Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. - 1 Thessalonians 2:18

"I can still see the picture in my mind. It was plastered on the side of the 12-passenger vans that carried Camp Staff on recruiting trips; it was in all the promotional pamphlets and banners. A coach, down on one knee, fist-pumping with a camper, big smiles on both their faces. As I think about it all these years removed from serving at Camp, it’s a great picture of how God has called us to live in relationships with each other.

I have the privilege of working on a kids ministry staff at a church, and we talk often about having a “kneepad mentality.” We want all our staff and volunteer leaders to not just talk to a kid while towering above them, but to get on their level, look them in the eye, and call them by name, even if it means you have to wear a kneepad because you’re hitting a knee so much to do so. We believe this is how Jesus saw and welcomed people, and we want to do the same. For me, so much of that was forged at Camp, where we literally lived “life on life” with campers and fellow coaches for entire summers.

Justin Whitmel Earley describes deep friendships as needing two main ingredients: time and vulnerability. While Camp provided incredible space to do that, it also showed us the template for living that out on the other side of the “Love God Love Others” gates. When I think about the countless laughs, tears, and great conversations with co-coaches, covenant group members, and fellow leadership teammates, it was almost always because we were spending genuine time together and willing to be authentic with our lives.

And I believe that template is what God calls us to today, in all relationships. Only a mutual love, gratitude, and joy for the Gospel of our salvation explains the diversity of friends we have today. As I seek to be a Godly dad for my kids, I’m reminded of the same principles I learned at Camp. “Get on their level! Be Jesus in tennis shoes!” (Even if my shoes are no longer trendy.) And as we seek to share with others the good news of the Gospel we all need, even that is still the same: God’s love share through relationships. He moved through them then; He moves through them now.

May we always be seeking to live life-on-life with the people God has ordained us to brush shoulders (or fist pump) with."

- Sean Hill