ARP church participation tells another story. We had 21 out of a possible 273 (that’s 8%) of our churches attending. To be fair, there are many churches that simply cannot at- tend because they don’t have students, and, yes, Canada is far away, and, yes, Mississippi Valley has its own confer- ence. I believe, however, we can up our total church par- ticipation and would like to offer that challenge. Only one presbytery hovers around 20% participation and even that can improve. Churches, make denominational life for your students an important part of your ministry. We are happy to our conferences. Here’s an anecdote from an old 1960 Associate Reformed
Presbyterian magazine article by Mr. John A. Bigham titled “An Adult Views the Y.P.C.U. Conference” back before these conferences changed names to Horizon and Quest: “And now, how to describe Dr. John Gerstner and his Bible
learned, kind, he was most anxious to lead the young people
Calvinism and our church.
Confused, inquiring, willing, wanting to know, our young people bombarded Dr. Gerstner with questions, both in public and private sessions.
Equally perplexed at times were we adults who were forbid- den to enter the discussions. There is little doubt that the study in predestination chal- lenged the young people to think more than any subject dealt with in previous conferences. Predestination became a byword in the dining room, in the swimming area, along the halls, and presumably even on dates. Dr. Gerstner is a true friend of our denomination and of Bonclarken. It was inspiring and touching to see the young peo- appreciation for his contribution to the conference.”
There have been many ups and downs of these confer- ences since 1960, but I can tell you we want the Word of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to change the lives of our ARP students (and friends). As mentioned above, we cover the same Scriptural topics Dr. Gerstner did and have faithful men preaching God’s Word. We want our speakers to en- gage in the lives of our students and our music to be God- glorifying. We want students to know and grow in their un- derstanding of the larger ARP family. Most importantly, we want our students to know and grow in Jesus Christ. Oh, by the way, we also have lots of fun. We enjoy laugh- ing. There are tournaments and races, outdoor adventure activities and indoor board games, plenty of time to have rocking chair conversations, great food in the dining hall, ways to cheer on your youth group and times to go deeper with them. It’s a blast!
For those who understand the covenantal nature of our God and thus the covenantal nature of ministry, I encour- age you to consider helping connect the next generation to Jesus through the life of your church, presbytery, and larger denomination. If you’re worried about the future of the church, then disciple them in this way. Care for cov- enant kids and adopt the orphaned (and their mess) with the love of Christ. Show them Jesus. Be bold with truth, and be amazingly honest about yourself. Have fun with them. Stay up late with them at camp, and listen to them. Be quiet with them. Cheer them on in life: at home, on the for them in the most pivotal developmental years of their life. Be willing to be imperfect around them. Ask forgive- ness of them. Point them to the life-giving Gospel of Jesus. They’re amazing. They need you to show them a little bit bigger picture of the Kingdom beyond your church walls, and that’s the ARP covenant family. We hope to see you next summer!
Rev. Brad Anderson is the pastor of Cayce Presbyterian Church in Cayce, SC and he is a member of Synod’s Camps and Conferences Committee.
January/February 2024
11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
