental health because they have poorer mental health than previous generations. Tragically, suicide has surged to the second leading cause of death among today’s young people. Gen Z students know this needs to change, and they are desperate for answers. The summer camp theme for this year was “Evidence: Nothing but the Truth.” This topic has never been more relevant than in our day of perplexing relativity. As part of the emphasis on biblical truth, campers watched a presentation designed to offer hope from God’s Word to those struggling with mental health. “The two truths emphasized in this video were that God is good and that life is hard,” Kyle shares. “The proof [that life is hard] does not cancel out the truth that God is good anymore than the truth that God is good cancels out the truth that life is hard.” Kyle explains that when we relay God’s Word in a powerful, practical, passionate way, we can build bridges into their lives with the hope of the gospel. I pause for a moment, struck by Kyle’s passion to see young people reached and changed by the gospel. It compels me to ask him, “Kyle, I know that camp can be an exhausting season for counselors, staff, and leadership; what keeps you excited about camp ministry, even through times when it’s difficult?” “There’s no question that it’s life change,” he replies. “I can’t tell you how many stories I have from people who say, ‘Word of Life changed my life.’ ‘No, it didn’t,’ I reply. ‘Word of Life is an organization filled with people. People hurt people, people help people, but Jesus is the only One who can change people.'”
Students in this Gen Z culture struggle with what is true.
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