Equipping Christ-Centered Leaders at 2020 Leadership Camp

Shelley Pearson • Aug 13, 2020

If 2020 has done anything positive, it has taught people to think outside the box. People were buying up yeast so they could suddenly become connoisseurs of fine breads, art supplies were in high demand as people decided they may be the next DaVinci. People started working on their cars by themselves, and home improvement stores were packed with unexpected DIYers.

Workplaces and schools also had to get creative so they could keep their productivity up. Thousands of employees became remote workers overnight, and students became distance learners. As places have opened up and people have begun meeting again, everyone still needs to be creative in order to adhere to various guidelines like mask-wearing and social distancing.

The staff at Minnesota FCA has also had to dig deep to find new ways to do ministry. Usually, the end of July brings a four-day overnight leadership camp at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul. An overnight camp was completely out of the question, and no one would have been surprised if the camp had been canceled entirely. Thankfully, some staff had a vision which allowed 150 youth leaders to come together to learn how to lead well.

The Logistics – it Takes a Village

Jeremy Snoberger, Central Lakes Area Director, and Brent Voight, East Metro Area Director, were tasked with finding a new way to do Leadership Camp. The end result was a camp with a central hub in Woodbury, Minnesota, that spread to six remote locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. It took a ton of coordination and many others who were willing to serve, but the results were better than anyone could have anticipated.

Crossroads Church in Woodbury agreed to be the main host site. The worship and teaching took place at that location and was livestreamed to the other locations on a Friday evening and Saturday morning with local staff coordinating at each site. Gina Mueller, the main speaker, who lives in Oregon and works for 3D Movements was also livestreamed into this main site for the weekend. As was said earlier, it took a lot of coordination livestreaming in and livestreaming out at the same time! The technology usually did what it was supposed to do.

It’s About Relationships

Each site hosted ten to thirty student leaders. College interns and FCA staff served as huddle leaders. On Friday evening, campers were divided into small group huddles that they stayed with during breakouts throughout the weekend. After each teaching time, huddles would meet to discuss what they learned in the session. When asked what their favorite part of the camp was, several campers spoke about the huddles. They enjoyed getting to know FCA leaders from other schools and enjoyed the time they had for connection and building relationships. One student said, “I really liked the breakout time where we got to talk and answer the questions with other people at our site. During these breakout sessions was where I seemed to learn the most about things that other huddles did and what I can do to make myself and my FCA huddle better.”

It’s About Understanding God’s Design

Campers learned a lot about themselves during both the teaching and huddle times. Gina led them through Ephesians 4 that teaches about the “Five-Fold Ministry Gifts” of apostle, teacher, evangelist, shepherd, and prophet. Following this session, campers were able to take an assessment to help them understand the unique ways God has created each of them to lead. This was a highly impactful time for many campers. Several campers remarked that they learned more about who God created them to me.

“During the camp, I learned that everyone is a leader in their own way. It was a given gift from above!”

“I learned about the type of leader I am in Christ and better ways to even out my leadership skills.”

“I learned a lot about the gifts that God gave me and the best ways that I can do ministry. I felt like there was a lot of self-reflection done, so that I can figure out what to improve on to grow my faith in Christ.”

“I learned that I am a Shepard when it comes to leadership and that I need to trust other people to fill in the gaps when I fail.”

A Plethora of Takeaways

One thing that is always amazing about FCA camps is that there are as many takeaways as there are campers. This is certainly true of Leadership Camp 2020. Many campers realized that they had been trying to lead like others are called to lead instead of how God has designed them to lead. One camper shared this, “We need to amplify our gifts instead of fight them just to be like a certain leader. We don’t all have to spread the gospel in the same ways.”

Other campers were reminded that God didn’t create them to work in isolation. “My greatest takeaway is that you don’t have to disciple alone. Doing it in pairs is a great way to do it. That was comforting for me because sometimes it can be intimidating on your own.” Another camper went further to say, “My biggest takeaway was that we can’t do anything alone.” Not only do they not have to do it alone, but just as Jesus sent people out in pairs, God calls His disciples to go together – they should go together!

Some campers were especially excited about building relationships so others can meet Jesus. Listen to what two campers said about being lights in the world:

“To avidly lead others to Christ and to deepen their relationship we need to invite and deepen our own relationship with them - but we need to live out our own faith so that they can see something different in us that they long for! Invite & challenge!! Don’t get caught in complacency- change it up & find new ways to grow!”

“You will never be ready. The disciples were not ready, but Jesus sent them out anyway to preach the good news!! AWW SO GOOD!!”

150 students came, worshiped, prayed, and learned more about who they are in Christ. They deepened their relationships with other Christians, and now they are being sent out.

Even though this camp only covered eight hours, and even though FCA staff and future campers hope and expect to be back at an overnight camp next year, God used this camp to draw teenagers to Himself and teach them about how He has uniquely gifted them to serve Him in leadership.

Thank you to the camp directors, Brent and Jeremy, the FCA staff and huddle leaders, the host sites, and the campers for making this camp a success in a time that everyone craves a bit of normalcy. Please pray for God to continue to work in the lives of these campers as they go out into the world to share His love with others.

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