Summer Camp 2K19 Review!
Over the 17th - 21st of June we had our student summer camp, where we approached big questions around Sex, Sexuality and Relationships. We were based at St Andrew's URC were we started our mornings with a devotional in Song of Song, before we split to explore three different workshops in the afternoon.
My first highlight was just having so many students commit to the week. We're never entirely sure how many students are going to hang around after their exam's, so to have nearly 30 was great! After a long year, the seriousness of the students approaching these topics helped facilitate enlightening and encouraging conversations.
We also spent time together relaxing and chatting through our thoughts throughout the week. We split into three smaller groups at the start of the week called 'tribes' and had some 'friendly' competition, which my team lost. But it was good fun getting a chance to mingle and chat to each other, as well as discuss some of our deeper thoughts, during the socials we had in the evenings.
As previously mentioned, during our mornings we looked at Song of Songs which gave us a chance to exploring some powerful imagery of love. It was great having input from so many different members of the church, bringing their wisdom, and the students really appreciated their commitment and investment.
During the workshops we were able to tackle some big questions form dealing with singleness, purity, dating, homosexuality and growing in conviction and compassion. Each session was packed with challenge but real encouragement. Many of the students have spent the year together in small groups at pursuit chatting through reflections of Sunday's preach, and those relationships allowed open and honest discussion. Additionally, people got to know each other well over the week over socials and twelve person games of table tennis!
It was a wonderful week, and I for one came away with lots to think about. I think most students will have a good framework to approach these topics and may want to delve deeper to grow in their convictions. It's been such a privilege to serve them this year, and spending time with this amazing group was a great way to end the year. The week was full of challenge and encouragement and I can't wait for Summer Camp 2020.
About the Author
Andrew is one of the ID’ers at The City Church this year. Last July he finished his undergraduate degree in Architecture at the University of Kent and will be studying a Masters in Urban Planning and Resilience there next year.
