Round Rock Chapel Youth Camp 1998
Preparing a Generation to Harvest

What we Did and Learned

This year's focus was on preparing the youth as harvesters. Most of us in industrialized countries have very little connection with this sort of thing, any more. We don't really understand very much what a harvest is, or how to prepare for it. I've sat in the past through explanations of what a harvest meant to people 2,000 years ago, or what it means to a farmer today; this is interesting to some of us, but doesn't really help much. So of course, New Breed didn't take this approach!

Format

Each year we get a booklet with quiet time topics for the week, a listing of workshops, and lots of room for notes. The quiet time topics relate to the main session topics each day. These sessions take place in the morning and evening. After the morning main session we have the workshops until lunch. The afternoons are recreation time, a mixture of planned events and free time. The planned events have varied widely over the years. This year we had tournaments for volleyball, basketball, and touch football, along with sprint races and a 1 mile run (these wre all voluntary, of course!) We were supposed to go to a waterpark one day, but the weather was very cool for an OK summer (60s and low 70s, and damp), so the waterpark canceled and refunded our money. ORU ended up letting us use their pool and gym each day, which wasn't in the plan, for slightly less than what the waterpark would have cost for one afternoon. After dinner we had the evening sessions, scheduled to be over by 10 or so, but often lasting until much later (as usual). After the main sessions we had breakout sessions.

Day by day

Usually I can give a pretty good summary of each day, because I have good notes. This year, that isn't possible, because I had a different part to play. So most of the session summaries rely heavily on the notes of others. While I experienced a great deal this year, it was at a deeply personal level, where no human was taking notes or running a tape recorder.

quiet times and main sessions

  1. Go into all the world
  2. Do the Gospel
  3. In the power of the Spirit
Go into all the world
quiet time
Scripture: Matthew 28/19-20 (NIV)
  1. This is the last thing Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended into heaven. Why should this be so significant to us?
  2. Matthew 28/19-20 is called the Great Commission. If someone were to ignore the Great Commission how would you describe their life?
  3. How have you sensed Christ's presence with you ([verse 20]?
main sessions
In the morning session, Allen Hickman talked about the ``power of one''. He ranged from the fact that Jesus thought one person was important (the parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep, the fact that Jesus would have gone to the cross to save one person), to the impact Jesus made, to the fact that worth is what someone is willing to pay, to the fact that something worth a lot has power. So, if Christ died for you, then you are worth everything. God is constantly looking for people he can use. If He wants to use you, and you are too valuable to waste, then He will give you the power to acocmplish whatever he calls you to do.

In the evening, Richard spoke on having a personal breakthrough.

Do the Gospel
quiet time
Scripture: Mark 16/15-20 (NIV)

[This is Mark's version of the Great Commission, with more detail as to what Christ's disciples should expect to see.]

  1. Is it your desire for the Lord to work with you [v. 20]? Write out some specific ways you would like the Lord to work with and through you.
  2. What signs accompany your life?
  3. What signs do you desire from the Lord?
Stop right now and ask the Lord to perform these signs and wonders in your life.
main session
In the morning, someone (Mark? Allen?) spoke on purpose.
  1. Until your purpose is dicovered, you have no meaning.
    Purpose: a goal or an aim; an object to strive towards.
    What is our purpose? To be like Jesus.
  2. God created you for a purpose, and He created enough time for you
  3. If you don't find your God-given purpose, Satan will be glad to help you find one.
  4. Purpose is your insurance against premature death.
(from Esther's notes.) In the evening, someone spoke on desiring gifts.
  1. We should desire the Spirit of God. In fact, we should have an overwhelming, burning passion for the Spirit of God.
  2. As you have received a gift from God, so give the same gift.
  3. We should be ourselves, and not desire a gift that isn't ours.
  4. Annointing flourishes under authenticity.
  5. We shouldn't be waiting for Him, because He's waiting for us!
In the power of the Spirit
quiet time
Scripture: Acts 4/29-33 (NIV)
  1. Do you need more boldness in your witnessing?
  2. What qualities describe these Christians after they were filled with the Holy Spirit [vs 29-33]?
  3. Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?
  4. What will it take for you to be one in heart and mind with other Christians?
  5. What is God asking you to do to see this happen in your life?
main session

workshops

Each day there were three workshops to choose from. Two of them were essentially the same each day, while the third was a set of tracks, or series of workshops with common themes, but different each day. Obviously I couldn't make all of these!
  1. Stop - Get into God's presence
  2. Caution - Slow down and hear God
  3. Go - Go into all the world and do the Gospel
Stop - Get into God's presence (effective praying)
Leaders: Steve Thompson and Barry Patterson
Caution - Slow down and hear God (hearing God)
Leaders: Mark Jobe and (Tommy Briggs or Larry ???, depending on the day) Mark started by talking about some of the ways God speaks to us, through events, impressions and feelings. We have to learn to discern when God is using our feelings to guide us and tell us things. we need to notice and heed warnings, and not try to go too fast. We have to be willing to take risks, to step out, and not be afraid to say what we think God is saying. And we need to listen, and obey, even if it doesn't make sense at the time. (from Esther's notes.)

This was similar to the workshop on hearing God last year. By now we were already praying that God would show us our gifts, especially the prophetic gifts (per Paul's exhortations), and that He would help us to hear him more clearly. They would then bring a volunteer to the front, and everyone else would pray. If you felt you had insight into this person's life, or something God gave you to share for them, you were to speak out. Yikes! (This followed the same ground rules for all ministry at New Breed camps).

And at each session, a bunch of the youth and several counselors got something for the volunteer. In almost every case it was verified in some fashion. You can imagine the wonder and confidence that begins to spring up in such a situation! ``Whoa! I really can hear God! me! Wow!''

Go - Go into all the world and do the Gospel
``One on One'' track
Leader: Allen Hickman
``Reaching the Lost'' track
Leader: Richard Hinajosa
``The Arts'' track
Leaders: Ben and Robin Pasley

Ben and Robin covered a different topic each day, Poetry and creative writing, Paining, and Dance. I attended the first and third. I considered going to painting, but that still, small voice clearly told me to go to somthing else. A few minutes later, they announced that more had signed up than they had supplies for, so please only come if you really knew you should be there. They ended up with exactly the number of people they had supplies for (there were a couple of observers, but they came planning only to observe).

The first half of each of these sessions was a discussion of the arts and prophetic gifts. If you have ever heard 100 Portraits, you will know that they don't sacrifice art for the Gospel, and they don't try to force things to meet some agenda. So quit worrying about that!

The basics for this come from I Corinthians 14:

They explained that prophecy is, among other things, a gift for evangelism, as the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. prophecy is interpretation of spiritual truth, so that people can understand it.

So how does this work?

We always need to first STOP and ask the Lord to enter in to what we're doing, to make it bigger and more effective.

They would then explain and demonstrate briefly how these pertained to the day's topic. Then we would all "just do it". (The writing workshop included music as well as words). They talked about starter techniques as well. For instance, if you want to write a song, and nothing is coming, just start playing and praying or meditating.

The writing class was very cool. There were about a dozen percussion instruments present, and at least a half dozen guitars. They just started playing a chord progression Ben came up with, added a beat, and we all just listened inwardly. In a brief period of time, we had at least a half different people come up with songs, poetry, or a good start on a story. I got a poem that was for me, for a couple of other people in particular, and for our youth group as a whole. 

You have been a timid sheep
I will take your heart of fear
I will give you the heart of a lion
And you will stand like a mountain

And you will bow to me
Not to the world as you have
And when all the world bows to me
You will do so in my strength
Not quite what I expected. Nothing publishable. 8^) But it spoke a lot to those it was meant for.

I went to the ``Dance'' workshop as an observer. They covered the same basic ground, then played a song while someone started moving, just expressing what they felt as they listened to the song and to God. I forget her name but they explained that she had done this in Atlanta at the Olympics, and drawn a crowd wherever she went. I shared afterwards that I had heard about her in the newspapers sent by people from Atlanta. She had no idea she'd made the papers, but did know she'd always drawn a crowd, and had gotten to share with a lot of people.

Then they told everyone else to get up, and get ready to do the same thing. I started to scoot back towards the wall to get out of the way, when that still, small voice told me to get up with everyone else. To my amazement, I ended up dancing, and realizing that some things I'd felt led to do before were quite valid, despite how bizarre they might seem (sometimes when I am praying, I have felt led to physically act as if I am attacking an enemy with a sword; why? I dunno. Probably the same reason Jeremeiah and Ezekiel di dsome of the things they did. Maybe one day I'll really understand it. For now, it's enough to obey.)

A part of me kept wanting to feel stupid, but God's presence was too strong. All I had to do was stay near that, and everything was OK!

``Praise and Worship'' track
Leaders: Bruce Menefee and team

So what really happened?

Last updated: 02 August 2003

Copyright 1998 Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved.
NOTE: The opinions and beliefs, along with everything else, expressed here are those of the author, and may or may not reflect those of Round Rock Chapel, New Breed Network, ORU, and their attendant staff, members, and other related people.

Miles O'Neal <roadkills.r.us@XYZZY.gmail.com> [remove the "XYZZY." to make things work!] c/o RNN / 1705 Oak Forest Dr / Round Rock, TX / 78681-1514