Middle School Missionaries

This summer, it was my privilege to present chapel messages at Echo Ranch Bible Camp (ERBC). During my week, we served a group of middle school students.

On the third night we invited the kids to pray with us after chapel. We invited them to receive Christ, but we also invited the kids to pray about any needs in their lives.

At first, only three kids came forward. The rest left. But one of the three was a girl named Rose.*

She came forward in a somber mood, almost crying.

“I want to pray,” she said, “and I want Jesus to be King of my life.”

I called one of the female counselors over to pray with us. When our prayer time concluded she left, still demonstrating a solemn mood.

We continued to pray for the other kids. But then, about 15 minutes later, a group of girls came back into the chapel. All of them were crying and upset! Except for Rose. She was leading them.

“Can you pray with my friends?” She said, her face full of joy. “I want them to pray to know Jesus just like I did.”

We prayed for each girl, showing them verses from 1 John, and explaining salvation. After our prayers the girls looked so excited!

At the next chapel service, the same group of girls came forward again—still excited—along with 30 more of their friends!

For me personally, the most inspiring moment came when I received thank-you notes from fifteen of the campers. Here is part of a note from an 11-year-old:

“Thank you so much for this week. You are such an amazing speaker. This week you really touched my heart. You made me realize how much God loves me. Just by listening to you this week I realized how much I want to have God as my King. When I’m older I want to be a missionary.”

• Praise the Lord with me for His work in the lives of the campers.
• Praise the Lord for the faithful counselors who invest in the kids each summer.
• Pray for the kids to remain strong in their faith throughout the school year.
• Pray for the Echo Ranch Bible Camp staff as they coordinate building a new chapel.

*pseudonym used