"How many youth were saved?" It's the question burning on a lot of people's hearts after a Christian youth camp.
And let's be honest. We have a primary goal at Christian youth camps for youth to commit to Jesus.
Our heart behind this goal is good. We desire for young people to experience Jesus as we have. We want them to find the life-giving hope of the Gospel. We love young people, after all. Otherwise, we wouldn't be involved in this whole youth ministry regime (at least not for very long). For those out there like me, who have been in the trenches of youth ministry for over a decade, we are in it because we love Jesus and we love teenagers. We want what is best for them. And we know that ultimately, a transforming encounter and relationship with Jesus is for their best.
However, those of us who have been around for a long time have also seen the dangers of rushing youth to Jesus through emotive atmospheres and sleep-deprived decision-making. We see that these rushed, shallow commitments might provide a high for everyone involved at camp, but they don't last. And the fallout can sometimes be devastating.
Jesus talks about this kind of rushed, shallow decision to follow Him in Luke 14.
27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. 28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ 31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
In other words, the decision to follow Jesus should be, to some extent, a calculated one. The costs (though truly minimal in comparison to the cost Christ has paid for us and all that is to be gained by us in following Jesus) need to be taken into consideration. This is an informed decision, not a rushed one. Conversion is a process rather than a moment. For some youth, a camp might be the beginning of conversion rather than the culmination of it.
This doesn't mean youth don't make life-long decisions to follow Jesus at camp. Not even! Many young people come to a Christian youth camp on a journey, and that journey leads them to the perfect catalyst for commitment at camp. Their conversion becomes complete. And it's awesome. Life and eternity are changed. Salvation experiences will always be a primary goal of any evangelistic youth camp I am involved in as a leader. Unashamedly.
But what about the ones who aren't yet at that point in their journeys? Is our goal for them, in that weekend, still "conversion" in the traditional sense? Or could we set a different type of goal and celebrate when God brings it to fruition?
One of the lessons I have learned through being involved with IGNITE Camp in New Zealand is how to think about setting and celebrating these different kinds of goals. Many youth in New Zealand come to camp with very little journeying behind them in relationship to Christianity. They come with heaps of questions about Jesus, the Church, and more. The work God desires to do in them during camp is often much less than a commitment to become a follower of Jesus, and yet He still desires to do a HUGE work in them in relation to their process of conversion.
It thrills my heart when I read on our evaluation forms from camp that a camper has decided to "give God a go," to"look into Christianity more by connecting to a local church," or "to begin looking into becoming a follower of Jesus." These are works of the Holy Spirit to be celebrated!!!!
So how do we approach camps in such a way that we encourage this calculated decision-making? How do we provide opportunities for those who are ready to commit to Christ without pressuring those who are at a different place in their journey?
To be honest, these are questions I (and many other people) are still asking--and ones I believe we need to ask constantly as we plan and pray for camps. We will often disagree on the nitty-gritty details of how this works out practically. But here are a few insights I've begun to accumulate personally.
1. Cast the broader vision to the whole leadership team and speakers.
This is key. Everyone involved needs to know that the camp is after the whole of God's desired work in individual young people's lives--nothing MORE, nothing LESS. Speakers need to be in on the vision so that they help reinforce that no one should feel pressured to make a decision they are not yet fully ready to make, as well as providing opportunities for response that might be shy of salvation. Worship leaders need to be in the loop so they can be careful not to pressure people into mob-response in worship rather than responding in ways appropriate to their current journey. Maybe this means a disclaimer of "Don't feel you need to sing these words if you don't mean them yet. It's ok to listen or to pray." Cabin leaders need to know to be patient with those in their cabin who may be at varying levels of the journey. Youth leaders need to know whether or not it is safe for them to bring along "un-churched" young people to camp. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Again, the details of how this plays out in different areas of a camp might vary from situation to situation.
2. Be sure local leaders take responsibility for knowing the individual journeys of their young people.
This is huge. Local leaders need to know they have the freedom to act on their own awareness of where each of their young people are on the journey. This could mean reassuring a student that he does not have to take Communion when it is offered or helping a youth process through what they are witnessing as Christian young people are expressing their worship to God.
3. Use language which is inclusive of varying levels of commitment.
Again, this is something a speaker who knows the vision can help with heaps, but we should be speaking to the fact that God is calling people to take various types of steps toward Himself at camp. Examples should be given that are within reach of people at different stages, such as, "Maybe you need to make the decision tonight that you will connect more with a local church youth group and start seeking to understand more who Jesus is and what He has to do with your life."
4. Give freedom to "opt out" of responding.
In my most recent experiences as a camp speaker, I think I've spent more energy trying to talk people out of responding to an altar call than to get them to respond. I want to make sure that youth are not responding because "Amber asked me to" or because "everyone else was doing it." Rather, I explain in specific detail what a particular response means and plead with people to do it only if they are in alignment with those specific details. General calls for response will get general response--and this will often confuse young people afterward. "What did I just do? Did anything happen to me when I went forward?"
5. Find ways to identify and celebrate varying levels of commitment.
If you use commitment cards or follow-up evaluations for a camp, include the possibility to celebrate varying levels of commitment. At IGNITE, we currently ask the following very open ended questions. "Did you make any personal decisions/commitments at IGNITE? If so, what were they?" We get responses to this question which are all across the spectrum, and I feel it is a much clearer reflection of the breadth of God's work at camp than asking, "Raise your hand if you gave your life to Jesus tonight" in a rally and counting the hands. If commitments are gauged publicly in this kind of manner, again, provide different, specific categories. The young man who committed to explore Christianity after camp should be given the opportunity to place a stake in the ground just like the young lady who sought to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Both are journeying toward Jesus--both are seeing God draw them closer to Himself--and both will need to point back to that point of commitment.
So, I'm still happy to give a foggy answer to the question of how many people claimed to have met Jesus for the first time at a camp. I'm thrilled to share with people that God is drawing youth to Himself. And I love that camp provides such an awesome opportunity for young people to have a salvific encounter with the God of the universe. But I also love to share these non-conventional stories of how God journeys with people through significant experiences at camp. And I want to continue to foster this powerful work of God in the lives of the young people He loves.
