Regeneration 2011

It’s hard to believe an 18-hour bus ride and our first 24-hours of camp have come and gone. With all the anticipation and excitement leading up to camp, it’s a shame it goes so quickly. But here we are at the beginning of day two of Regeneration 2010.

In typical road-trip style, and under the care of our experienced and capable drivers, we survived our trek and pulled into the Glorieta Conference Center right on schedule—extremely tired and slightly smelly, but ready for the evening ahead.

Austin Duncan opened up camp and gave the first message about the meaning and importance of our camp theme, regeneration. He defined regeneration as our greatest need—a new birth in Christ. Austin then expanded on the necessity and the nature of that new birth and challenged us face-to face with the gospel—have we embraced it ourselves? Being close to God’s people is not enough. He wants us!

Before decking out in our team colors for our first spirit rally, we had time to discuss Austin’s message in small groups—always a highlight of camp. And then, exhausted, some of us got a little sleep.

Rick Holland opened up our morning on day one. He discussed why sometimes the Christian life is challenging. We related as he explained why we can seem to get no-where in our walk with Christ, and why we find ourselves battling the same sin over and over again. The answer? We may have lost our first love. Rick then explained to us how often Christ gets eclipsed in our lives by so many other things. We need to remove those distractions and get back to the basics of loving Christ. Those truths were then discussed, cemented, and applied in small groups.

The afternoon was filled with intense games—Sphere of Destruction, Fortress, Kajabikankan, just to name a few. Teams competed fiercely and with heart, but with good sportsmanship, which made for a fun and successful day of games!

Rick closed our day by giving us a Cliff’s Notes approach to Christianity—deal with your sin and pursue loving Jesus! Rick challenged us to fight our sin, to know our own weaknesses and temptations, and to boldly and consciously jump in the battle of fighting our sin. This message lead to some deep and heartfelt discussions and confession of sin in our small groups.

We finished up day one with one last night game—a fusion of tag and capture the flag, students against staff. And again, exhausted, headed for bed.

Now, as day two begins, we just finished up devotions—an hour set aside for each us to have our own personal time in the Word. And as I sit here under the bright-blue Glorietta sky, the mild sunshine warming my cheeks, the fresh, pollution-free air filling my lungs, I praise God for camp. I praise God that while people in certain countries are forced to worship God in secret, we are in New Mexico openly praising the Lord, and singing out to some deep, worshipful music without fear or reservation. I can hardly wait for what God has in store for the rest of today!

Bring:

• ONE SUITCASE
• ONE “CARRY ON”
• Sleeping bag and pillow (guys and girls)
• Towels
• Toiletries
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Bible and pen
• Camera
• Flashlight
• Light jacket
• Warm clothes for evening (average temp = 55-85 degrees)
• Non-radio alarm clock
• Athletic shoes
• Game clothes (able to get dirty)
• Spending money (four meals on the road, snack shop, arcades)
• GCC ONLY: Sunday-night sack dinner (busses will not stop for dinner)

Don’t bring:

• Cell phone
• Audio players (except for on the bus)
• Gaming devices
• Any electronic devices (other than digital cameras)
• Laptop
• Knives or weapons of any kind
• Personal paintball guns or ammo

Please Note: If any of the prohibited items are found, they will be confiscated. This will incur punitive consequences and may result in being sent home at your parents’ expense.

Regeneration, theologically speaking, is the act by which God takes the initiative to bring the sinner from utter spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ. It is the goal of this camp to unfold for your students the biblical teaching on the work that God does in the sinner’s heart in the divine act of regeneration. Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:3 that, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Understanding that new birth, indeed REGENERATION, is absolutely essential in order for a person to follow Christ it is our desire to spend a whole week showing students their desperate need to be given a new heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

Stay tuned for updates, pictures, videos, & more from Camp Regeneration. Be sure to follow us on Twitter!