Upside Down

All of this past week I was at Elevate, a Christian camp for teenagers held at Rochester College. This is the sixth time I have been a part of this camp and the fourth consecutive year I have been a part of the camp since I moved to Rochester.
This year was an incredible year. For months I have been praying for God to move in some very powerful ways in our youth group, and He answered many of those prayers this past week. I witnessed reconciliation, unification, and spiritual growth. It was incredible to see God at work.
Two of the students from our group were baptized this week. I had the honor of baptizing Addy Laster into Christ and Hannah Harrell was baptized by her dad in the river. I always enjoy seeing someone being baptized into Christ.
The theme for this year was “Upside Down” and there were a lot of people whose lives seemed to be turned upside for the better. I listened to students share their burdens, recommit their lives, and seek God. The times of worship were incredibly powerful.
I spoke about the following passage on Monday morning…
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
This week I was able to see students and adults, myself included, respond to God’s call for us to be salt and light to a world in need of the love of God. Whether it was in worship, through meditation on God’s word, in small groups, at our youth group devos, or during times of serving, the Holy Spirit was moving at Elevate this year. Praise God for the ways He shapes us and moves us to bring the Kingdom of God to life around us.

shine!
Jason