Something Is Missing
Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 by
by Romel Gibson
James wanted in on our trip to Gatlinburg. All the spots were filled so all I could offer him was a maybe if someone drops out. I told him I would get back with him.
I prayed "God let us find a way to make room for James because there is something special about this guy." He’s a very intelligent young man. He’s a leader. Students flock to wherever he is. Since he’s been plugged in with us, his questions and answers during our group discussions have helped to create the exact dynamic we have prayed to build. He needed to go on this trip! Over the next couple of days I watched God work out all the details and when we departed on December 27th, James was on the bus.
As I relaxed in our room with James and several other students we had a conversation about life. Like most teenage boys they began to ask me questions about girls and relationships. We talked about what it means to be a man. We talked a long time about the music they listen to and why they listen to it. As I learned more about how James thinks, I realized that the guy I looked at as a leader was really a follower. He listens to music with explicit lyrics because it’s what’s "in" right now. He’s a part of the cool crowd and to go "clean" is not cool. In essence, he longed to do what it took to keep friends. There was a real void. My prayer quickly became "God show James who Jesus is. Let this trip be an eye opener for him. Help him to accept your Son and the sacrifice He made for us." I knew that if James would really get a handle on Jesus, who He really is, and what He did, he would accept that and realize that more than having a lot of friends, he needed Jesus.
As we wrapped up the series of talks based on our camp theme: What’s Your Passion?, we talked about how God is passionate about people. He’s particularly passionate about us as individuals. That’s why he sent Jesus. Jesus is God’s expression of passion towards us. We gave the students the opportunity to accept Christ and James committed his life to Jesus. There is no greater feeling than seeing a student who you’ve invested in and prayed for come to know Jesus. Thank you for investing yourselves in the ministry of Youth for Christ. Because of your investment, James and 119 other students began relationships with Jesus in 2011.