The Thursday Update

JULY 17, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Currently, 17 of our students are at Word of Life Island in Schroon Lake, NY for a week of camp. I'm exhilarated for our students to experience this amazing week of camp because I know that it matters so much for our students. After almost a decade of attending camps as a student, serving there in Bible College, and taking my students there as a youth leader, I recognize the unique opportunity camp gives students to encounter Jesus in a life-changing way. Here are five reasons why camp matters:

1. Escaping the Noise - Our culture is cluttered with noise, noise, NOISE! In Luke 6:12, Jesus "went out to a mountainside to pray, and spend the night praying to God." In the same way, camp provides students an opportunity put their phones away in the pristine Adirondack mountains, and escape the noise to hear God's voice.

2. Shared Experiences - Without a doubt, camp will be packed with lots of fun. Although, did you know that this fun is actually fundamental? Camp provides an opportunity for students to have shared experiences with each other, their counselors, and their Lakeshore Leaders. Those shared experiences lead to commonality, which leads to conversations, which can then lead to changed lives. Camp creates memories that last a lifetime, and impact students for eternity.

3. Strategic Partnership - Have you ever told your student something, for them to not listen, but then they come home at a later time having heard that same thing from another source and listening to that source? I know I did that as a student, and found myself in a few you were right mom and dad moments with my parents! Well, the same is sometimes true of student ministry. Sometimes the things we communicate with our students during the year, for lack of better words, suddenly "click" with them at camp! Camp doesn't replace student ministry, but partners with it.

4. Gospel Saturation - The reason I love Word of Life over other camps, aside from my past experience, is how Gospel-centric they are. Students hear the gospel multiple times over the course of the week and have multiple opportunities to respond. It was at camp where at 15 years old, I truly understood the gospel for the first time and placed my faith in Jesus.

5. Life-Changing Decisions - For those who already have a relationships with Jesus, Word of Life challenges students to live a life on fire for Jesus, setting aside worldly pursuits to love Him wholeheartedly. In my own life, I can confidently trace my call to ministry to my youth group, and Word of Life Camp involvement. Furthermore, I've been blessed with a front row seat to see so many students lives radically change as a result of their time at camp. This includes two of our own from Lakeshore Students who accepted Jesus at camp earlier this week. Praise the Lord! At Lakeshore, we want to train students who follow what Jesus says in Matthew 16:24; "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." We want to see students make life-changing decisions so they can make a difference for Jesus in their world.

So why are we excited about camp? Because it changes lives and impacts students for eternity, and that matters.

Pastor Nate
Student Pastor