Day Zero

Yes, Day Zero. That’s what we call the preparation day at YFC Camp before students begin to arrive. For Mary and me that means a travel day. Denver to Des Moines to Ogden, Iowa.

Sunstream Camp.

The Lead Support Team will meet tonight. To mingle. To connect. To pray. To anticipate.

But Day Zero means something different for the 200 middle school students who will be piling into buses, or vans, or cars bound for camp. Today, Day Zero, means dealing with the anticipation, the nerves, the fears… maybe the conflict at home. Maybe the anxiousness over resources for camp. Maybe the concern of getting a parent or guardian to sign the liability waver.

Day Zero.

What I know for absolutely certain is that the God of the universe loves these young people. Not some of them, but all of them. Every single one. From Omaha. From Willmar, Minnesota. From Mason City, Iowa. From Des Moines. From Cedar Rapids, Iowa…

Every. One. These young people are not an afterthought to God. They aren’t extra credit for us. They aren’t a problem to be managed. No, in a profound and meaningful way, these young people are the center of the target for the love and mercy of Christ. The bullseye. The heartbeat

Awkward and paralyzed 11 to 14 year-olds are a part of God’s plan in sending Christ. They are a priority. They are worth sacrificing for.

Because of this, it is a privilege to be with these young people. An invitation into the plan and purpose of God.

Confusion and complexity is the dial tone for this generation… and the adults in their lives often do little to bring shalom.

Day Zero…

A day to pray in anticipation. A day to work in preparation. A day to mobilize the church to be the Church.

Join us. In Ogden. Through prayer.

The destiny of 200 lives will bend toward mercy and hope… not because of YFC, but because of Jesus… our ultimate Day Zero.

Updates to come… .