Band of Survivors Team Update 28
I can’t believe this is our last day of Band of Survivors 2007! We began the morning with our second and final teen session, once again tackling the Sermon on the Mount. Today our pilgrimage was to the lake and we were led by our minstrels one last time. We marched, read, discussed and experienced this great teaching. The teens did a good job of participating and following along. I’m really glad that we took this approach this year. Results like this will help inform how we go about teaching these youth in the future.
We participated in the final United Meeting where Steve Sjogren took the stage and finished off the weekend. He had a really fascinating and prolific mind. A true asset to the Kingdom. Just think, hundreds if not thousands of people have become friends of God because of his obedience to Christ’s ministry of love. That is awesome!
After lunch we had the hard task of saying goodbye to everyone. We packed up and the Survivors went back home with their Corps vans. I believe in faith that these teens will “rise up and take their place with self-less faith” and will be a part of this “near revival”. But good-byes are only temporary, most of us will be at CBLI in a few days and the rest will be around all year at different events and ministries. And this journey does not end; it is part of a larger work of Grace, coming to a Corps and Community near you…
Eric Himes
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Evanston, Blue Island / Whirlyball, CFOT / Pilgrimage Slideshows
Evanston
Blue Island Holiness Meeting and Whirlyball
CFOT and Pilgrimage
To view the entire collection of 2007 Band of Survivors Photos, click here.
Evanston
Blue Island Holiness Meeting and Whirlyball
CFOT and Pilgrimage
To view the entire collection of 2007 Band of Survivors Photos, click here.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Band of Survivors Team Update 27
We had our first Teen Session today, bright and early at 9:15am. In years past we’ve tried to follow a Youth Councils approach—by going all out and decorating our room, getting a praise band together, doing lots of high tech, flashy, youth ministry things—with really poor results. This year we took a totally different approach to how we teach at Pilgrimage this year. We wanted to keep it simple and interactive so we decided to take off the idea of what a “pilgrimage” really is (a spiritual journey).
The concept was to get our teens out of the box by getting out of the building. We also felt compelled to have Jesus teach us from the “Sermon on the Mount”. So we broke Jesus’ mighty teaching into two sections and taught our two sessions from that text. In medieval times, when pilgrims would travel they would often have minstrels (or traveling musicians) go with them and play music while they walked. This would brighten their spirits as they traveled. So we did the same by having Justin, Dietrich and Stephen play drums as we went on our Pilgrimage.
Because Jesus taught on a mountain we decided to march to the cross on the hill by the Lodge. It was a great time of teaching and the kids really responded. We had a few of our BOSers read the Message version of this account while kids followed along and read congregational texts throughout the teaching. After we went through the first portion we led the teens through each moral teaching and had them discuss what it meant in small groups. The kids really dug into this experience, it was a huge blessing.
After that the entire camp was challenged to go out and do Acts of Random Kindness around Camp Lake Wisconsin. Each Corps was given a community to impact through kindness. Band of Survivors were given Paddock Lake to target with love. We broke into cell groups and had each group come up with how they would share God’s love in a practical way. Some were going to hand out popsicles, others bottles of water, others face painting and balloon animals and some wanted to return shopping carts. Unfortunately, Paddock Lake was a bit of a ghost town so we went to Kenosha to adjust our strategy. We dropped two groups at Menards and the other three went to find a park and make some friends.
After the Menards group was kicked out (but in a nice way) we met up with the park group. It was a bit discouraging at the time but God had a better idea for us that afternoon. We met up with a large group of Hispanic soccer players and they asked us if we wanted to play them in soccer, as they were preparing for a tournament and needed an opponent. So there we played, in our light blue BOS shirts. It was a really great time and gave us a long time to get to know them and run around like crazy. And even though we didn’t have cleats and shin guards like these guys, we weren’t half bad and even ended the game in a 5-5 tie. I think once I scored the last goal to tie it, they realized that they were too tired to play us (read: I stink at soccer). When the game ended, we had cell groups at the park. The weather was perfect and the setting was awesome.
The Cadets Farewell was a nice meeting and we are excited for Mike and Kristina Sjogren who will represent our Division well. Steve Sjogren spoke again and went a little too long so we were forced to cancel our second teen afterglow which would have been a camp fire. After that we had what amounts to our “closing ceremony” which we called a Night Watch. It was a great way to end our project. We had Taco Bell, worship, prayer, our final cell group and buried our time capsule. We ended sometime around 2:30am. This group of Survivors was really special. I will miss them!
Eric Himes
We had our first Teen Session today, bright and early at 9:15am. In years past we’ve tried to follow a Youth Councils approach—by going all out and decorating our room, getting a praise band together, doing lots of high tech, flashy, youth ministry things—with really poor results. This year we took a totally different approach to how we teach at Pilgrimage this year. We wanted to keep it simple and interactive so we decided to take off the idea of what a “pilgrimage” really is (a spiritual journey).
The concept was to get our teens out of the box by getting out of the building. We also felt compelled to have Jesus teach us from the “Sermon on the Mount”. So we broke Jesus’ mighty teaching into two sections and taught our two sessions from that text. In medieval times, when pilgrims would travel they would often have minstrels (or traveling musicians) go with them and play music while they walked. This would brighten their spirits as they traveled. So we did the same by having Justin, Dietrich and Stephen play drums as we went on our Pilgrimage.
Because Jesus taught on a mountain we decided to march to the cross on the hill by the Lodge. It was a great time of teaching and the kids really responded. We had a few of our BOSers read the Message version of this account while kids followed along and read congregational texts throughout the teaching. After we went through the first portion we led the teens through each moral teaching and had them discuss what it meant in small groups. The kids really dug into this experience, it was a huge blessing.
After that the entire camp was challenged to go out and do Acts of Random Kindness around Camp Lake Wisconsin. Each Corps was given a community to impact through kindness. Band of Survivors were given Paddock Lake to target with love. We broke into cell groups and had each group come up with how they would share God’s love in a practical way. Some were going to hand out popsicles, others bottles of water, others face painting and balloon animals and some wanted to return shopping carts. Unfortunately, Paddock Lake was a bit of a ghost town so we went to Kenosha to adjust our strategy. We dropped two groups at Menards and the other three went to find a park and make some friends.
After the Menards group was kicked out (but in a nice way) we met up with the park group. It was a bit discouraging at the time but God had a better idea for us that afternoon. We met up with a large group of Hispanic soccer players and they asked us if we wanted to play them in soccer, as they were preparing for a tournament and needed an opponent. So there we played, in our light blue BOS shirts. It was a really great time and gave us a long time to get to know them and run around like crazy. And even though we didn’t have cleats and shin guards like these guys, we weren’t half bad and even ended the game in a 5-5 tie. I think once I scored the last goal to tie it, they realized that they were too tired to play us (read: I stink at soccer). When the game ended, we had cell groups at the park. The weather was perfect and the setting was awesome.
The Cadets Farewell was a nice meeting and we are excited for Mike and Kristina Sjogren who will represent our Division well. Steve Sjogren spoke again and went a little too long so we were forced to cancel our second teen afterglow which would have been a camp fire. After that we had what amounts to our “closing ceremony” which we called a Night Watch. It was a great way to end our project. We had Taco Bell, worship, prayer, our final cell group and buried our time capsule. We ended sometime around 2:30am. This group of Survivors was really special. I will miss them!
Eric Himes
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Band of Survivors Team Update 26
Today was a big day for Band of Survivors. We woke up early to pack our belongings and thoroughly clean the CFOT as we are departing today for Pilgrimage at Camp Wonderland. The Survivors did an excellent job in accomplishing this mighty feat and really gave a great effort in cleaning this place that has become our home. The CFOT was the perfect location for us to have this program and their hospitality and care are unmatched.
After final packing and inspection by Captain Michelle Oliver (who is awesome and took great care of us during the entire month) we departed for Camp. When we arrived we had dinner in the Dining Hall and then we got ready for our Teen Sessions. Steve Sjogren, a great man of God and pioneer of the Servant Evangelism concept was the special guest for the weekend and spoke about many things during the United Meeting. He sure is an interesting man, with many great and funny stories and touching examples about what it means to demonstrate Christ’s love in a practical way.
Because the meeting went so long, we had to cancel our Teen Afterglow, which was going to be a night swim. But the pizza in the Dining Hall made up for that slight disappointment. FYI, Camp is making a different kind of pizza, it’s delicious.
Eric Himes
Today was a big day for Band of Survivors. We woke up early to pack our belongings and thoroughly clean the CFOT as we are departing today for Pilgrimage at Camp Wonderland. The Survivors did an excellent job in accomplishing this mighty feat and really gave a great effort in cleaning this place that has become our home. The CFOT was the perfect location for us to have this program and their hospitality and care are unmatched.
After final packing and inspection by Captain Michelle Oliver (who is awesome and took great care of us during the entire month) we departed for Camp. When we arrived we had dinner in the Dining Hall and then we got ready for our Teen Sessions. Steve Sjogren, a great man of God and pioneer of the Servant Evangelism concept was the special guest for the weekend and spoke about many things during the United Meeting. He sure is an interesting man, with many great and funny stories and touching examples about what it means to demonstrate Christ’s love in a practical way.
Because the meeting went so long, we had to cancel our Teen Afterglow, which was going to be a night swim. But the pizza in the Dining Hall made up for that slight disappointment. FYI, Camp is making a different kind of pizza, it’s delicious.
Eric Himes
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