(John 17:20-21 ESV)
In the moments before Jesus’ betrayal, trial, and death, the precious time before He absorbed the full wrath of the Father, He prayed for His disciples. This is remarkable in itself. But in verse 20 we see that Jesus did not simply pray for the 12, but for those who would believe through their word.
Who is that?
As Christians, that’s you and I. We are here because Jesus prayed for the 12 and sent them the Holy Spirit, who gave them strength to fulfill their great commission. We are here because Jesus prayed. God the Father’s decree from eternity, God the Son’s perfect sacrifice, and God the Spirit’s seal of our hearts – these things are the good news proclaimed by the disciples to the watching world.
This is the foundation of missions, and why we are in Peru. We hope to see the Church grow as we serve alongside of and equip local Christians with a unique tool for sharing the love of Jesus – Christian summer camp.
We traveled nearly 23 hours to arrive in this beautiful country, and along the way we studied John 17 together as a team. Our counselors spent time reading and praying on their own in the Miami airport, and then we came together to discuss what this chapter teaches us about the Christian’s relationship with the world. This is foundational to both our theology and our methodology in missions.
As a brief yet poignant summation of our discussion of John 17, let me point you to the words of Stuart Briscoe:
“Given that we are intentionally placed in the world, we have to understand what it means, first of all, to be given out of it to Jesus. Secondly, we need to understand why intentionally we were left in it. And we need to understand what it means practically to live as if we are not of it. but to do it in such a way that we are effective in being sent to it. That’s it. Figure that out and you’ve nailed it.”
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Thanks for your prayers! Everyone is feeling good and enjoying our first weekend of preparation. Camp starts officially tomorrow. We hope you enjoy this photo blog of our time so far.
Team arriving in Lima
Peruvian, Point Pleasant, and Twin Lakes staff at Camp Orientation/Training
Planning camp as counselors and activity supervisors
Emblem depicting the god of the Moche people, an ancient civilization (A.D. 100 to A.D. 700) known for brutality. Yet they produced remarkable architecture and brilliant art and pottery. We will be proclaiming the gospel of the One, True God at a facility in the shadow of this temple at the base of a mountain.
Our group approaching the temple
This team is a joy to work with! Keep us in your prayers