Camp Day 4 (Finale)

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I wanted to make sure I got all the Camp Kinetic videos up on my blog. If you want to come watch them at any time, this is a convient place for them to be found.

This was the final day of camp. In this video you'll not only get a taste of more awesome games, but you'll also get to take a peek at the moving worship times. As much fun as the games are... most of the students will remember to experiences that had in worship. Enjoy.

Camp Day 3 Video (The Walking Dead)

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 Day 3 of camp is when everything started coming together. Students were actually getting into the worship time and responding to the Gospel.

The video that you're about to watch has an intro to it. One of the games we played on Day 2 was called Zombie Apocalypse (Everyone is into zombies these days). So in honor of that I tried to mimic the Walking Dead intro. It's meant to be funny... enjoy!

Camp Day 2 Video (Uncharted Treasure Heist)

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This is the first day everything started coming together. Uncharted was one of my favorite games to film during the week. Uncharted is a game that Allie and I developed by taking cues from the actual video game Uncharted 3.

The golden bleach bottles they are carrying were filled with about 25 pounds of uncured concrete. They were rather heavy. The game was exhausting and intense. For the roars at the beginning I dropped all their voices about 3 octaves. It was all quite fun. I hope you enjoy!

Kinetic Camp 2012 (CAMP VIDEO)

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Worshiping the Lord during a night session

It is really difficult to put in words what happened last week, but I'll try. Last week's camp was, in my opinion, the best camp I've ever been a part of. We had a great time during the games. We enjoyed just hanging out during free time. But the best part of the week was the time spent with God.

On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we had worship times like I've rarely been a part of. The students were singing, dancing, and yelling. I believe that all of it was an out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

Lives were changed. On the second night 12 came to the Lord! That's something to celebrate. That usually doesn't happen until the end of the week. When people were surrendering to Jesus that early in the week I knew something special was going to happen.

The Many Perils of Traveling to Camp: Camp Creation 2010

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The green Ford van: Overheater extraordinaire.

This week I'm going to tell you about all the crazy camp trips we've embarked on. Pretty much every year something insane happened. It should be noted, everyone made it out of these situations alive and healthy.

In an effort to prevent your bordum I won't tell you every little camp trip incident that has ever happened. But I will tell you that in 2008 and 2009 a similar overheating problem occurred. But we just pulled over at a gas station and waited for our van to cool down.

The year was 2010. The van I talked about in the last post was long retired and sitting in a parking spot on the side of the church. We bought a, "New" van in 2008 for our mission trip to Mexico. It doubled as our youth transportation system. This van should have been better than the other one. It was newer and the air conditioner worked... sometimes. Well, it worked all the time, but we couldn't really run it because when we did the van would CONSTANTLY over heat. Time after time we tried to fix the problem, but never could. So we just kept it full of fluids, tried not to get stuck in traffic, and blasted the heater in emergency situations.

We were driving from Mt. Pleasant, SC to Mt. Union, PA. Camp was going to be at the Creation music festival. We were taking a load of about 20 students 11 hours away. It was our longest camp trip yet. For precaution I had done hours of maintenance on the van. We were going to make it to camp without any trouble. I mean we had driven almost 30 hours to Mexico two years earlier! How difficult could this 11 hour journey be? I was so nieve.

Everything was going like kicks and giggles all the way up until Mt. Airy, North Carolina (The town Andy Griffith's Mayberry was based after). The mountains were getting too steep for the old van. The Engine overheated... and by over heated I mean I was afraid the engine block was going to be an actual block of steal if I kept going. I pulled the van off the road, opened the hood and watched the coolant bubble out the radiator. I knew we were in big trouble.

We sat at the edge of the interstate, in a ditch at the base of a man-made carved cliff. We were stressed and out of ideas. This was seriously one of the most stressful times I've ever been through.

We were almost half way to Pennsylvania. I didn't know what we were going to do. I had to get the students to camp, but we didn't have a van, and the guy we found to replace the radiator said it wouldn't be finished for a few days. Our music festival would be over by then. That wouldn't work, I mean, we were going to have some angry students and parents. They dished out some serious dough for this trip (To this day it is our most expensive camp).

Stuck on the side of the road.

All the counselors met together and thought up a plan. Using our Creation camping equipment we would stay at a camp ground, and we would rent cars to take the rest of the trip the next day. I called up my wonderful cousin who works at Enterprise Rental Cars and he got me a discount on two small cars.

We smashed every piece of luggage and food we needed in those two cars and squished students in between it all. It was seriously one of the funniest things I've ever seen. For the rest of the seven hours the students were crammed. A clown car had nothing on us. I looked back at everyone and said, "We're just making memories guys."

We eventually made it to Creation, and we had a blast. We picked up the van and for the first time ever the radiator worked properly. We got home super late. We were all more tired than we'd ever been before, but we were home safely.

This is a verse that I've come to love about God giving us protection, peace, and safety.

Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. They'll keep your soul alive and well, they'll keep you fit and attractive. You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound. Proverbs 3:21-26

The Many Perils of Traveling to Camp: Camp Unleashed 2006

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This is as good as a picture of the van as I could find. It was being used for our Border Patrol Ministry here.

This week I'm going to tell you about all the crazy camp trips we've embarked on. Pretty much every year something insane happened. It should be noted, everyone made it out of these situations alive and healthy.

Though we went to camp in 2005, I don't remember anything too eventful happening. So, I'll start with Camp Unleashed.

The year was 2006. We had the privilege of bringing a small group to camp with Forestville Baptist Church. It was going to be an experience like we'd never had before. Student's would be rocked and the trajectory of many lives would be changed. Camp Unleashed was great.

We had a church death trap van. It was a modified '82 Dodge 15 passenger van that a gracious church had given to us a few years early. It was modified to fit inside the confines of the law. Around that time a law was passed that wouldn't allow any more than 12 passengers on a formerly 15 passenger van. Blah, blah, blah, something about them not being safe, blah, blah, blah. Really, nothing too important.

Dwayne Humphrey was the name of our driver. He had the task of getting us to and from camp safely. We were on our way to camp. We were just at the point where we were leaving the highway and entering onto the interstate. While Dwayne was accelerating up to interstate speed a rear tire exploded. I was driving a mini-van in front of him. I remember looking back at his van in the rearview mirror, and seeing whole van rock form the explosion. In an attempt to get everything under control Mr. Humphrey compensated by swerving all over the road. The front left bumper of the van dipped to the ground as if to catch itself, the back end rocked like a boat in rough waters, and panic was on the face of every passenger. I sincerely thought it was over. The van was going to flip, and I was scared for the lives of everyone along for the ride.

By the grace of God the van never flipped and Dwayne was able to get it under control, slow it down, and pull off the road. We replaced the blown tire with the spare and continued our trip to camp without any more incidents.

On the way home, Pastor Trey was driving this time, ANOTHER tire blew. We didn't have a spare because we had already used it. We ended up being stuck in Walterboro, SC for about 3 hours. We threw all the luggage out of the van and laid on it out in the grass while we waited on the van to be repaired. For one of the first times in camp history I used a now infamous line, "We're just making memories guys."

We DID make it home safe and no animals or students were hurt in the writing of this blogpost.

Oh yeah, and this is just the tip of the iceberg that is our trips to summer camp.

Highlighting Camp: Games

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This is the first in a series of post where I'm going to break down each section of camp and explain why we do what we do.

GAMES:
Here is how camp works. We rush around like raging mad lunatics trying to get everything settled. We eat dinner, go over all the rules, and then send all the students outside to spray paint their flags. The designs range from awesome to, "And what is that?"

7 Reason Camp Is The Best Thing Since Sandwich Sliced Pickles

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Some people ask me if camp is a waste of time. Every summer since 2005 Oceanside Church has taken its youth group to camp. We always create memories that many of these students will keep for the rest of their lives. Camp, It's kind of a big deal. Let me tell you why.

1. Students' Lives are Revitalized: This is the part that parents look forward to the most. I actually have parents who force their kids to go to camp. They know their student will be different when they return. The tricky part is making that revitalization last longer than three weeks (But parents will take what they can get). Every year there are some that are changed forever.

A Golden Calf, Really guys? Uhhgg. #ksitt

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The whole crew

Camp was really amazing this year. It was one of the best years that we've ever had. There were 8 salvations and re-dedications. God was at work. Johnathan was great, Pastor Trey brought some practical and challenging messages in the morning, and I had the privilege of speaking at night. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this year's camp possible. If you volunteered, supported, and/or prayed for, thank you.

Our volunteer staff being prayed over and hugged

Camp is never without its challenges. I warned all the students about coming home. I told them that the transition would be difficult. At camp we are surrounded by a wall of protection. Satan has been kicked out and we try to keep distractions as far away as possible. But when we come down off the mountain and back to the real world things get a little tougher. Look at what Moses went through when he came off the mountain after meeting with God (Exodus 32).

Satan will hit us with what we least expect. He'll bring up things in our past that we thought were long gone. He does it because he hates us. We have to fight him with all we have and not fall into the crazy temptations that can destroy us when we come off the mountain top.

The winning team's prize cake

I would like to encourage everyone with this: The decisions that you made at camp, or church, are only empty promises unless you back them up with actions. People will know you are serious when you start acting like you're serious. That means you'll have to make unpopular decisions. You may even have to break off some destructive friendships. Your relationship with Christ is more important than anything else. James 2:26 tells us, The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.


People don't care about our decisions we make at church camp unless we back them up with some serious action. Go out and live for God!! And, just for me, kick satan in the teeth. And every time you do report it to us on Facebook or twitter. Be sure to hash tag it #KSITT.

Christmas Miracles in June

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Painting originally by George Roberts remixed by me.

He has a lot of great paintings to check out here

Christmas only comes once a year for most of us, but for some it comes a few times a year. This is God’s blessing.

Recently I was in a meeting with several other pastors. It was mentioned that God gets a lot of glory out of people without money. I’m in no way poor mouthing, but I don’t think it’s a secret if I say, most pastors don’t earn a lot. Experience has taught me God does get a lot of glory through those without.

When people are in need it gives God the opportunity to provide. Thank the Lord for those whom He has financially blessed! He uses those people to meet the needs of those without. I’ve seen it over and over again in my life.

Wednesday was the deadline for camp money. Many of our students came to me asking for help. Their families didn’t have the ability to pay for camp (either completely or partially). I was crunching numbers, trying to pinch pennies, and figuring out ways for everyone to go to camp. I was not having much success.

Then suddenly my phone vibrated and jingled with a dance tune I often let ring for too long (Man, I love to dance to that tune!). When I picked up the phone, I figured it was another student asking for mercy. On the contrary, a person told me they wanted to sponsor two full scholarships! It was seriously a Christmas miracle in June. That amount put us over the top and allowed everyone to go to camp, even those in need.

Whether you have a lot or not, there is always someone who has less. There is always someone that you can be a miracle to. I encourage you to look for those people. When we have little God gives great.

Philippians 4:19-20
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In Closing:
1) I thought we had a great week at the Waterworks building! There are some things to get used to, but it was MUCH better than being at the Ministry Center’s sweat box. Great attendance too. Keep inviting.
2) We leave for Camp Fusion this Sunday after church at 2PM. Thank you to all who have helped pay our students ways to camp. You are a blessing to them and me.
3) If there is one thing Oceanside knows how to do it’s eat and throw a party. I’m really excited about the block party we’ll be having at Seagull Apartments on July 17.
4) Vacation Bible School is my second favorite time during the summer (The first being youth camp. I’m a little partial). We’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ this year on July 22-24.

Is Oceanside's Youth Camp a Waste of Time?

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Camp Fusion t-shirt and logo from Eph. 4:5-6

Nope.

Camp 2006

Every year for the past 6 years Oceanside has taken its youth to camp. This will be our seventh year doing youth camp.

Camp 2006

I think sometimes people get confused why we go to camp. Some think we go just because it's the best time we'll have all summer. Some people think it's because we love hearing Johnathan Elrod play music. Some think it's because it gives us a vacation (obviously those people have never gone to camp with us). Still others think we go because we're just trying to keep middle and high school students busy during the summer. Yes all of those things are accomplished, but none of them are the goal.

Face plant! Camp 2007.

Everything at Oceanside's youth camps are designed with purpose and meaning. Games are played to build community, illustrate points, and wear students down. The location is picked to get students out of their comfort zones. The food is great to nourish their ravenous appetites, because a hungry student is a student that isn't paying attention. All of these things are to point students to one person, Jesus Christ.

She cooks a mean tube steak. Camp 2010.

If we went to camp and just had a blast, and only sang a lot of music, and ended it all off on an emotional high it would be a waste. We bring students to camp and great things happen. Most of the fruit that happens through Oceanside's Reality ministry is harvested at camp every summer. Please, support our students the best you can. They need some money (We do it as cheap as we can), but also need your prayers.

Peanut butter isn't just for sandwiches. Camp 2009

Specific prayer points:
1. The Holy Spirit is already moving in the lives of the students going
2. God will give Pastor Trey and myself the words to say as we speak to the students
3. We'll be safe on the trip and while there.
4. The students on the edge of life change will take the step of faith and make Jesus their leader and forgiver.
5. Pray that those who can't decide if they should go will decide to go

In some serious prayer. Camp 2009.

Some Camp Needs:
We need someone who will be willing to drive the van to Lake Greenwood and back to Charleston. This person won't stay at camp during the week, but will pick the van up from Budget Rental and return it on Sunday, June 26 (when we leave) and Friday, July 1 (when we return). This is a tremendous need. It helps with cost and transportation. Click here to let me know if you're interested in helping. Or leave it in the comments.

Camp 2005