Slightly crazy cabin-group challenges and small-group study times were just some of the ways that young people from OneHope Baptist Church enjoyed building faith and friendships on a camp during April.
“Friendship-building and times of spiritual encouragement were the major aims of the camp – and these were certainly achieved. Across the whole weekend we could see meaningful relationships being developed and kids being encouraged in their faith through one another and their youth leaders,” says Youth Pastor, Michael Lobbe, from OneHope Barrabool Hills.
Young people engaged in four dedicated sessions with panel discussions, praise and worship, teaching and small groups. “The major encouragement for the youth though, was to not limit how God operates in their lives to just those dedicated sessions. He is present in everything we do at camp and in our daily lives – we just have to be paying attention and invite him to be involved,” Michael said.
And so, as the 42 high-school-aged attendees completed their challenges inspired by the TV show, Taskmaster, they also let their light shine by reaching out to others, praying for each other and considering how to put scripture into practice.
One popular activity was a fashion challenge with outfits bought at Anglesea Baptist Church’s “amazing” Seaside Seconds Op Shop. “The outfits were incredible! Such a wide array of costumes from gangsters to a cyclists, meant that our breakfast Sunday morning was a big hit. We ran a parade, and the winning cabin was the one that scored highest on the ‘cheer-o-meter’.”
OneHope has seen much growth amongst the young people in recent years and Michael said one of the keys to this was allowing for authenticity in each person’s relationship with God. “I think that more and more, people young and old are looking for authenticity. It is amazing to see young people seek out a space that encourages them to be authentic and doesn’t ask anything more of them. Allowing young people to be themselves without the pressure of ‘being something’ or ‘putting on a face’ is so refreshing.”
The youth group meets every Friday night during the school term and leaders volunteer their time with the sole purpose of enabling young people to explore and grow in their faith. “This involves a lot of different things, but we offer dedicated teaching that is tailored to youth and growing in the fundamentals of their faith journey. Youth group is followed by small-group time, which allows young people to ask questions and get into scriptures more deeply.”
Another key to growth was prayer, as leaders pray each week for those who come along. “What has been so encouraging is seeing young people praying for each other as well! Even those who are new to exploring faith seem to be open to the idea of prayer.”