What Will This Summer Look Like?
I can’t promise that a TEAMeffort summer will give you the pure and joyful experience of witnessing a camper accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I can’t guarantee that you will gain two of the best mentors you could ask for as a result as being paired as co-directors. Nor can I promise that two of your fellow staff members will become your best friends. (Although each of these things happened to me.)
But what I can promise you is that Jesus is present and during a TEAMeffort summer, He will change your life.
The first time I heard the gospel was at a TEAMeffort Youth Missions Camp. My staff member that week radiated the love and joy of Christ. She was a servant leader. She was someone I looked up to and wanted to be like when I was older. Later that summer, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. That was also the summer I decided I wanted to serve the Lord like my staff member did through TEAMeffort.
When I worked in Union Beach in 2015, I saw the undefiled and undeniable power of Christ through the campers we ministered to, the homeowners we served and even random neighbors who came alongside us in service.
However, I also recognized how broken this world is. More than ever, I longed for people to know Jesus.
The world’s brokenness is a lot like the house I demolished with my campers. The home was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and was not structurally sound nor up to code for insurance. The home was made of rotting wood and was insulated with cardboard from the original roof shingles. As we demolished the house piece by piece, the structure continually began to sway and shake.
The house was a mess. It needed to be torn down so something better could take its place.
My TEAMeffort summer reminded me of my need for grace. During the summer, Christ revealed my deepest flaws and sin but covered it all with his unfading grace. We are broken. Our foundation is not firm. We sin when we should be radiating Jesus. We have been scarred by the tragedy of this world. We have layers upon layers of hurt that we are too ashamed to let to light. We refuse to be clothed in righteousness. Our faith is shaky when storms come. We are dirty. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world.
Christ died for my sin so he could love me unconditionally. Like the home I worked on, I deserve to be demolished. Yet, by the grace of Christ, I had the opportunity to serve and love Jesus through this ministry.
I can’t guarantee that your summer will be anything like mine in Union Beach or Copperhill. But I do know Christ calls us to love and serve so people might know his gospel. So, I can guarantee you that if He is calling you to this ministry, you will experience the Lord in ways you could never imagine.
But what I can promise you is that Jesus is present and during a TEAMeffort summer, He will change your life.
The first time I heard the gospel was at a TEAMeffort Youth Missions Camp. My staff member that week radiated the love and joy of Christ. She was a servant leader. She was someone I looked up to and wanted to be like when I was older. Later that summer, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. That was also the summer I decided I wanted to serve the Lord like my staff member did through TEAMeffort.
When I worked in Union Beach in 2015, I saw the undefiled and undeniable power of Christ through the campers we ministered to, the homeowners we served and even random neighbors who came alongside us in service.
However, I also recognized how broken this world is. More than ever, I longed for people to know Jesus.
The world’s brokenness is a lot like the house I demolished with my campers. The home was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and was not structurally sound nor up to code for insurance. The home was made of rotting wood and was insulated with cardboard from the original roof shingles. As we demolished the house piece by piece, the structure continually began to sway and shake.
The house was a mess. It needed to be torn down so something better could take its place.
My TEAMeffort summer reminded me of my need for grace. During the summer, Christ revealed my deepest flaws and sin but covered it all with his unfading grace. We are broken. Our foundation is not firm. We sin when we should be radiating Jesus. We have been scarred by the tragedy of this world. We have layers upon layers of hurt that we are too ashamed to let to light. We refuse to be clothed in righteousness. Our faith is shaky when storms come. We are dirty. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world.
Christ died for my sin so he could love me unconditionally. Like the home I worked on, I deserve to be demolished. Yet, by the grace of Christ, I had the opportunity to serve and love Jesus through this ministry.
I can’t guarantee that your summer will be anything like mine in Union Beach or Copperhill. But I do know Christ calls us to love and serve so people might know his gospel. So, I can guarantee you that if He is calling you to this ministry, you will experience the Lord in ways you could never imagine.