ReTREAT or ReCHARGE

It was two o’clock in the morning; Lisa and I were traveling back to my parents from the shore and were inside a secluded section of the Garden State Parkway when all of a sudden, I heard and felt something fall off the car and my battery was quickly dying. I later found that the bolt holding the idler pulley to the main belt was sheared in half. We were stuck, and it was so dark outside we couldn’t see our hands in front of our face. I found my dad’s Shake Light in the glove compartment I bought for him two years earlier, and after shaking it for about five minutes, we had enough light to see, and figure out what we were going to do next.

The Shake Light is a pretty cool invention, probably designed by NASA Engineers, which creates electricity without the need for disposable batteries. As you shake the light the way in which you make a martini, an iron core magnet passes through a copper coil to produce a magnetic field, thus creating enough electricity to be stored in a rechargeable battery. But after several minutes of use, the flashlight must be shaken to produce enough power to turn on the light. Therefore, it takes work and effort to recharge the battery to produce light. The more you charge the battery, the brighter the light gets.

ReCHARGE

I thought about this as I sat at my kitchen table eating breakfast before getting ready to go to the Pella Outreach. Like many of the outreaches and short-term missions trips I’ve been on, it was filled with training, equipping and being sent out into the world to share the gospel. Like the Shakelight, it takes a lot of work to be recharged and filled up in order to be turned on to move forward to shine the light of Christ in a dark world. With each lecture and lesson, we were equipped and motivated to share the gospel inside Tulip Time; then partnered up with Group Leaders such as myself to guide and help those who needed it when starting conversations with the lost.

Apart from this reCHARGE event, here are several other ones I have been a part of:

Manti and Salt Lake City, Utah

Another example of a reCHARGE was sharing the gospel to the Mormon people at the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant: a presentation of the false gospel of Joseph Smith and Bringham Young located on the side of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS) temple in Manti, Utah. This two week event gathered between 50,000 and 90,000 Mormons each year. At this event, about 100 Christians (yes, imagine 100 Chrisitians vs 90,000 Mormons) would gather at this event to witness to the Mormon people to call them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Before the trip even started, we spent two months of intense training preparing us to share the gospel to the LDS. From learning the Bible, reading the Book of Mormon, studying the differences between Christianity and Mormonism, and navigating through “The Impossible Gospel of Mormonism,” we diligently trained how to take people from Team Satan to Team Jesus. On the bus traveling to the park where we camped out in tents, lovingly called “The Christian Ghetto” by Mormons, we had training sessions, read our quads, and did role-playing with each other to fill the time.

During the event at the church that sponsored the outreach, we had more training and equipping from Christian experts in Mormonism, praise and worship, fellowshipped and ate meals together. All with one purpose and goal: save those trapped in Mormonism to the gospel of the real Jesus Christ.

Yes, it was difficult. Yes, it was hard. Yes, I was tired at the end and wanted to sleep in my own bed. But it was so worth it and like many others that experienced the trip, it brought me intense joy. I wish I could relive those years again. It was absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. We were energized and motivated to do it again, even sharing our faith to non-Mormons in our hometowns.

Creation Booth at the Iowa State Fair

The Creation Booth at the Iowa State Fair is absolutely amazing. It was where I first heard the gospel, and even though I didn’t understand it or bow to it, it sent me on a path to seek and find it. One of the cool things is that sinners come to you. You don’t have to carry a whole bunch of tracts, or lug around a huge Bible. All the material and help is provided. Even though this was much easier than the Manti Outreach, it was still a lot of work to prepare and participate.

There was intense training here as well. With Answers in Genesis, volunteers needed to take the Creation Apologetics for Volunteers course (CAP101VOL), and pass the test with an 85%. This consisted of reading articles, watching videos, and taking tests. Not to mention the Testify Training Camp from Tomorrow’s Forefathers, provides evangelism training and equipping that runs in conjuction to the Iowa State Fair. This may seem like a lot of work and effort, but it is time well spent and makes serving the booth much easier.

ReTREAT

At the same time as Pella Tulip Time Gospel Outreach, my fellowship was having a whole church family reTREAT at Hidden Acres Camp. Secluded in the Dayton, Iowa woods; the weekend consisted of teachings, devotions, worship, games, food, and fellowship. Not to mention events such as horseback riding, ziplines, and throwing axes. This all sounded really fun and, in the past, has been a great time of fellowship out of the atmosphere of our normal weekly gathering. The theme of this year’s retreat was: The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength, with teachings and devotions surrounding the theme.

Since my wife and I were committed to the Pella outreach, I wasn’t able to make it to the retreat; but my church family prayed for us daily and were able to record the sessions for us while we were gone. When Lisa and I drove to the retreat center on Sunday, we were tired but filled. We wanted to share all that we did with others who didn’t go. To share our experiences and all that we learned.

When we walked into the hall as church service was about to start, we were met with cheering and clapping. But then I looked over the group that was there and saw God moving and working in them. I saw a young man with cancer given a date of his expiration by his doctor and trying to understand why. I saw his parents, broken and praying for God to intervene. His father walked away from the faith, yet was there on crutches no less, having a difficult time standing on his own. I saw my friend who struggles to speak and write after a stroke that almost took his life, but yet, hearing he led a devotional for the first time without crying and was the clearest he’s sounded in a long time. These are who retreats were made for — those who just don’t have the strength to keep going, who have to fall back from the fight. Those who don’t even have the strength to stand anymore. ReTREATS were made for the weak, the hurt, and the beaten up.

But, for us who are able-bodied, strong, and spiritually healthy — get recharged so that our lights would shine bright into a dark world and illuminate the path to the cross. Pick up those who are weary and help them on their walk. If you are spiritually weak, you need to ask yourself why, get help, and figure it out. Did life get in the way? Bogged down by the things of this world? Or, are you just spiritually lazy? We cannot afford to fall back for long. Take time to retreat, get mended up, and back out in the fight to forge ahead and advance the kingdom of God for our King and His glory!

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matthew 11:29). We do find this to be true. It is not as though rest were a separate thing from service, for the very service itself becomes rest to our souls. I do not know how some of us would have any rest on earth if we could not live our daily lives in the service of Christ. The rest that we see in heaven is never to be pictured as idleness or boredom, but as constantly being permitted to have the high privilege of serving the Lord.”

Spurgeon, Charles. Following Christ: Losing Your Life for His Sake. Aneko Press.

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