Blessed evening tonight.

 This is the kind of stuff youth ministers thrive on.
I can have a tendency to be cynical about things like short-term mission trips and Christian summer camps. Is this the beginning of a new period of spiritual growth, or a short-lived emotional high that happens to have "jesus" somewhere in the tag line? I'm always unsure about what kind of lasting impact such a camp can have, but one of my students returned from a week at church camp and my pastor encouraged me to go on a follow-up visit, so he and I went to pick up 12-year-old Timothy and his brother for a Sonic run this afternoon.
The conversation flowed as expected from any 12-year-old boy: incessant chatter about the pool, fishing, girls, etc. I wasn't discouraged by this; just offering the boy a chance to be heard and know that he is valued is time well spent, but I wasn't expecting any serious spiritual stuff.
I was totally surprised when Timothy randomly changed the subject to worship and how much he enjoyed it. I asked him what he learned from camp and his answer was "knock and the door will be opened to you." He talked about how he felt God during the camp and was reassured that God is always with him. Conversation turned to struggling with sin and Christ's forgiveness, even when we sin repeatedly. We talked about his personal experience with Romans 7:21--25 and how wonderful it is that the Holy Spirit helps us to overcome sin. The next thing he asked me about was baptism. Though his initial understanding of what Baptism is was incorrect, he was very interested in knowing why we're supposed to be baptized and what it means. After explaining as much as we could the seriousness and commitment behind such a decision, Timothy decidedly voiced that he wanted to get baptized. After spending the time talking with him, I am certain that Timothy does have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and is ready to make this commitment. With more prayer and discussion, Timothy will be baptized on July 1st along with some other adults who wish to submit their lives to Christ and join the church.
In the midst of dealing with all the squirrliness of middle-school boys, of fighting with inconsistent attendance and lack of communication, of trying to patiently answer stupid questions and wondering if a 20-minute lesson and some games could possibly make a difference....I must never underestimate the spiritual understanding of this age group. They continually surprise me with the deepest sincerity and a serious desire to learn and improve. These are the kids from broken homes who statistically speaking, shouldn't want anything to do with the gospel. But Christ's love compels us...
There are many weeks of camp to go, and many projects, game nights, sunday school lessons, and ice-cream runs ahead. Pray for rains of blessings and softened hearts, and praise the God of the harvest.