About this time, just over a week ago, I was trying to stay warm around the campfire with some of the most incredible people. We had just shared three days filled with adventures, conversations, worship, and prayer. That’s SFC CAMP in a nutshell. The vision of the event was to create a space for our community of Jesus-loving shredders to gather, be filled, and leave encouraged. From the conversations we had towards the end of the weekend and the conversations we had after the event, that is precisely what took place. In an attempt to walk the fine line of just enough structure and just enough “laid-backness” (haha, what word am I looking for?!), people who came needing rest were able to find it, and people who came needing to be rejuvenated and refreshed were able to achieve that as well.
The days were spent fishing, taking downhill mountain bike shuttle laps, laying in hammocks, hiking, sightseeing, climbing, and sharing meals. One day, I joined our crew (of 24 people!) for shuttle laps on the world-famous Teton Pass trails. If I had a dime for every high five or fist bump during the ride, I could probably buy an Ikon and Epic pass for this coming season. Seriously! The stoke levels were beyond high.
What was perfect about these days together was that we all felt like God was showing us little glimpses of Heaven through them… which was the theme of the whole event! My good friend Kyle Pitchford made the journey from Santa Cruz, California, with his family to speak to us about what the Bible says about Heaven. It is a topic so grand that I find myself shying away from overthinking it at times because of the unknown. But looking at God’s word, we know so much! We were encouraged to think about Heaven through the lens of a child, reminded that we get to be the “flavor” of Heaven on earth, and sent out being reminded that we get to partner with God in the ministry of reconciliation. How we view and think about Heaven should spur us on to do ministry and should sustain us in ministry. We should be confident in our hope and, as Kyle said, live each day with the goal of “making Heaven crowded.”
If you joined us at SFC CAMP, we hope you found rest, refreshment, and rejuvenation during this long weekend. We also hope that you feel connected to the wider SFC community. Know that we are here to support you and encourage you to live out the wild calling that God has placed on your life. If you didn’t join us, I hope this blog worked in convincing you that you can’t miss it next year!;)