"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
If you didn't know, tomorrow on June 6th, we're calling for a day of prayer and fasting specifically for our summer children's program, Kid Kamp.
Kid Kamp is a huge project that spans two weeks, enlists dozens of volunteers, and hosts over 100 elementary-aged kids. As you can imagine, there's a ton of effort that goes into it, and Paige, our Family Ministries Director, and her team have been working for months to bring it all together. (And it's all coming together quite nicely, I must say.) Kids are all registered; volunteers are trained and prepped; carnival is set to kick off; it's all ready to go!
But here's the thing--all that work, all that preparation, all those hours? They amount to nothing if they're done apart from Jesus.
That's why we're calling for tomorrow to be to you a day of prayer and fasting focused specifically on Kid Kamp.
If you didn't know, fasting is a depriving yourself of something (usually food) in order to draw your mind and heart's attention toward God. It's a way of reminding yourself that, as Jesus said when he was fasting, "Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the living God." It's also a way of focusing your energy on something or someone so that you can pray more fervently to the Lord for them. It's to acknowledge physically what Jesus talked about when he said that we need to abide in him. Jesus is the source of life, and apart from him, nothing we do will bear fruit for God's kingdom. To fast is to embrace your dependence on him and to focus your prayers for whatever you're praying for.
And again, in this instance, we're gathering our prayers together specifically for Kid Kamp. So here are a few ways that you can be praying tomorrow.
First, you're going to want to pray for all the volunteers and staff who are facilitating Kid Kamp. Pray that God would protect them bodily--that they would not get sick or injured, that they would not give in to tiredness and fatigue, that they would sleep well and deeply, that they would be focused and attentive. And you're also going to want to pray for their spirits. Pray that God would protect them from the evil one and his spiritual attacks. Pray that they would not fall into temptation or be led astray. Pray for a spirit of peace to abound among them (especially the teenage counselors!), and for their joy in the Lord to grow.
Second, you'll want to focus your attention on the kids who will be participating in Kid Kamp. Pray for the same physical and spiritual protection for them that you pray for the volunteers and staff. And pray for their little souls as well. While many of these kiddos have a church home and are little followers of Jesus, many of them are really going to be hearing the gospel for the first time. So you'll need to be praying that God would open their eyes and their ears, and that they would receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
After you've devoted yourself to prayer and fasting for the day, we're going to gather together at the church at 5:30pm to offer prayers to the Lord as a body. We'll meet in the sactuary at first to pray, but then we're going to break up into teams to pray over the whole church. Then at 6:30pm, we'll break our fast together with some pasta!
I pray that you will respond to this call and sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom with us. Tomorrow, fast and pray. Depend upon Jesus and his provision. He is the true vine indeed and apart from him we can do nothing.
God bless you!
Pastor Joseph
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