By Jennifer Taylor
Instead of a traditional Vacation Bible School, this summer Journey Christian Church (Apopka, FL) created “Journey Jubilee,” a three-day event designed for families and friends.
“The older people need to teach the younger ones, and parents need to teach children,” said teaching pastor Harold Armstrong to the Journey family in an announcement about the event. “And often we don”t know how to do that, so we want multiple generations to come together.”
The event, held on Journey”s campus July 28-30, centered around a “Tent of Meeting” in the church courtyard where the campers gathered for worship and teaching led by Journey”s staff.
The church also planned plenty of opportunities for families to play together by tackling a challenge course, exploring the woods in a GeoScavenger hunt, or pounding on drums (the perfect event to follow a session on “creating a rhythm” of connection). Open activity times included a magic show, music, movies, a prayer walk, and plenty of time for sports, games, and relaxing. The event ended with Extreme Outdoor Entertainment””a water slide, laser tag, and dunk tank.
A $25 registration fee for every family or group covered materials and participation for all events. Journey members volunteered to set up, facilitate group activities, direct parking, help with first aid, and other needs. Food was available for purchase throughout the weekend or families could bring their own, and some groups even camped on the church property in tents or RVs.
“We need to be together,” says lead pastor John Hampton. “Children need a quantity of quality time.”
The public failure of famous Christians doesn’t prove that God’s power isn’t real. Instead, it reveals to us where we should and shouldn’t expect to find the most remarkable displays of God’s power.
We can be flexible about many things, but in Scripture God has given us bedrock, unbending truths that don’t change no matter how much time passes or culture shifts.
The public may have lost confidence in higher education more generally, yet I believe we may be entering another golden era in Christian higher education.
Someday we will lay down our WOMBATs and our treasured accomplishments. What will matter most then? Clinging to Christ and the cross.
For the Christian, a new year means another growth step to take, another goal to set, and more fruit to bear in God’s kingdom.
0 Comments