No Room for Air

I haven't seen enough days to be considered a seasoned production director, but I felt something in a room which was under my direction that I'd never felt before.

If you didn't know, I work for WinShape Camps for Communities (day camp for 1st through 6th grade). Kids day camps are insane. We are constantly moving. In the auditorium we go through 10-12 transitions in 30 minutes. That's insane. It's loud, fast, fun, and interactive.

But today something different happened.

This week we are at one of the largest camps in WinShape history. We are serving over 500 campers as staff members this week and I have never seen anything like it. It has been the most encouraging week of camp I have seen.

Thursdays are always a little more rowdy. It's "village day" so there is a lot of cheering and masses of little people in red, green or blue. The campers are comfortable with their environment and with their new friends. It's always a pretty wild day.

The combination of it being Thursday, and the room being full of 500 1st-6th graders is what made this moment so real.

Our theme of the day is mission. "Don't just walk it, talk it." We teach the campers about working out their faith in Christ everyday.

The passage the camp pastor uses is Colossians 3: 12-17.

"12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

If that passage didn't strike a chord with you, go back and read it until it does. There are so many profound things that can be pulled from there. 

Before the camp pastor speaks we play an animated motion graphics video of a child reading it. Today was the first time I had seen this video in a production environment. 

As the passage began, campers became dead silent. That's right. 1st graders on a row with 20 other first graders were completely silent. There was no room for air in that room. God's spirit was working through that passage at that very moment. 

If you don't understand the point I'm trying to get across, it's that we are teaching this to 1st through 6th graders. Imagine a world where this generation was so focused on that one passage like today, that they lived it out constantly. They realized they are HOLY and DEARLY LOVED. The PUT ON COMPASSION. Compassion alone could help shake the Kingdom for His glory, but they go on to also PUT ON KINDNESS, HUMILITY, GENTLENESS and PATIENCE.

This was the center of our message today. 

Think about the world where this generation put a filter on everything they did or said, not allowing anything that would be ungrateful to our God to be shown or said. 

This is our mission, and there is no room for air. 

"Don't just walk it, Talk it."