This past week CEF Virginia hosted teens at CYIA Camp. While most people think of going to a Christian camp for spiritual renewal as a time of rest and contemplation to draw nearer to God, our CYIA teens will remember their week of training as a challenge where they were on a tight schedule, had to listen to instruction, study and take practicums to pass the CYIA course. And yet, many of them indicated that they grew closer to God and the other teens there, through that rigorous process.
The Apostle Peter told the early church, who were most assuredly enduring much greater trials than our teens did, that:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7, ESV
Our teens were tested, and their faith proved genuine. Carolyn Doeren, a Teaching Children Effectively, Level 1 (TCE-1) adult student attending camp exclaimed: “I was impressed by the dedication of the teens to practice club parts – in the sun, in the classroom, they clearly took their commissions to spread the Gospel seriously!” They were renewed in their understanding of the Gospel and their need for God’s guidance. They are now praising the Lord for their ability to meet the CYIA challenge by relying upon Him to help them minister to children in 5-Day Clubs.
