Summer 2009: Breakthrough

What would it have been like to meet Jesus? The gospels provide a variety of accounts of those who encountered Jesus during his lifetime. Some reacted negatively, actively seeking to stop his ministry. Others had no reaction, choosing to ignore him or walk away. But for many others, their encounter with Jesus was a breakthrough—a transforming experience that changed their way of seeing God, themselves, and the world around them.

As Jesus journeyed through villages, along lakesides, and down dusty roads, his life intersected with the lives of a variety of people, many who had experienced oppression, neglect, sickness, prejudice, and/or pain. And yet in story after story, the gospel writers portray encounters with Jesus that tear down walls of prejudice, offer release from bondage, provide loving attention to the forgotten, and give healing to the sick. Each encounter resulted in a breakthrough—a chance to move beyond the present situation into a life-changing experience with the healing grace and love of God.

The theme of “Breakthrough” will explore a series of biblical stories that represent transforming encounters with Jesus. Campers will first hear the story of Jesus’ welcoming  children through a radical, counter-cultural act that challenges the followers of Jesus to offer a welcome to all of God’s children. 

The story of Bartimaeus, a beggar who lives with blindness, explores the ways that listening and responding to the needs of others can bring both healing and a new way of seeing the transformed life offered to us in Christ.

A paralyzed man and his friends experience a breakthrough when they take bold steps to meet Jesus. Their act of trust and compassion results in a life-changing experience of forgiveness and healing.

In the parable of the good Samaritan, campers will explore how acting as a true neighbor can bring a breakthrough in the way we understand how God calls us to love, and who God calls us to love.

In the story of the bent-over woman, Jesus moves beyond barriers of culture and societal norms to offer liberation to a woman crippled by disease. Campers will be challenged to consider how they as followers of Christ can be agents for transformation and liberation in the lives of others.

The parable of the great banquet paints a vision of the world the way God would have it be:  a great feast in which everyone has a place at the table. This parable invites campers to ponder who is excluded and pushed to the margins in our world today, and to consider how they might extend an invitation to others beyond the camp community to breakthrough to the way of Christ.