The clock struck 9:30 AM on Wednesday, July 16, 1969. As the seconds marched toward 9:31, a deafening silence lulled the hot morning. Then, the thirty ticks of the countdown boomed through Cape Canaveral. Fuel ignited into a fiery thrust and a crew of three prepared for their catapult. They were rocketing to the moon and away from a forever-changed world.
For a long time, everything had been moving towards that moment. At 6:50 am, crews began final preparations on Apollo 11. Twenty-one days prior, the astronauts entered a self-imposed quarantine. For years, engineers had tediously worked away at formulas and designs. Before them, politicians and the people of the United States dreamed of crossing into a new frontier. Thousands upon thousands of details, plans, and dreams came together for this one moment.
Our moment is coming, too. We are moving closer and closer to the first day of camp. Preparation is essential, but it is not everything. Unless God moves — and we trust He will — the preparation is for naught. Will you pray?
First, pray with us for God to move. 895 students professed Jesus as Lord last summer. One of those might have been your child. Pray for salvations. In addition, 716 students declared their commitment to vocational ministry. Pray for more workers. Pray for transformational moments, too. Many young believers need to learn to honor their parents, break off unhealthy relationships, or walk away from an idol.
Second, pray for our staff. We are wrapping up our hiring of summer staffers. Pray that God will send a dozen more godly young men specifically. Pray for interns as they prepare for a summer of joyful but exhausting ministry. Pray for our summer staffers, who will go through two weeks of training in evangelism, relationship building, and safety procedures. Pray for our year-round employees to thrive in their personal time with God. Pray for the physical and spiritual safety of the thousands who will be our guests. We all need prayer.
We are thankful for you and your investment in students through Crossings. The next generation has more opportunity than ever to take the gospel to the ends of the Earth. We want to equip them to know God and make Him known. As we pray together, we share the eager expectation for God to do only what he can do at camp this summer — change lives!