“I met Jesus down in Florida”

This was the sentence that grabbed my attention when a student from church posted on his Instagram story after returning from Rolling Hills Beach Week Student Camp. I had the privilege to be there for the first two days, and it was incredible to see 425 students and 107 adults worshipping Jesus and having so much fun. I love Camp! And a big reason is, I love seeing our God raising up the next generation of spiritual leaders.

When I was in 9th grade, I felt called to ministry at our church’s summer camp. I went on to become a Student Pastor, and the joy of seeing students giving their lives to Christ and making life-impacting decisions for Christ was always a highlight of being in ministry. Now, as a Senior Pastor, I still love to be at Camp with all the students and adults because I know the difference our God is making in their lives and in generations to come. What is so powerful to me is that I am able now to serve at Camp with my wife, Lisa, who goes every year, and my three kids, who are students and one who served this week as a leader. Thank You, Jesus!

Our God is doing something special in this generation of students. You can see the statistics of this generation being the most consistently attending church of all, plus how many are returning to church and being baptized. In fact, this is called “The Revival Generation.” At Rolling Hills, we are so blessed to have incredible spiritual leaders rising up. We see our students serving throughout the church on Sunday mornings. We see them going on mission trips. We hear them worshiping during services. And, we see them baptizing their friends. Our God is on the move in this generation. They are meeting Jesus and being changed forever.

As a church, it is time to fan this movement of God into flame. Let’s be praying for these amazing middle school, high school and college students. Let’s pray for boldness in their lives to live every day for Jesus. Let’s pray for parents to continue to raise their children in the Lord. This is our time to serve in these areas and to invest in Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, Camps, Mission Trips and more. These students will be carrying the Gospel to generations that we will never see.

Big thank you to Dane - our Central Student Pastor, Jacob, Ethan, Sam, Sarah, Melissa and all the incredible leaders in Student Ministry across all our campuses. Also, a big thank you to all the incredible adult volunteers who give a week of their vacation, pay for so many expenses, stay up late, get up early and pour their hearts and Jesus into this next generation. I believe we have the best Student Core Team Leaders in the world. Thank you, all! And, to so many on our Rolling Hills Staff Team who go to serve - from Jen Akers, David Curtis and the entire worship team to Shaun Miller and the Tech Team to Chase Baker and Jason Hale preaching God’s Word. It is awesome to see an entire church investing in this next generation to know Jesus. So many students gave their lives to Christ and many others felt a call to vocational ministry. What God did in Florida this week will impact eternity and generations to come.

If you have a child or a grandchild, then I encourage you to help get them involved in Student Ministry. These years go fast, but these memories last a lifetime. The spiritual foundation that is being laid in their hearts now will carry them through the rest of their life. You can see by the pictures how much fun they have, but also know they are “meeting Jesus down in Florida.” Our God is doing an incredible work - all glory to Him - and I love being a part of it with each of you!

Ephesians 3:20-21