Mike King

Finalist

The Kansas City Parent Magazine has chosen Youthfront Camps as a 2008 Family Favorite in their "reader-approved choices for the favorite family-friendly places in the Kansas City area."

The Altar

The Altar is a Christian retreat designed for middle school, high school, and college aged students.

This year, Youthfront is partnering with Clapham Sect: Phase II, a community of student abolitionists. We anticipate being drawn closer to the heart of God and into a lifelong journey of pursuing justice.

Speak out for those who cannot speak,
     for the rights of all the destitute.
Speak out, judge righteously,
     defend the rights of the poor and needy.  Proverbs 31.8-9

We will join together as one body to seek after God and work towards the restoration of our broken world through learning about modern day slavery and engaging in the fight to end oppression.

The Altar will take place on
September 26-28, 2008 at YouthFront Camp South
near La Cygne, Kansas

Get more information or register online today!

If you have questions, or would like additional information, contact Jamie Roach at 913.262.3900.  If you would like additional brochures for The Altar, please e-mail your name and address to Jamie Roach at jroach@youthfront.com

Summer Ministry

We just completed an amazing summer of ministry.  Here are a few pictures I took on my last day at Youthfront Camp West.  Around 6,000 young people who were exposed to intense environments of spiritual formation in the last three months through the ministry of Youthfront.  Hundreds of these young people discovered for the first time the reality of being found by a Savior who lived, died and arose again for their salvation.  Those who knew Jesus were called to a deeper more radical obedience and discipleship to follow faithfully and boldly in the way of Jesus.  This is good news.  We want to do all we can to help these students continue the passionate pursuit of God in their lives when they return to school.  Sometimes this happens through on campus ministries like Club121, Justice focused clubs, Prayer groups, or special events like The Altar, along with programs like Teen Staff Development and more.  In addition, we know the way we can most strategically engage in God’s Kingdom Agenda within the calling we have for youth ministry is to aggressively train, equip and develop the youth workers who not only minister to the thousands of kids who were with us this summer but tens of thousands of students around the country.

A Sweet Night

Vicki and I enjoyed a wonderful night last week with several Youthfront Board members and  spouses at Youthfront Camp South.  We were blessed with perfect weather (no rain, no humidity and 80 degree temperature), perfect food (our staff led by Ray Zuercher grilled steaks) and a perfect setting.  The highlight was listening to stories of how each of the families represented were transformed through their teenagers involvement in Youthfront.  Because of the ages and tenure of the board members the stories came from 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago and now. After dinner, we wandered down to the Prayer Chapel were Cheryl Reinhardt picked up a journal and read some of the entries that students had recently made.  Tears are good, joyful, and bonding.  We concluded our night by going through the Tabernacle Experience together.  What a beautiful night.

Preach it Chris

I love this guy and what he has to say... Preach it Chris.

Gone South

I spent the week at Youthfront Camp South.  We had a very full week with more than 300 adolescents including teen staff and college staff.  I was there teaching a Seminary class for Nazarene Theological Seminary called CED790 — Youth, Spirituality, and Formation in Experiential Environments.  Most of the students are working on a M.Div. degree and one student is working on her Doctorate degree.  More about this later

My favorite learning experience of the week is The Tabernacle Experience.  It happens on Wednesday night after a day talking and focusing on the Exodus Story.  The students start out the evening wandering all over the camp and stopping along the way to talk about the time spent by the Hebrews in Egypt, Moses, the Crossing of the Red Sea, the wanderings in the wilderness, the receiving of the Ten Commandments by Moses, etc.  Eventually they end up on the Altar Field.  On the stage platform we have created a replica of The Tabernacle.  The students are divided up into their cabin groups (tribes) to experience this evening together.  They sit all over the Altar Field talking about the Exodus Stories waiting for their turn to tour the Tabernacle.

During the Tabernacle Experience they learn about the Brazen Altar, the Cleansing Basin, the Table of Shew-bread, The Altar of Incense, the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant.  Our staff, led by Ray Zuercher created each of these in scale.  No fake meat on the Altar. The beef was cooking.  The Incense was strong, the students took turns cleansing their hands in the Basin, before entering the Holy of Holies.  Our college staff walked them through an explanation of the significance of everything they were seeing and experiencing.  The tent was illuminated by the torches and the starlit sky.  It was powerful and beautiful.  What a wonderful night.

Disciples being formed...

I know, I keep referring to favorite things about camp but this is a different category... leadership development.  In our DNA statement we talk about a "holistic" formation.  "A growing relationship with Jesus Christ involves the renewal of the whole person. A healthy condition of the spiritual, physical, mental and social aspects of our lives are critical to a sturdy, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Youthfront is committed to helping youth workers and students develop their entire being."

This summer, in addition to our campers, we will have around 400 older adolescents who will serve as teen staff, cabin leaders and program staff.  Many of these young people will spend between six to eleven weeks with us living in community and developing as disciples of Jesus Christ.  This core group forms a wonderful network of alumni that tend to stay connected for years beyond their adolescent experience.   Our hope is that these students will discover what it means to be a human being fully alive to the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.  Here is Youthfront alumni Kendon Powell (far left) with some of his teen staff guys.  Kendon was once a camper and teen staffer.  He is now leading our teen staff program at West.

Midday at West

Midday is one of my passions at Youthfront camp.  I continue to be amazed at the impact this very serious and deep theological time of prayer, adoration and silence has had on students, even middle school students who aren't supposed to be "mature enough" for this kind of worship experience.

This week Midday was a highlight for me at West, so peaceful, yet filled with profound prayers, confessions, liturgy, scripture, silence and praise.

Environments of transformation

Recently we have gone through a process of answering the question, "Who is Youthfront?"  A one sentence response is that "Youthfront is a community committed to creating holistic, missional environments for Christian formation." 

Summertime at Youthfront camps are prime opportunities to live in community while creating amazing holistic missional environments for Christian formation.  If there is one think we want to excel in it is in the creation and nurturing of an environment conducive to profound spiritual formation.

Our DNA statement states that we are "committed to nurturing environments for youth workers and students to encounter God in a transformational way.  While we know that transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit and not a formula that we enact, we will intentionally create environments of space, time, hospitality and community.  The environments that Youthfront creates are intended to help youth workers and students discover, explore and experience God."

At West this week it was so fulfilling to see the Holy Spirit working powerfully in the lives of middle school students.  The evening meeting called Encounter was a time for telling the stories of creation, fall, recreation and redemption.  We provide space and experiential learning opportunities for students to live into the story of God at work in the world, a story that is their story.  Here are a few pictures of students in one of many environments of transformation.

Teen Staff blobbing party

Pictures from the teen staff blobbing party...