One of my favorite parts of summer is the opportunity to get outside and explore.

Camping ministry is what planted seeds in my own life to eventually become a pastor. Camp is where I spent most of my summers during college. It’s where I met my future wife. It’s where I love bringing
youth as a pastor in hopes that the experiences that they have will shape them as they grow.

One of the highlights of my summer was going to Camp Wapogasset in Amery, WI and seeing all of the energy and enthusiasm from the kids in our church that had spent the week there.

As I listened to the songs of the closing worship and watched our groups say goodbye to their new friends, I smiled as I thought about how important this experience will be for them. Some of them will
eventually become camp counselors themselves (like one of our own members at Faith, Macy Roberts!)

When you think about it, one of the most essential lessons that we want for our kids is to build trust and compassion for each other. Camp provides an environment to get to know new people quickly in a way
that builds each other up.

I continue to see where the youth of our congregation are teaching me—and the rest of our church—about how we should treat each other. Grown-ups bicker on social media or hold onto grudges or prejudices we have about other people. Kids have a resilience and ability to open up our eyes towards the beauty of humanity. We teach them—and expect them—to forgive others and be kind. Often, I feel like we forget to bring that message into our own lives.

This summer, two of the elementary students in our church, Piper DeLong and Anna Lindberg, heard about a school supply drive for kids in the school district whose families need a little extra help to get all
their school needs by the fall. Over 300 kids requested assistance.

These girls, with help from parents, decided to make a video that encouraged our church to give while educating the congregation on the growing needs of our community.

Anna even said in the video that she wanted to run a lemonade stand with all the proceeds going to help buy more supplies. And she DID! She raised $39!

I love it when I can hear the spiritual entrepreneurship of kids. They see opportunities to help and don’t
wait to decide if it’s a Republican or a Democrat idea or political talking point—they just help those in need.

What can YOU do in our community to show compassion and nurture the youth? Many of our local churches support school supplies or food drives for the youth throughout the year. If your church, civic organization, or neighborhood doesn’t, take the lead of an 9 year old and start one
yourself!

If you’re more interested in building relationships, those are always cherished and appreciated. Reach out to your closest school and ask how you can volunteer.

Lakes Center for Youth and Families and the YMCA are other wonderful resources we have in Forest Lake to support youth. If you do, I know that you’ll grow from that experience.

What a blessing it is for the youth of Forest Lake to help teach us a lesson or two.