It’s a “stranger things” Wednesday at Big Ridge State Park!
Summer Camp 2021 is on, and it has been a great one so far. Chad and his team are leading some great games, insightful bible studies, and wonderful conversations. Regina and team are cooking up three great meals a day, plus an evening snack. Hearts and stomachs are being filled and your prayers are being felt this week. Please keep them coming!
Approximately forty people are enjoying the Big Ridge State Park group camp. The weather has been ideal, some of the coolest camp temperatures I can remember in quite some time. That’s great news for the kitchen team who typically labors in a tinderbox of sweltering heat. Campers are swimming and playing four-square between sessions, staying up late and getting up early (oh, to be that young again!). The “Stranger Things” theme has been a hit, but more than anything it has been the spirit of this young group that is inspiring. It’s a rebuilding year for our youth ministries post-COVID and it is looking really good so far at camp.
REMINDER: Family Night is tomorrow, Thursday night, at camp. Just punch 1015 Big Ridge Park Rd, Maynardville, TN into your GPS and come on over to enjoy the scenery, some great BBQ, and infectious joy of a bunch of teenagers and their leaders. We will have a baptism after the meal tomorrow. If you can, please bring up a side dish to go along with the BBQ. I plan to deep fry some squash, so if that’s your thing, there will be plenty! Let’s enjoy our time together in the great outdoors.
NEW SERIES begins this week: “How to Talk About Jesus Even if You Skipped Sunday School” is a practical set of messages that I hope will help us feel a little more confident in sharing the good news about Jesus with those we meet. Far too often, those of us who know Jesus feel inadequate talking about Him with our friends and family because feel like we just don’t know enough. We sometimes meet people who seem to know all about Jesus, and yet when we listen to them share about Him, it doesn’t really fit with what we know on the inside.
We will follow a three-step approach that is being used in some Methodist Dinner Churches called “Fresh Expressions.” You may remember that name because we used some of their material in our APEST retreat (Remember: APEST stands for apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers) in February 2020.
We will also supplement our Sundays for those interested with a Wednesday evening one-hour small group focused on taking the concepts and the stories just a little deeper. Look for more information on these coming soon.
Opportunities to Give: We are always extremely thankful for the week-in & week-out support we receive from so many of you. Without it, we could not do what do. With so many new folks coming around post-pandemic, I have been asked a half dozen times – “How do you give?” I love that giving is so internalized at High Places, with such little external effort, that visitors feel free enough to seek out ways to support. In addition to our on-going needs as a faith family, we have a few opportunities that need some extra loving coming up:
*** Summer Camp… camp is always an investment. We have kept the price of camp at $49 for nearly 30 years and hope to continue to do so. It’s difficult to just feed a child for $49 a week (trust me I have two!) and yet we’ve been able to provide lodging, food, and a t-shirt for the same price all these years thanks to the faithful support we receive from you. We are grateful – and that investment is being put to work right now!
*** Oak Ridge 85. We will take Oak Ridge 85 donations for one more week. These funds will go directly to supporting the September celebration for the surviving members of the first black students to integrate into public schools in the Southeast. They happen to be our neighbors right here in Oak Ridge.
*** Chili Dog Days of Summer… come listen to some great music, toss a couple of $5’ers in the bucket and eat well. All the donations for this event go to support our ongoing ministry efforts through the theater.
*** Periodic Tables… I am looking for donations of time, talent, and resources to help pull our community together post-pandemic. We will share and listen to our community’s stories – and feature storytellers from the hospital, the school system, small business owners, and others impacted by COVID. There is real momentum happening here. I would like to fly our friends Sean and Lennon back to Oak Ridge for a few weeks in September, so any airline miles you may have saved up and are willing to give, lodging you can offer, or just donations can help make that happen. I also would love to have a strong showing from High Places to host table discussions during the Secret City Festival, where our music team has also been invited to play.
*** Giving Time to Feed Folks… the farmer’s market has been extra generous this year as God has been extra generous to our local farmers. I always need help collecting and delivering food to families who are struggling. See me for more details!
As always, thank you all so much for support in helping to make “earth as it is heaven.” Your continued giving, support, and prayer is what makes these wheels actually turn and gain traction. Without you, we’d all be stuck in the mud!
Much love & see you tomorrow night at Big Ridge,
David
“We were created from relationship for relationship, invited to experience this other-centered, self-giving love not only with God but also with each other.” – Karl Forehand