GO! Camp Update #3

Day 3 of GO! Camp was a fantastic example of where we have come in 3 short years. This year, we grew. Over 300 people are in attendance for camp. Over 430 came for our Wednesday night Worship together.

I'm not a numbers guy…I'm a heart guy. 

This camp transcends the numbers. I am watching hearts breaking and molding into the image of God. I'm hearing from teenagers who are sick of living every day outside of a meaningful relationship with Christ. I am learning about teenagers who want to take this attitude of action back home with them! 

I love this camp! 

We began, and spent most of the day today, with Feed My Starving Children, packing Manna Packs to send all over the world.

I knew, based on the totals from yesterday, that this year was gonna be big! But 150,120??? That's MASSIVE!!! That means every person at GO! packed over 500 meals each! That's work! That's a blessing to a lot of people!

150,120 meals packed for Feed My Starving Children

While half the group was in the food packing room, the other half spent a session answering the question, "I AM NOT OK WITH _______"

Brad challenged the group to do more than fill in a blank. He challenged the teens to take the issues that are "not OK", and do something about it! 

We had the chance to meet some great people who are doing just that. Michelle and Madison spent some time talking with the group about END SLAVERY TENNESSEE. This is an organization committed to ending Sex Trafficking in Tennessee. What a gut wrenching example of how close these issues can come near our home! Check out the video below to see what a great work Michelle and Madison are doing!


In Your Backyard from End Slavery TN on Vimeo.

Lindsay Kelly and Collin Guidry, two of our own from Jefferson Avenue, spent some time with the GO! Campers sharing about the blessing of spending 16 days in the Philippines. It was a life changing moment for them, and they got to bring that passion for mission to the teens in attendance. They also shared about bracelets that were being sold to benefit the ministry in the Philippines. I'm so excited about the experience our college students at Jefferson Avenue had for 16 days in Asia.

Lindsay and Collin (and Katelyn Leddy) have also been selling Coffee all week in the GO! Cafe for THE WELL. THE WELL is a non-profit coffee shop in Nashville that gives all proceeds to dig wells in Africa. Click the link above to see more about this fantastic place!

Speaking of teens on mission. Brad shared that there were over 20 teenagers who weren't at GO! Camp this year because they were out on mission. (One of the teams just returned...you'll hear about them tomorrow) What a great testament to what GO! Camp is all about! GO! Camp said to GO…and our young people have! 

Another activity Brad challenged the teens with was to complete the sentence, "The World Needs More ________"

One group of people answered the question like this…"The World Needs More LOVE LETTERS"

So they started an organization called "More Love Letters" 

http://www.moreloveletters.com/

We were introduced to a girl named Daphne. She is in desperate need of love. She doesn't believe she's beautiful, worthy, valuable. Hannah, her friend, almost lost her this year to suicide. Hannah wants to make sure she feels love. So GO! Camp committed to covering her with love! They wrote over 300 letter encouraging Daphne and telling her how loved and beautiful she is.

In our afternoon session, we got to meet the group behind the YouTube channel "Blimey Cow"

They use comedy to ask profound questions and teach important lessons. If you haven't had the opportunity to watch their videos, check them out!

Chuck Morris spoke for our evening session. He said. "The more you invite God to do things in your life the more impact you can make in this world!"

"The Lunch Box" spent the day with the campers outside the Sports Center. They are a food truck located in Henderson. Throughout the year, they had "Tater Days" where they gave their proceeds to GO! and Feed My Starving Children. They raised over $2000 to go to the food packing project. It was great to have them with us at GO! Camp.

We ended the night with a lights out singing outside on the Freed Tennis Courts. Scott Utter lined up some great song leaders and stationed youth ministers to spend time in prayer with teens in need. It was beautiful to watch teens and ministers standing together all over the tennis courts in prayer. The teens closed the night thinking about how Christ fits into the incredible dreams they are moving towards accomplishing. "This camp exists to push you to action…and…to push you to Godliness! Whatever Baggage is keeping you from exalting Christ in all you do…let it GO!"

150,120 meals packed for FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN

Hundreds of dollars raised for THE WELL

Dozens of bracelets sold to support THE PHILIPPINES MINISTRY
Dozens of shirts sold to GIVE LOVE to Moore, Oklahoma

53,000 Kids fed through the THREE FOR ALL MISSION

Over 300 needs met with THE NEED

Over 300 love letters written to Daphne through MORE LOVE LETTERS

Hundreds of prayers lifted up for MISSION IN ALL 50 STATES

A parade thrown for one spectacular lady named DANA

300+ Campers dedicating their hearts to shining the Light of Christ everywhere they GO!

Those are the numbers that really matter to me! Because those numbers represent the Heart! Let's GO! 

What a great 3rd day at GO! Camp!