Family Camp 2011!
It has been an unbelievable 9 weeks of Family Camp!
Here are some high lights from the summer:
- 231 Families (over 1200 guests) – the highest total ever for summer Family Camp season.
- We currently have 205 families registered for summer 2012; we only have 4 cabins available total for weeks 1-8 – never before has this happened this early!
- There were 8 professions of faith in Christ that we know of – 5 were adults.
- Your ministry to the ladies masseuse was truly a blessing. There is no doubt in my mind that your “authenticity” played a role in her profession of faith in Christ during week #2.
- God provided over and above what we were asking for the Chalet # 3 Remodel Project – at present, $48,000 has been given and others have stepped forward with the intent of donating materials, appliances, & labor.
- Date night at The Lodge was a tremendous success, the families absolutely loved it. Thank you for your willingness to partner with The Lodge – many families have a burden for their pastors and are intent on sending/sponsoring them for an upcoming Pastors Retreat as a result of their date night experience.
- I heard from dozens and dozens of people how they appreciated the many new touches that were added to our program this year. The extra time and energy it took from all of you to incorporate “the little things” – had an impact on everyone. The highlight for many was the encouragement they received when we personally escorted each family to their cabin after registration on Monday and prayed over them. – One father shared with me – “that is Authentic!”
- Here are just a few of the testimonies that were written, there were countless others that were shared with me personally and during our testimony services…
o This is my 7th camp but God moved in a mighty way. My wife and I have been married 21 years but we have been struggling to connect in the midst of raising 4 teens & a 3 year old. God spoke through Tom. I recognized that our marriage was in the pits and the only way out was to look up. My wife and I were each doing that separately but not together. Intellectually we were married but our Spirits were miles apart. Tom challenged us to not settle for peace but to strive for Spiritual unity. I took his advice. I held my wife’s hands and prayed with her and confessed my sins before her. She responded with tears and there is a softening that is occurring. I have hope for our marriage now.
o It’s because of Life Action that we are still married today. We have been in the church for our entire marriage, have been in small groups, gone to seminars and Christian counselors and STILL feel that your ministry is the key to us still being married to this day. We have felt the constant attack of the evil on each of us, and this year has been really hard. We both needed the conviction of the Holy Spirit this past week on our hearts to break down the pride we both had and show us that we have never been spiritually one….in over 20 years of marriage! How does that happen? My motto about family camp has been…that we can’t NOT go to family camp because it is the True North spiritually that our family needs. I don’t know how other families can make it out in the battlefield without coming back together at family camp and regrouping each year. I stamp on paper but God stamps on my heart.
o This retreat helped salvage our marriage. We were not communicating in the same language. We were going our own directions during the day and not meeting each other’s needs. This week has allowed us to stop and reevaluate things. We are now communicating in the same language and we see the areas that we individually need to work on to make our marriage better.
o We experienced the manifest presence of God’s Spirit, resulting in the healing of bitterness of children toward a sibling and even to me. Many walls came down and, although in our pride we felt “authentic”, God showed us areas of sin. Repentance, restoration and healing have taken place this week
Practically Helpful 