The 3rd Annual 1NiGHT lock-in has come and gone!
Background on this event: It's not a "church" event. We don't do church drama teams and worship songs and all that type of stuff affiliated with our cultural version of church. We have a 15 minute midnight service where a speaker will present the gospel in a simple way to the entire group. Last year we had over 60 come forward to receive Christ. This event is an outreach and the focus is kids that would never want to set foot in a church or who were never raised in church. And there's nothing wrong with "church" events but sometimes the way we try to convey the gospel can get muddied up by religious lingo and vocabulary that people frankly may not understand if they weren't raised in church.
I grew up in church...so I can speak church lingo with the best of them. But if you talk to kids who have never heard of the Holy Spirit, sanctification, justification by faith, doctrine, a moving of the spirit, and the list goes on...they will look at you like you're speaking Greek. Been there done that. So what is the language we speak then? Well...love. Less words...more action. We don't preach at them.
So we provide a safe environment for one night. Video game stations with games the kids will play. Some don't agree with the secular or type of games...but again...this isn't a church event. All the food you can eat. We have people from all over Sumner County preparing home cooked goodies, and finding stores who will donate food. We serve TONS of pizza and send it home with the kids at the end of the lock-in. We have people come serve the kids food and talk to them while they get their goodies. Some of them won't eat again until their lunch time on Monday at school because their home situations. They can play all kinds of sports, swim, play board games and cards, or sit around and just talk with friends. Diane Haun, a Pastor's wife from Watertown, brings a large group of kiddos from her area and there are kids that will sit around with her all night just to spend time with her because she cares and she makes them laugh. She made a life time friend during the first 1NiGHT 3 years ago and has kept in contact with that kid ever since.
Speaking of non-church lingo...I prepared a class for last Wednesday night's service because I felt very strongly that God had been speaking to some of the kids about coming to know Him as their savior. Especially the girls in the girls group on Wednesday nights. We have a lot of kids that weren't raised in church in our youth group. I told Jeff I felt like we needed to do a service on the basics...go back to the cross. So he told me to do that and the most challenging thing was trying to prepare my notes in a way that they would understand it. Not that the gospel is hard to understand. It's simple. But my church kid lingo and cultural church perspective were creating a communication barrier. I can talk to church kids and church people with the greatest of ease...but when it comes to communicating to kids and adults who don't have any clue about it...I find that is challenging! So I did it...and I will have to say...I was so nervous. I mean...this is the most important message you can ever give to anyone...and I felt so inadequate to give it. I several times wanted to call Jeff and tell him to do it. But I knew I would be being disobedient to what God had laid on my heart. So I did it and honestly...I struggled the entire way through that class. I caught several times going into church lingo and I'd have to think on how I should rephrase it. I gave a lot of illustrations. And of course...looking back I see all the things I failed to say and wish I hadn't said in this way. Especially the part where the bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags. Yeah...I went into the literal meaning of that...and it was really hard to get them focused after that. Then I could see parents calling Jeff wondering why I said that in class. Oh...how I love regret. HA!
So after feeling I had totally blown the class...a teary eyed high school student came up to me after class and said, "I felt like God was talking just to me." She's not a church kid. She's a tough girl on the outside. Doesn't open up much. And I repeat what she said...not to bring any glory on myself what so ever. God spoke to her somehow through my struggle to convey this gospel. I could see it on her face. She was broken. And I caught myself before laughing and wanting to say...did you hear the same thing I was teaching because I totally screwed that up...ROYALLY! But I could see she was serious and I felt guilty for only thinking about myself and feelings of failure. I don't know what He did on the inside of her...but man...how awesome is He! He took my broken inadequate message and spoke to her heart. I pray He spoke to others. The boys are easily distracted so I couldn't really read them. They did ask a lot of questions and made comments.
I've been praying a lot about my purpose in life...how and what I could do more, as far as contributing to God's kingdom and witnessing about how awesome He is. I've struggled, because for the most part...the company I work for is run by a Christian family. We have had bible studies here at work. We pray at company functions. Just about everyone here is believers. So I don't have a lot of opportunity here. The ministry Jeff and I do is within the church to church kids except for Wednesday night youth service. So I have often wondered if I'm doing anything to really show God's love to people outside of our church. There has been a miserable feeling inside of me because of that. I can't just sit and warm a pew and lead worship. That just doesn't satisfy. I've been absolutely...miserable. I don't want to preach at people...I just want opportunities for God to use whatever is available in me to show His love and the message to people who don't know Him. Last Wednesday night was hard and WAY out of my comfort zone, but I found it quenched a part of that misery I've been feeling. I think He's teaching me to think outside of my church girl box. Church is safe. Outside of that is a whole new animal. It's the beginning of learning how to communicate this gospel to people who know nothing of our church culture. I'm ready to learn all that I can.
