Blog

I’ve been coming to MCC my whole life and I’ve always grown up surrounded by fellow believers, so it was easy to call myself a Christian. But once I started high school it became harder to surround myself with those like-minded people on a daily basis. I struggled to figure out how to make my faith my own. 

This summer God answered my prayers and opened the door for me to serve at Lone Tree Ranch. There were some obstacles but He removed them all and allowed me to have this opportunity and reassured me this was where I was supposed to be. Lone Tree Ranch is a Bible camp outside Capitan, NM. They allow for different churches from all over New Mexico and Texas to bring their youth programs and other organizations to the camp and do high-adventure activities while keeping God at the center of everything they do. 

This experience was truly unlike anything I've ever done. Being surrounded by fellow believers who are around my age or in the same stage of life as me, pursuing the Lord in all they do, was a new experience for me. We lived and did life together, while encouraging each other to deepen our relationships with God. Whether it was leading staff devotionals in the mornings, having conversations about our faith while cleaning, or worshiping with each other every night, you could see and feel God’s presence working in all of us. 

Not only could I see Him working in our lives, but I also got to see so many kids get saved at camp. At our share night every week, we heard many different testimonies coming from kids of all ages and walks of life. One that stuck out to me the most was of a young man who had been coming to Lone Tree for a few years but he was not a believer. Last summer when he came, he said that he would believe when this specific tree on the camp property was not standing. This year when he came back that tree had fallen over and no one knew why. That week at share night he accepted God as his Lord and Savior. There were so many more stories like this that I got to learn about while talking to the campers and building relationships with them. 

Although I thoroughly enjoyed all of the different weeks, I think the one that personally impacted me the most was our Joni and Friends family retreat. Joni and Friends is a Christian organization that helps support families who have family members with special needs. When they come to Lone Tree, they get to watch their kids have experiences and do things that they would usually not get to do, like riding a horse or going on a zipline. Watching how much these families sacrifice while still having so much joy and love for the Lord is something I’ll never forget. Even though some of the kids have already gone through things that many of us will never have to experience, the joy they had could not be mistaken for anything but the love and joy of Jesus. 

This summer has grown me in ways that I never would have expected. God knew exactly what I needed when He opened this door for me. The Lord was able to show himself to me in countless ways. He also blessed me with amazing relationships and changed my perspective on so many things, while also challenging me to make my faith my own. 

On June 17, 11 MCC high-schoolers and three youth group leaders caravaned up to Glorieta, NM to attend a youth summer camp with 5 other churches from the greater ABQ area. Over the ensuing week, the teaching (1-2 messages per day), worship (2 times per day), and discussions were focused on one word: Follower. We deep-dove into what it means to be a follower of Christ, from the commission, the purpose, the way, the hardship, and the reward. 

Discussion topics weaved in and out of important thoughts, with some of my favorite conversations centered on:

• ‘How do we reject the fading beauty of worldly things for the eternal beauty of godly things?’
• ‘Why is the struggle of being a 21^st-century believer worth it?’
• ‘How do you represent Christ to your peers when they don’t want to hear about Him?’
• ‘What’s the difference between believing something is true, and living like it’s true?’
• ‘How do I prioritize Christ amongst all the other big decisions in my life?’

The Lord was at work through these conversations, basketball games, gag-ball pit contests, an adrenaline-raising slew of camp activities, the praises lifted in accord with some 200 other camp attendees, the quiet times we regularly had with the Lord, and the daily time spent together, as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our MCC students were example-setters all week, even garnering recognition from other churches for the way they comported themselves. One of the other leaders mentioned in the morning leader-huddle that he was so grateful for the Mountain Christian Church students, and how easily they engaged other students, as his group had been blessed by ours. Another leader told me how impressed he was by our students’ constant choice to serve and engage with some of his younger students. How beautiful it is to see God use young people to model Christlike living!

There’s a beauty in attending a camp where exhaustion sets in, and distractions slowly disappear as the focus moves onto Christ. I was immensely encouraged by the willingness and humility of our young adults to enter conversations regarding things eternal, and grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness in meeting us daily. 

I continually pray that each student will eagerly build on their professed desire to follow the King of Kings, and if any do not yet profess it in their heart, that a seed would have been planted at camp, which will continually grow into a full-throttle approach to knowing Christ our Savior.