Regenation Summer Camp 2011
Be sure to contact our office for more information!
Email: Regeneration@gracechurch.org
Phone: 818.909.5593
You get out of the car, say bye to your family,
You get to registration and check in so happily.
Your adopt-a-teen box is full of sweet goodies,
Teens are all around with their backpacks and hoodies.
You follow the crowd into the night service,
Excitement tells you that it will all be worth this.
You walk up the stairs into a people-filled bus,
Adventure begins as God watches over us.
For the next 18 hours you occupy this place,
The rough sleepless night distorts time and space.
Fun Pixar movies are playing without end,
And there’s always a McDonald’s around every bend.
From Los Angeles, to Flagstaff, now finally Glorieta.
Stumbling out of the bus, you don’t feel much “betta.”
You get your team band and go find your roomies,
Don’t worry about it, I don’t think they have cooties!
Congratulations! You’ve made it all this way!
But Camper, there’s still one week ahead as you end your day.
You are now set into a routine of events,
But waking up at 7am doesn’t always make much sense.
You come to realize that the camp food is iffy,
Yet service from the camp staff is most definitely spiffy.
There are trees, hills, clouds, and a lake,
But I won’t ramble on for account of time’s sake.
It’s time to enter the large chapel building,
Brace yourself for incredible worship and preaching.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, singing praises to our Messiah!
Thank you Josh, Caitie, Becca, Luke, Isaiah, and Uriah!
With Austin T Duncan, Rick Holland, and John MacArthur,
You’ll learn about Jesus’ sacrifice and the love of our Father.
We were born sinners and need a new heart.
Are you a slave to sin? Try that for a start.
You then meet with your small group after the session,
Maybe small in size but definitely deep in the lesson.
Then there’s a surprise talent show with one significant winner,
LECRAE sang and spoke about how God can change a sinner.
Another aspect of camp I have yet to mention,
Team games and team spirit and rivalry tension!
You must wear your color and chant your team name,
With soap, mud, and pigs, the sports are far from tame.
Earth balls, inner tubes, and steal the bacon, let’s go!
But no one prevailed to beat the BELUGA PIRATES YOHO!!!
The time is now, as the week draws to a close,
It’s a bittersweet feeling as you shiver down to your toes.
You pack your bags full of wet muddy grime,
Excited to go back and share your jolly good time.
Your sunburns and contusions are proof of sheer bliss,
Regen camp 2010 is an event you will surely miss.
Another 18 hour stretch stands in the way
Of the enclosed camp atmosphere and the life you left that day.
To combat the shock of coming back to life,
ATD imparted 5 key words for handling this strife.
Goodbye, Glorieta, you’ve taught us so much
About a new heart, new mind, new life, and such.
You stumble off the bus, with no more to roam,
You are back to life and now you are home.
Poem by Cari Logston and Kelli Frazer
Photos from Regeneration Friday are now online! Click HERE to open in a new window.
Photos by: Emma Harasick
Regeneration 2010 has been seeped in prayer, from church members committed to praying for individual students to the staff praying each morning for the speakers, students, and specific situations in their small groups. And we’ve seen God answer those prayers in ways abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think.
My alarm honked this morning—6:15 a.m., signifying our last day here, I forced open my red eyes and it felt like trying to split open a rock or bend iron. And one foot at a time, I forced my aching, sleep-deprived body out of my comfortable sleeping bag. And I realized that my alarm signaled our final day in Glorieta. And I purposed to make the most of it.
Austin Duncan closed us with a final sermon about our theme—regeneration. He reminded us that regeneration is not just a fresh start, or a second chance, it is a total and complete new creation. There is no question that the gospel was again clearly delivered by our pastor.
Then, we finished out our last day of team games. Our final day in New Mexico decided to be warm and sunshiny—we’re thankful for the warm send-off. The light blue team, the Beluga Pirates, won the team competition for the entire week. Imagine the cheers that erupted when that was announced!
Tonight there was no sermon. Just a chance for us to respond in worship to the One who has regenerated us. Tonight was an extended time of singing. And for the last time we enjoyed the Christ-exalting worship the band has worked so hard to bring us. It’s always a joy to focus on what we’ve learned this entire week and direct our praise and thanks back to God in heart-felt worship.
Our buses are about to pull out of the conference center. I’ll miss our sessions in the quaint Glorieta chapel with the beautiful blue stained-glass steeple—it’s started to feel like home. But a long shower does sound good and so does a night in my own bed. We’ve still got a meal at cracker Barrel to look forward to and 17 hours together in close quarters. But I’m sad to go. We’ll see you at home. But hopefully you won’t recognize us because we’ll be so different, in the spiritual sense that is.
Photos from Regeneration Thursday are now online! Click HERE to open in a new window.
Photos by: Emma Harasick
Can you ask for a better addition to your quiet times, for a better after-breakfast pick-me-up, than to listen to Bible-teaching from John MacArthur? John opened up our day with a message during our morning session. He challenged us that if our thinking about Jesus is wrong, we don’t know God. He told us that our doctrine is essential to our Christian life. He focused on the fact that true regeneration results in deliverance from truth to error. If someone is truly saved, they will grow to love, obey, consent to, understand, believe, and embrace the truth. And we fleshed out what that means in small groups. Too often churches neglect this concept of one-on-one discipleship, so we are all overwhelmingly thankful for and careful not to take small groups for granted. It is almost unheard of to have such easy access to people who are willing and able to answer questions and discuss important issues that campers are thinking through. Small group times are most certainly mutually encouraging and challenging.
During game time, the rain clouds burst open again. But today we didn’t have to cancel the games. No! We played right through. No one left the slippery game field without becoming a muddy mess. And the spontaneous after game mudball fights didn’t hurt either! No matter what team wins tomorrow, everyone had a blast getting dirty in the Glorieta rain and grunge. And we still have one last exciting day of games to finish up tomorrow.
John rounded out the day—his last time to speak to us. He spent the time by continuing to help us understand what a true believer looks like. A true believer is set free from the search for the truth because we have found the truth. Believers are changed from being a slave of sin to being a slave of righteousness. And we’ve been delivered from this dying world to the eternal kingdom. The Christian life is a battle of sanctification. We are constant confessors and our longing and impulses are in the direction of righteousness. We’re so thankful pastor John joined us and we’re thankful for the challenge and encouragement he delivered.
Tonight we will participate in one last night game which promises to be epic. And we’ll see who comes out victorious. As a side note, our free times are filled with options—paintball, laser tag, ropes course, horseback riding, mountain biking, and much more.
Today I went horseback riding. As I sat on the back of my horse, Garry, and lead him up the muddy, rocky path, I looked at the crystal-blue sky splattered with cushy, white clouds. I’m in denial that we leave here tomorrow. But I know we have a full day of camp to go and I trust it will be just as memorable and spiritually edifying as the others. I’m praying earnestly for our big God to do big things in the lives of everyone here at Regeneration.
Photos from Regeneration Wednesday are now online! Click HERE to open in a new window.
Photos by: Emma Harasick
A quick preview from a surprise LECRAE appearance and concert after the evening session. 
Photos by: Lukas VanDyke
Day two had some unexpected turn of events, but was just as profitable as day one. Rick Holland brought us the last of his three messages this morning. He told us seven things we must believe—seven things that are essential to being a Christian. 1. Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture. 2. Jesus is the one true God. 3. Jesus is creator. 4. Jesus was a real man. 5. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 6. Jesus is the only way to God. 7. Jesus Christ is Lord.
Rick told us we MUST get Christ right. And we discussed those truths in our small groups. How do you get Christ right? How do you know for sure? How does the gospel apply to our lives on a daily basis? Walking around campus today, those conversations from small groups continued. An encouraging buzz of edifying discussions were everywhere you turn.
So what was that unexpected turn of events? New Mexico’s unpredictable weather! Once again we changed clothes into our team colors and got ready for a messy and aggressive day of games. And we rallied up—cheering on our teams. But God had other plans. As we began the walk up to our fields, an unexpected torrent of huge Glorieta water drops soaked us. Thunder and lightening struck in the background followed by a unison squeal and squeak from girls who have never seen lightening or heard thunder. And to be on the safe side, the game team was forced to cancel today’s events. And we returned to our dorms drenched, and laughing. And we made the best of it—playing card games, drinking hot chocolate, or conversing with friends.
Tonight we welcomed our esteemed and beloved pastor John MacArthur. Even the staff here at the Glorieta conference center was excited to join us along with another group of people here who asked if they could be part of our session! What an amazing reputation our pastor has. And he didn’t disappoint. He told us the what, the who, the how, and the why of regeneration. What is it? Who does it? How are we born again? And why does God save us? We are excited for John to continue tomorrow morning with the challenge he began tonight.
To help make up for our missed games today, we were promised an indoor team competition after our evening session and night small groups. When we entered the sanctuary, we had yet another turn of events. A huge surprise! Austin Duncan pretended like he was going to rap for us, and suddenly from back stage appeared famous Christian rapper, LECRAE! We had our own personal concert from the one and only popular singer. It is possible to worship Christ and rock out at the same time—and that’s just what we did. We enjoyed some Jesus music.
Today was a day of true and deep fellowship because of the extended time we had together just to hang out. God’s plan was better than ours! And we enjoyed every wet minute. It was an amazing day. Friendships deepened, discipleship happened, and we grew in our understanding of Jesus Christ. Today was filled with surprises, some planned, and some not-so-planned. Thank you, Lord for this amazing day!
