2026 Camp Recap

About the Series

This week's focus: now that camp is over, what happens next?

Aaron welcomed students back from camp and named the reality that everything they committed to there gets tested the moment they're back in normal life, surrounded by distraction. Rather than repeat last week's camp theme of freedom in Christ, Aaron gave students a challenge: their mission field isn't overseas. It's the people already around them every day.

Passages: Romans 10:13-15

What Was Taught

God's plan for your friends is salvation

Aaron acknowledged that many students made or renewed a decision to follow Christ at camp this year. He connected that to 1 Timothy 2:4, where Paul says God desires all people to be saved and to know the truth, meaning to know Jesus not just as a historical figure but as Savior. Not everyone will accept that gift, but God's desire is still that everyone would. Aaron's point: if that's what God wants, it should be what we want too.

God's plan to show your friends salvation is you

Aaron pointed to Romans 10:13-15, where Paul asks how anyone can call on Jesus if they've never truly heard about Him. Aaron noted that most people have heard the name Jesus, but often only as a historical figure, a curse word, or a myth, not as who He actually is. That means students may be the clearest picture of Jesus the people around them ever get. Aaron used a line from another leader, Matt: you may be the only Bible somebody reads. Every relationship a student has is an opportunity to represent Christ to someone who needs Him.

God's plan for your friends begins with your faithfulness

Aaron turned to the story of Esther, where Mordecai tells her that if she stays silent, God will still bring deliverance some other way, but she'll have missed the reason she was placed where she was. Aaron's takeaway: God doesn't need us to accomplish His plans. He'll do what He's going to do with or without us. But being invited to take part in that plan is a privilege.

Aaron challenged students to carry a sense of urgency about their friends, to let Jesus show up naturally in what they say and do, and to not let fear of rejection hold them back. Being fully known for following Jesus, even if it costs a friendship, matters more than blending in with a crowd that doesn't know Him.

Talk About It at Home

These are the questions the group discussed:

1. Why do you think it's often easier to talk to your friends about sports, movies, or school than it is to talk about Jesus?
2. Think about the people God has already placed in your life, friends, teammates, classmates, or family members. Who do you think needs to hear about Jesus the most, and why do you think God has put you in their life?
3. If you truly believed that God wanted to use you to reach one friend this week, what is one practical step you could take?

A few easier openers if you want to start smaller:

• What was your favorite part of camp this year?
• Who's one friend you talk to almost every day? What do you two usually talk about?
• Has anyone ever asked you about your faith? What happened?
• Is there someone you've been meaning to reach out to but haven't yet?

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