You know, it’s really hard to sum up something like camp. Picking one defining moment is almost impossible. I know that, by now, all of you parents and youth leaders have heard all sorts of stuff from your campers and friends. Maybe the first thing you heard about was the worship, or the speaking, or the small group times. Maybe the first thing you heard about was Duct Tape Gladiator, or Samurai, or Humans vs. Zombies. It’s more than likely that, in the first couple of days after camp, you heard about all of those in some sort of confusing jumble, making it sound like Zombie Thor gave the message dressed in duct tape/newspaper armor, while juggling velcro-backed ping-pong balls.
Which, let’s face it, would’ve been pretty awesome.
This was Camp Vineyard’s third year, and I have to admit, I was a little nervous going into the opening session on Monday. With so many new churches attending, there was a real question of whether or not the quirky culture we have and the balance we try to draw between ridiculous events and serious spiritual moments would translate to a bunch of new groups. But before long, I saw teams like the Ostentatious Orange Octopi and the Redinators putting together their flags, I saw the Yellow Fever working on their great cheer, and I saw kids and adults from all over the southeast region coming together in teams like the Blue Ninjas, Gold Rush, UltraViolet, Green 17, and, of course, the champion Silver Squid SuperStars.
By the end of the week, I was watching these same teams pray for their members during small group times. I was seeing them go out of their way to help each other and the staff (whether or not they got spirit points for it), and demonstrating in very real ways what the Kingdom is all about. It’s not that this was some sort of magical turnaround for these kids, they were just actually DOING what they had been hearing about.
There was a lot of work that went into camp, and without the efforts of a lot of people, none of it would’ve happened. The Chattanooga Vineyard may be the host church, but it took a team of people from all over the southeast to put this camp together and make it run smoothly. So a huge thanks to all of you for your willingness to help make Ignite a success!
We’re putting together all of the photos and videos we have, and we’ll post them here on campvineyard.com. Hopefully I’ll see some of you at the Vineyard Southeast Regional Conference in a couple of weeks. I’m thinking we need a little HvZ with these pastors — who’s with me?