By Aaron E. Ziebarth
Each one bring one. That is our desire – we are praying that God will double the amount of children and volunteers who are participating in Released Time. Some have wondered, “Why”? Others have suggested, “That is a lot of extra work.”
There are three main reasons for wanting to reach more children:
First, the Lord Jesus Christ himself came to this earth to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). It is His desire in 2 Peter 3:9 that no one should perish but everyone should come to repentance.
Secondly, He has given us the great commission. He has told us to GO and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). We have the opportunity to reach almost 30,000 children in our region. We want to make the most of the time he has given us for the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15).
And the faces of the children show how much they benefit. I am gratified every time I see the looks of anticipation on the faces of boys and girls coming into RT. I have written several previous blogs about this:
http://www.joyelcamps.org/pennsylvania_christian_retreat_center/god-amazes
http://www.joyelcamps.org/pennsylvania_christian_retreat_center/may-you-be-delighted
Already, five released times have doubled this year: Forge, South Mountain, Spring Grove, JB CIA and Waynesboro CIA. One more is within 20% of doubling, others are showing significant growth.
The best part is that significant life-change occurs again and again. We know of 701 children (some adults) who began a relationship with Jesus this past ministry year. How many will respond this year?
Please pray that God will bring more children. A great opportunity is “Invite a Friend and Volunteer” occurring right now.
Imagine what would happen if Each One Would Bring One? I know that I am so excited to see more and more children impacted with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
