Digital camp helps students tackle challenge

For the first time in its history Crosswalk Youth Camp is going digital. Not gathering in person on a college campus for a week is disappointing to be sure, but with almost 200 teens signed up for afternoon Zoom Bible studies and evening worship services from July 13-18, it’s also very exciting. This year’s theme is ​Crux: Christ and the Climb of Your Life.

Rock-climbing has seen a surge in popularity lately. In 2011 a rock-climbing gym opened up in our little western Massachusetts town and has since become one of the most popular destinations in our region. In 2013, while on a college visit to Baylor with our oldest son, the tour guide took us to the recreation center and boasted that their rock-climbing wall was the tallest in the state, beating their biggest rival, Texas A&M, by about eight feet. In 2019 I tortured myself by watching ​Free Solo, a documentary which chronicles Alex Honnold as he climbs Yosemite National Park’s famous 900 meter vertical rock face, El Capitan, without any equipment. I had heart palpitations and sweaty palms the entire time.

“During a season that sometimes feels like one disappointment after another, we’re praying that students will find hope in knowing that Jesus endured the ​crux​ on their behalf and will sustain them as they climb upward with Him.”

Participation in the sport is rapidly increasing and grew at a rate of almost 12% in 2018 alone. The traction the sport has received may be due to it being a full body exercise in which fears are confronted and mental strategies are constantly employed. This combination of components has parallels to living in a time of pandemic. Your body is affected and in danger of serious illness. Fears, uncertainties and disappointments abound, and a positive mental state is often difficult to maintain. Though teens are less likely to contract COVID-19, they have suffered great losses and major disappointments during a crucial time in their development. Canceled proms, suspended sports seasons and postponed or virtual graduations were devastating to some. Social distancing has taken a toll on students who spend a large portion of their time with friends during their junior high and high school years.

It’s why the theme ​Crux was chosen.​ Crux is a rock-climbing term for the most challenging part of the climb or the place where the greatest danger exists. Climbers must employ the most difficult series of moves to navigate the crux successfully. For some teens, the pandemic has been the crux – the most challenging season of their lives so far.

At Crosswalk this year, students will go through the entire book of Ezra. They’ll either gather with their own youth leaders or in Zoom Bible studies at 2 p.m. each day and study a chapter of Ezra. Each evening, they’ll tune in for a livestream service complete with silly skits, worship music and a sermon from the next chapter in Ezra. Students will learn about the exile of the Israelites and their despair over being forced to leave their home, the Promised Land. They’ll read about how God stirred the heart of a Persian king to allow their return to Jerusalem after almost 70 years. They’ll discover the hardships, obstacles and threats the Israelites faced in returning and trying to rebuild their temple and city. Just as the pandemic has been the crux of 2020, the exile and return of God’s people to their land was also a very difficult season to endure.

The story of Ezra is just one part of the redemptive drama found in the Bible. The theme of exile and return is found all throughout the Scripture. Students will also learn about their own exile, or separation from God because of sin, and the provision He makes for their return to Him through Christ. They’ll be given the opportunity to respond to that provision by grace through faith and be encouraged to “set their hearts to study the law of the Lord” (Ezra 7:10), allowing the stories of God’s kindness and severity within to lead them to confession, repentance and freedom.

Crosswalk 2020​ will be held the week of July 13-17. Would you pray that in the midst of a challenging year the Lord would reveal Himself to students and grant them faith, hope and peace? Would you ask that they would be encouraged as they hear about the obstacles and the victories God’s people experienced as they returned to Jerusalem? Would you pray that they would “behold wonderful things” (Ps. 119:18) in His Word and that “the unfolding of God’s Word would give light and understanding” (Psalm 119:130)?

Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the Latin word ​crux means ​cross. During a season that sometimes feels like one disappointment after another, we’re praying that students will find hope in knowing that Jesus endured the ​crux​ on their behalf and will sustain them as they climb upward with Him.

Melanie Krumrey is a pastor’s wife, serves as the women’s ministry leader at MERCYhouse church in Amherst, MA, and blogs at www.dwellabideadorn.com.