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Tell Me More is a weekly podcast hosted by Katy Reed Hodges and Luke Stehr, where they unpack the Sunday sermon with Dr. Dennis Wiles. This podcast is designed on the premise that Dr. Wiles always has more to say than can fit in a 35 minute sermon - so we have fun discussing it here each week. We hope that in listening you are educated, encouraged and more connected to the pastor and his teaching!
Welcome to this episode of Tell Me More. We're in the studio with Luke. No d dub because his study leave has started, but we have Chelsea Judkins, our interim youth minister and camp director, and we talk all about it, and it's lovely. A good reminder of how God moves through our camps and has for a really long time at First Baptist Arlington. So we're really glad you're listening.
Speaker 1:We're really glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Tell Me More. It is we are well in I mean, not well into it. Literally the first day of doctor Miles study week. Second day because it's Tuesday, not Monday. So we have Chelsea.
Speaker 1:We did not do Monday because we wanted Chelsea and camp. Thank you. We
Speaker 3:could do
Speaker 1:I actually think I saw your minivan here. You came in to work yesterday.
Speaker 3:We did. We started our youth summer programming yesterday. So students were here. I kicked them out at 08:30 last night because I said it's time to go.
Speaker 1:You said I need I
Speaker 2:need to rest for
Speaker 3:a minute. Yeah. We started our summer bible study last night. It was really good. Good.
Speaker 3:So we were here.
Speaker 1:Well, I wanna hear more about I wanna hear more about that, but I really wanna talk about camp. But even that, wanna do later. It's because we have you and but all that to say, it is Tuesday morning because we gave Chelsea
Speaker 4:Chelsea the the we we the the podcast podcast gave gave Chelsea Chelsea the day off, but we
Speaker 1:wanted a new year to celebrate camp and talk about it. There's a lot that I feel like that's happened even in the life of the church in the last week. Last week was our two hundredth episode, Chelsea. Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Were here for 02/2001.
Speaker 1:You are 02/2001.
Speaker 3:Look at this. A new era.
Speaker 1:February. But we even had to prerecord we had to prerecord 200.
Speaker 2:And it was just me and D Dub.
Speaker 1:Because everyone was at camp and so
Speaker 3:That's true.
Speaker 1:We had kind of a wah wah. But we're gonna we're gonna regroup, and we're gonna have something like a really great two eighteen, or we're gonna have some kind of fanfare.
Speaker 2:Something when T. D. Gets back from study leave.
Speaker 1:But not in the next few weeks. But
Speaker 2:Well, we'll have lot of special guests over the next few weeks. It'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:I think our our church enjoys of the cast of characters that can be in here, and so I think they'll enjoy this one with you today, Chelsea. But can we start with I wanna talk about not your experiences at camp, not the more meaningful like, you've got some some response cards from kids we're gonna talk about. I wanna save that for a little bit later. But I wanna give a small shout out to the pastoral care staff, particularly Brian Sepulveda.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:What a guy. Brian. Many people. What a guy.
Speaker 1:This is what, like, the recurring theme of camp. The recurring theme of camp is so many of our lay people give so much of their life to this. Yes. Like, Stacy Williams comes to mind. Just take a week off work, go be at Denny Camp.
Speaker 1:Yep. Come back, go to work. Mean, you know And
Speaker 3:he came back for a meeting at church on Saturday. Yeah.
Speaker 1:He did. And I was in a meeting last night with him. But these church members
Speaker 3:just Committed.
Speaker 1:And and they speaking of joy, they just do it with joy. Like, they just lean in and it's so amazing. Our staff does the same. Obviously, there's a little more understanding that we're all gonna do everything we it takes to get camp across finish line, which is not nothing in a time of interim everything. But Brent Spoda leaned in a little more because of David Butt's retirement, and so he's been on this planning team, which is awesome.
Speaker 1:Goes to camp the day before Children's Connect Camp starts, which was, like, last last Wednesday, stays through Friday. So he's there for ten or eleven days. He came back last Friday. He said he slept twenty hours. Just, like, basically, like, ate a big lunch and took him to sleep.
Speaker 1:Slept twenty hours. We saw him on Saturday here for a minute. Uh-huh. Obviously here at church on Sunday doing his full his full slate. Was here yesterday in the office and then this morning at 7AM, got on a bus to go to Branson for the traveling trads
Speaker 3:trip I love
Speaker 1:that they have all extremely excited about.
Speaker 2:I love
Speaker 1:it so until Friday. Like and I'm I saw pictures this morning. They're pumped. They're all excited. And and he's obviously, the posture of Brian is joy and is happy to do it, happy to serve, loves his church.
Speaker 3:One study committed minister. My goodness.
Speaker 2:What a man.
Speaker 1:What a man. I know. We talk about it too I talk about it too much. Like, if every young minister could just follow Brian around, they would it'd be worth it.
Speaker 2:Be about all you need to know.
Speaker 1:Classy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, to the trads.
Speaker 2:Have great time. The land of my people.
Speaker 1:Yes. You're from that area.
Speaker 3:I am. Right?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I've never been to Branson.
Speaker 2:A place.
Speaker 3:I haven't either but I've heard that the shows that they're going to see are excellent. Like, really well done.
Speaker 2:Not not a lot of fun
Speaker 3:for Branson. Just just period. Period.
Speaker 1:Well done. This is a trip I would not mind hopping hopping in on, both for the pace, just call it it is, and the excitement.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. But I can't wait to hear about it.
Speaker 1:But I'll stay here and hold it down. How's that?
Speaker 3:It'll be a little different from the youth camp pace that he was on.
Speaker 1:So Again, the whiplash of, like, children's youth grads. So next time, we'll just have him do, like, boomer lead team and then he's done it all. You know, he's hit every facet of our truth in his life, so I love it.
Speaker 2:He could do it all.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Chelsea? Yes. We've had you in here I mean, it hasn't been a year. I feel like we've had you in here somewhat recently.
Speaker 1:Does that feel right? I'm I'm sure. When's the last time? When we had all girls?
Speaker 3:I was in here with Tanner and Brian one day. I think everybody was out for something and Tanner
Speaker 2:I think it was a rear end ascent.
Speaker 1:Was it ascent? Was it March?
Speaker 3:Oh, that that's probably right.
Speaker 1:It feels right.
Speaker 3:I It came to mind because we were promised that the still image on the video would be a good one but it was not. It was like an action shot with my mouth open.
Speaker 1:Called out? Like, was that hold on. Who who, was your husband the one
Speaker 3:that probably
Speaker 1:sit under delivered or
Speaker 3:was my friend Addison?
Speaker 1:We'll blow your time.
Speaker 3:Lot of things very well, but Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1:So for those listening that maybe just tuned in, this is Chelsea Judkins. She's our interim youth minister
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And has been on our youth ministry staff for it'll be eleven, won't it, in August?
Speaker 3:It'll be eleven in August. That's right.
Speaker 1:Just grown up. It's a tween. Your career here is
Speaker 3:a tween. Feels like it.
Speaker 1:Chelsea and I started within a month of each other. I came mid July and you came mid August. That's how I remember it at least. So I feel right. We've been through it together.
Speaker 1:We have been through it together. We have we've grown up together. I mean, like, we were single women when we came here. Both dating our current husbands. Does feel right?
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Which had their own stories that we don't have to get into today. They did.
Speaker 2:That would make a fun podcast. Oh. Well,
Speaker 1:I won't speak for y'all. Ryan and I had a long and winding road that we all know about, but we ended up together, and it's great.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:And a couple kids later for us, couple kids later for y'all. Mhmm. And here we are. Right? Yes.
Speaker 1:So Mhmm. Tell us what's been going on in your recent life. We'll assume everyone listens to every one of these and knows the baseline of who you are.
Speaker 3:Our recent life well, listen. It's been pretty single mindedly preparing for camp.
Speaker 1:Yeah. What's it like with y'all both? Because you both go to camp. I mean, for those of don't know, Kyle is behind the scenes with all the a v l Yes. Whatever Yes.
Speaker 1:Camp.
Speaker 3:So mhmm. He manages all of that. And May is a really busy month for our church, graduations Mhmm. Weddings, other weekend events that require staff. So Uh-huh.
Speaker 3:There's just a lot going on. But and our our daughter graduated from kindergarten. So, anyway, just so many sweet Cheers for Lucy.
Speaker 1:Things. Can I okay? Pause. Yes. We did have Kyle over with the kids to our house.
Speaker 1:So I could work. Yeah. I was gonna say was right before camp because and it was oh, it was Memorial Day. Yes. It was Memorial Day.
Speaker 1:And we were gonna, like, swim. I mean, not really. None of our kids know how to swim. None of our five kids know how to swim but it was, like, small pool in the backyard and then it rained that whole day. So we watched a movie.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Oh, your kids introduced my kids to Zootopia two.
Speaker 3:We we love Zootopia two.
Speaker 2:Great movie.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Lucy kept going, this part's really good. This part coming up is really good, which is sweet. And then their boys were just locked in because they love screen time. So that was like, call in. What a treat.
Speaker 1:What a oh, but later, once Zootopia was over before it, know, we didn't just watch shows. Kyle was reading a book to Jack, your husband and my son, and then he just kinda gave the book to Lucy who's six years old. Mhmm. And she just read the whole book. She read like every word in the book.
Speaker 2:Good job, Lucy.
Speaker 1:And I I know weird for you too to have Yes.
Speaker 3:Like your youngest reading.
Speaker 1:Yes. So I mean, I know in theory that kids grow up and read
Speaker 2:The Lucy's Lucy's that
Speaker 1:much older than my boys.
Speaker 3:I think I think the pace of learning is different from when I was in school. I don't remember being that proficient of a reader in kindergarten but she is killing it. And big words astounding.
Speaker 1:And the right, like,
Speaker 3:what do
Speaker 1:you how do you say it? Luke is a you're both actually are English people. You're both English learners.
Speaker 3:We were mhmm.
Speaker 1:Let's find more things in common.
Speaker 2:Both have English degrees and daughters named Lucy.
Speaker 1:The no. I don't know how say it right. The the yeah. I know. Well, okay.
Speaker 1:Wait. This Venn diagram is overlapping.
Speaker 2:English degrees, daughters named Lucy who just graduated kindergarten.
Speaker 1:That's right. Right here. Okay. What else? I'll get there.
Speaker 1:We'll get there.
Speaker 2:It'll come
Speaker 1:out naturally. I promise. I feel it. The tone of it. Like, she would read a sentence correctly.
Speaker 1:You know, like Mhmm. It's not just reading each word. It's reading them with the right tone?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Is that the right word? Tone?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, anyway, with
Speaker 3:comprehension Yeah. She was understanding.
Speaker 1:I my mind Kyle was impressed too. Right. Just and I think it is. It's odd to see your kid kinda grow into something.
Speaker 3:They are just little sponges. My mind was blown so quickly. I mean, if kids
Speaker 2:Kids go into kindergarten, like, as almost like little little kids, not quite toddlers, but they're little kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But almost like that preschooler
Speaker 2:And they leave kindergarten, and you're just like, you're just a kid?
Speaker 3:Oh, yes. We can't spell in the car anymore. Mhmm. We can't we can't try to hide things because
Speaker 1:she said Yeah. So, like, we
Speaker 3:Oh, so the park? No. That's that's what I
Speaker 1:was gonna say. Okay. We spell that a lot. Like, do wanna go to the P A R K?
Speaker 2:No. Those days are coming to an end.
Speaker 1:To me and Ryan. Okay. The other Vendaya Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:No secrets anymore? The reading, it makes the difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So what I hear is
Speaker 2:really hard to keep secrets.
Speaker 1:What I hear is delay Jackman and Sam learning to read it.
Speaker 2:Keep your tits literate.
Speaker 3:No. Shout out to the Duff Elementary. I should
Speaker 1:say the other Venn diagram for y'all is that y'all have some pretty sharp kids. Y'all are sharp people. Start there. But y'all produce some pretty smart little cookies. Don't wanna brag.
Speaker 3:No. That's totally funny. So Let's be bragging.
Speaker 1:I'll brag.
Speaker 2:I'll brag on your kids.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I think they're they're just very both your Lucys are little charmers. They're very cute. And their personalities are great.
Speaker 3:Lucy Stare is just the cutest.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well
Speaker 1:But you Lucy Jenkins.
Speaker 2:We have Google photos on, like, on my phone, and I a picture popped up in my photo. This is really far field. A picture popped up in my memories. I need to send it to you. But our Lucy's were in the same class as the CDC, and I took a picture of them one day because I think Kyle went to drop Teddy off and Lucy did not your Lucy was feeling hesitant to walk into class.
Speaker 2:And so our Lucy
Speaker 1:her hand?
Speaker 2:Just held hands and walked down the hall together. I have this picture of our
Speaker 3:I love it.
Speaker 2:Like, three year old Lucy's Okay. Holding hands, walking to their CDC class.
Speaker 1:Let's chase this a little more. Okay. To both of you Yes. For today, forget Teddy. He's lovely.
Speaker 1:I love him. Forget Evelyn. She's great. But not today. Yes.
Speaker 1:But to the two Lucy's. Yes. To Luke and to Chelsea. What's your favorite like, what are you what what do you delight in right now with your Lucy?
Speaker 3:Oh, man. We could tie it into joy. What brings you joy when
Speaker 1:you kinda spend time with your girl?
Speaker 3:Because she is so much like me that that often I am like, okay. You don't need to be the mother of your brother.
Speaker 1:Are you hard on her? Mother. Probably. See yourself in that? Yeah.
Speaker 1:I could
Speaker 3:see that. Eldest daughters. Yes. All the things. Oh.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But what surprised me this year is how silly she has gotten being around kindergarten boys maybe. I mean, of potty jokes that sometimes are out of nowhere, and they shock me so much that I, you know, can't get on to her because I'm like, well, that was a good one. I don't Yeah. No.
Speaker 3:Right now
Speaker 1:It's potty jokes. Your favorite thing is their
Speaker 3:potty jokes. I mean, I it it is just such a surprise to me. It feels so It is delight in a way out of character. What a what a strange thing we have stumbled into. I
Speaker 1:love it.
Speaker 3:I don't know if you're aware, but if you tell Alexa to play the fart song
Speaker 1:Oh, no.
Speaker 3:It is just it's just toot sounds for, like, four minutes.
Speaker 1:So The kids love
Speaker 3:it? It is on, I think, Kyle's Spotify, like, most played songs right now. Gosh. Not me. I'm like, shut it down, Alexa.
Speaker 3:Shut it down.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Know. Yeah. That's funny. What what what do five year old, six year olds listen to?
Speaker 2:Oh. It's kinda their Lots of things.
Speaker 3:Chicken banana. What is that?
Speaker 1:You know, chicken banana? We don't want chicken banana. Don't don't introduce my kids to that. I mean, we can wait a minute on that.
Speaker 2:My kids listen to my music because I subject them to that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what Ryan does. They listen to weird stuff with Ryan. I'm a little more like, keep music in the car. Anyway. Okay.
Speaker 1:What's favorite what are you delighting in with
Speaker 2:Man, it's fun to watch. Lucy's a very determined human being. Okay. She's very like her mom in that way. So, like, Evelyn tried out for a swim league with Arlington ISD and she made it.
Speaker 2:And Lucy also did the tryouts. And the first time she we hadn't practiced swimming at all at this point in the year. It was May, so we hadn't been in a pool yet. So she was rusty. But She got in, couldn't do it, gets back out, and sits for a minute and is sad, and it's just like, I'm gonna do it again.
Speaker 2:And just like her determination to like
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:Try try try again. I love to see it. She loves to read. She's very into Junie b Jones.
Speaker 3:Good one.
Speaker 1:Junie b Jones?
Speaker 2:Junie b Jones.
Speaker 1:Things I don't know about. Never heard of it. It's classic. Because I know it from my childhood.
Speaker 3:It was around.
Speaker 2:I think so.
Speaker 3:It was around. But it's been a long time since you were that age.
Speaker 2:Junie b Jones has been in first grade for a long time.
Speaker 1:Called out. What? We're the same age. It felt personal. It felt it felt personal because I'm like a year older than you.
Speaker 1:Okay. Anyway. For those watching, I just feel like I had I have the worst case of pink eye I think I've ever had.
Speaker 2:This is also just part of parenting. This is a parenting podcast now.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Let's just roll with it. But Sam has had it for, like, ten days, maybe more, and he's been in
Speaker 2:and out. Not negligence. I wanna specify.
Speaker 1:We went to the doctor when it when it yes. We went to the doctor immediately. It's viral so you can't fix it. And it just kept going. He's actually home today because he's worn out.
Speaker 1:He just it's like whatever virus it is, it's just making And him then and I thought, well, I guess we got through it. It's been nine days. It was nine days. I got it on day nine of Sam having it. So Sunday afternoon after church, I took a nap.
Speaker 1:It was great. And I woke up and my eye was, like, crusted shut and I thought, dang it. And it is just getting worse and worse. So I feel like I just had, like, an episode like, just weeps. It's it's a very teary pink eye.
Speaker 1:It's not goopy, it's teary.
Speaker 2:Which is a blessing.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Well, yesterday during staff meeting, was very sweet, I, like, started tearing up. I think I teared up for real because Billy Nelms was talking about his daughter Bowen accepting Jesus at camp. And when you hear a dad get emotional his kid
Speaker 2:Oh, it's so good.
Speaker 1:It was lovely. Probably would've cried anyway. But I was, like, crying because it's like this this eye, it doesn't take much right now to go. Anyway but if you're watching and not listening, I just, like, had to wipe my eye a bunch and then put hand sanitizer. Sanitizer.
Speaker 1:This is what I'm doing right now. And you could pray for me because I am preaching on Sunday, and I don't wanna do that. Yeah. I like their prayers. So absolutely.
Speaker 1:Anyway, back to it. So okay. So we love our kids. Is that what you're We do. We love our kids.
Speaker 2:So good.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Well, thanks for listening today. But let's talk about some other Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about some other people's kids.
Speaker 3:I think I mean,
Speaker 1:I wanna talk about the sermon. I love this idea of joy, but let's if we're rolling into kids, let's just let's roll with it. Josie, you have worked for how many months?
Speaker 3:On camp?
Speaker 1:Twelve total. I mean, like, just never stops. Right?
Speaker 3:It never stops.
Speaker 1:Never stops.
Speaker 3:Once we get done, we start debriefing and adjusting plans for the next year.
Speaker 1:And then Going. Right.
Speaker 3:Following up with our partner churches and yes. So Yes. We did big planning And for those the end of November, December
Speaker 1:I feel like everyone knows, but let's let's state the obvious. First Church Arlington, we do host the camp, which makes you Yes. The youth minister, the camp
Speaker 3:head. The camp director.
Speaker 1:The camp director. I
Speaker 3:the way that do camp
Speaker 1:take our 146
Speaker 3:kids to camp. Special. I mean, in other places that I've worked, you would just sign up for camp and show up, and your role was really just to, like, shepherd your students through that week. But the way that we people don't yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Is not that way. So we plan every part of it. Every part.
Speaker 1:I mean, what you're gonna reserve at the camp. You start with, like, what parts of Riverbend do you want open when? I mean, it's that granular. Right?
Speaker 3:Facilities, housing assignments, who who we bring with us, our partner we had 10 churches with us this year.
Speaker 1:All the program.
Speaker 3:Excellent. Our our special guests, like our worship band and our speakers. We plan seminars, breakouts, which Katie came and helped us with one day. The recreation, our beloved Brian Spolvita has led recreation for years and years.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's everything. Yes. You do mean, it's Every part
Speaker 3:of it.
Speaker 1:It is everything.
Speaker 3:So sometimes, you know, our stuff goes almost at the expense of our own students because we are focused on caring for camp as
Speaker 1:a whole.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But we have such excellent adults that are with us that are in our cabins with our youth leading those groups that are really shepherding through
Speaker 1:throughout the week. Because you are really shepherding the whole thing. Yes. Big picture. Yes.
Speaker 3:So I we are meeting with all adult sponsors, all youth pastors. We're taking account of we had 632 people on camp that had to be accounted for multiple times throughout the day because at children's camp, they're they're kind of with a small group all day long
Speaker 1:Makes sense.
Speaker 3:Being supervised, but there's a lot more independence at youth camp. You can go swim. You can go hike. You can
Speaker 1:go free free time. Right?
Speaker 3:Right. But we do need to make sure everyone's accounted for. Right.
Speaker 1:So Particularly if there's sirens that make you shelter in place, which I know was
Speaker 3:in and out
Speaker 1:of y'all's camp.
Speaker 3:You know, after last year, we had some shelter in place last year with Lightning, and so we came in with a new plan, and it worked really well this year. And we were able to account for people really quickly and have them in a safe place
Speaker 1:right
Speaker 3:off the bat.
Speaker 1:So things you don't think about. Things you don't think about.
Speaker 2:Chelsea thinks about
Speaker 1:I don't think about. Yes.
Speaker 2:Chelsea thinks about.
Speaker 3:Well, and we really do take just the best teams. I know. I I probably talked for too long trying to thank all of them on Sunday morning, but, I mean, people taking off of work to come sleep in a bunk bed and stay up all night and make sure that the students are safe, I we're just so grateful.
Speaker 1:It is things that I I would do. I am willing at some level. Of course. I would probably not volunteer easily to do. And these people just do it.
Speaker 2:They love it.
Speaker 3:And they find joy in
Speaker 2:And we appreciate our people so much for doing it.
Speaker 1:We're mature. We're cool, mature people.
Speaker 3:We're really lucky. Yes. We really are. That's really great.
Speaker 1:So what's your favorite part of camp? What do you love about it? Where do you find joy in it?
Speaker 3:So much of what we do while we're there is administrative and making sure we've we've turned everything in and that everything's rolling. We're addressing issues as they arise. But the one part of the day that I know is going to be really good every year is we meet with our family leaders before their evening Remind
Speaker 1:us what a family leader is.
Speaker 3:So at our camp, students lead their peers in a bible study each night. So we train our family leaders for four weeks leading up to camp. Tanner and I write the curriculum, so it is personalized to our theme and to our experience, and it helps kinda walk them through how to do that. But we have I'd say half of the family leaders were from other churches. We had 40 family groups at camp.
Speaker 3:15 of them had our students in them, and we meet with them just to talk about how their bible study went the night before, what they're excited about that night, if they have any questions, and then we kind of guide them to pray together. And it's just always so encouraging and so sweet to see these students who are seeking after the Lord, willing to get uncomfortable and step into leadership, who are willing to admit when they need help or when things aren't going like they had hoped and fight
Speaker 1:over one another. Adults, listen up.
Speaker 3:It's just These are things that adults show with. You know? So I mean, we had some seniors, graduates, the one with us who had never led before that decided to try it for the first time this year. Some sophomores who are just excellent stepped naturally into that role. Love it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Just overall, just such an encouraging time.
Speaker 1:So watching these students find their leadership ability lean and lean into it.
Speaker 3:And you know, I mean, I think, you know, the the highest form of learning is teaching and so you get to see them really internalize the things that we're studying so that they can then communicate that to their peers, and you get to see how God works in them. Mhmm. So that's always really sweet. And then the last night of camp in our family groups with our church, we we have those family leaders lead communion with their groups and just guide them through that. And it's always a really sweet time to finish out the week and remember the body and the blood of Jesus and kind of share that sacred moment together.
Speaker 3:So yeah.
Speaker 2:Which is a lot of bread
Speaker 1:and juice.
Speaker 2:That's it. Katie and I have made that shopping run for you before. Uh-huh. This is Uh-huh. A lot of bread and juice.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It is. It's 600 kids or 600
Speaker 3:Well, we only do it for our church now. So it was only only a 140.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I heard that y'all had a goal you had a goal put before the students.
Speaker 3:We did. So Yes. Last year we took, I think, a 129 students to camp, which was good. But last year, our camp was really full, and so even if we wanted to bring more, I don't know that we would have had a lot of room on camp. There are people staying off campus in Airbnb's I do remember this.
Speaker 1:You're just figuring out how to
Speaker 3:It was crazy. Yep. Took the we said if we could get a 150 of our students registered, Tanner promised to them that he would eat a Carolina Reaper pepper. Which is like the hottest of the hot? I did not realize that.
Speaker 3:That was our rec teams this year were peppers. Yeah. And he's like, yeah, I'll eat one. And the student said, what about you, Chelsea? And I said, well, you're not gonna get to a 150, so sure.
Speaker 3:I'll do it.
Speaker 2:Oh, geez.
Speaker 3:Then I the scale and where it was on the scale. I
Speaker 1:thought Schofield Schofield
Speaker 2:Schofield unit?
Speaker 1:It's like the highest. One's like a theologian. It is.
Speaker 2:Schofield is the theologian.
Speaker 3:Schofield index or whatever it It's
Speaker 1:like the top
Speaker 3:of it, which is, like, I not know.
Speaker 1:It and that's not just a little, like, inconvenience.
Speaker 2:No. Like, people get hospitalized. Got up
Speaker 3:to a 144. We had
Speaker 2:How are you feeling at that point?
Speaker 3:People. I was very nervous. You felt I was relieved.
Speaker 1:I was relieved that you didn't take call.
Speaker 3:Thank goodness. We got to Monday morning, and there was
Speaker 2:But let's still celebrate. This was the largest
Speaker 3:It was the
Speaker 2:largest our
Speaker 3:church Yes.
Speaker 2:Since the pandemic
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Which Not nothing. Is astounding.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 2:Like, one the cultural
Speaker 1:shifts of, like, a lot of anxiety about overnight anything Yeah. Just with the shifts in culture and trust and, I mean, it's just it's harder to get people to do overnight anything.
Speaker 3:It is. Anything. And for understandable reasons. Absolutely. Worse.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I've just been really proud of our students this year. They've been consistently growing on Sunday mornings. We average about 12 more on Sundays than we did last year with a smaller senior class, a smaller seventh grade group. We average about 16 more on Wednesdays than we did last year.
Speaker 1:Are those friends? I mean, how did that who are those 12? Who are those 16? Yes. Want people to invite their friends?
Speaker 3:Been invited and then become part of our regular group. And
Speaker 2:you've got, like, how many more students going on engagement trips this summer than the year before?
Speaker 3:So many more. It's like almost double. It's not quite double.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That engage just having the engagement team and the youth ministry working well together and dreaming together. This summer, I mean, last night what we're what we had planned to talk about in here, it's like the summer in youth ministry, particularly the kids going on these engagement trips, wonderful.
Speaker 2:Which we're gonna celebrate this Sunday so we can
Speaker 1:Don't miss it.
Speaker 2:Don't miss it.
Speaker 1:We'll talk about next week if can.
Speaker 3:But We're really excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Just some fun involvement.
Speaker 3:So many friends came to camp with friends. A lot of people for the first time and You feel like they had a good experience?
Speaker 1:Those friends? Yeah. Think that's
Speaker 3:a lot of That's
Speaker 1:a vulnerable thing for everybody. Right? For you as a leader, for them as a friend. You know that joke of, like, you invite your friends to church and it's, like, the weirdest Sunday ever. And it's hard to tambourine Sunday.
Speaker 3:You get on a bus because you don't you don't have a way out. They're not allowed to have phones, so they're really present. They can't be distracted. Which is so countercultural right now.
Speaker 1:Right? The idea that they wouldn't have a phone in their hand at all.
Speaker 3:Well, I and I was surprised. We had all of our students fill out a response card Thursday night, and multiple ones said I'm just so grateful for this time without technology because it's really allowed me to be focused and to be present. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:I see that you brought some response some of those very response cards with you.
Speaker 3:Yes. Can we talk that? We gave some stats Sunday morning, which are really encouraging.
Speaker 1:Can you
Speaker 3:repeat them in here?
Speaker 1:Because I was I missed them.
Speaker 3:Five students making first time decisions to follow Jesus.
Speaker 2:Love it.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 3:Five students who wanna talk more about baptism.
Speaker 1:Whoop whoop. Awesome. Love it.
Speaker 3:Separate from those five. And then, like, 11 discerning some kind of call to serve in ministry, whether that's full time, whether that's I need to be involved in ministry right now.
Speaker 1:So Let's go. Let's raise them up.
Speaker 3:Really encouraged by that.
Speaker 1:Huge. So that's 21 different decisions Yes. Of your hundred
Speaker 3:and And forty then we know that not everything that God does in your life, like, fits in a box, you know?
Speaker 1:Not everybody's ready to write it down. Right. Some of that's just very quiet and internal. I mean,
Speaker 3:I think about when I was 16, I had a a life changing experience at camp that would not it wouldn't have been first time to follow Jesus. Ministry. It was just Do you wanna tell us that story? Con conviction. Like, deep conviction about the way I was living and this, like, light bulb moment that following Jesus meant living differently.
Speaker 3:And it was I mean, it it changed the trajectory of my life because God used that speaker at that camp to really point out what it meant to to have Christ, like, define your whole life, not just what you did on Sundays and Wednesdays. And so I know how pivotal it can be.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But you get a response card and you're like, no box, you know.
Speaker 3:So we had campers write some on the backs of their cards if they didn't fit into a box. So here's here's just a few of them. This was a guest. He said, this has been the best week of my life, if I'm being honest. The the biggest thing that god taught me is to step out of my comfort zone, and it's led to nothing but good.
Speaker 3:There's more there, but this is also a guest. This week has really changed my whole perspective on the way I connect with Jesus. Technology is a really big distraction for me, and this week was a big joy not having technology. This one of our family leaders said, being a group leader, at first, I was nervous and didn't know if I'd be able to do a good enough job. Going through the week, I felt the holy spirit.
Speaker 3:And with that, I was able to go beyond what I first thought I could do. I started crying for the first time in a while during worship because I I truly felt the songs. And through that and the teachings, I feel closer to god than I have ever felt. I feel renewed. I cried out to him today just lifting up people in my life back home and how I'd be able to be a witness of god's love to them.
Speaker 3:Ridiculous.
Speaker 1:So far, all three. I know. Ridiculous.
Speaker 3:This one's another one of our family leaders. I learned about myself and how god uses me. Being a family leader and describing the gospel to my family group helped me realize that this is what I wanna spend the rest of my life doing. So gosh.
Speaker 2:If you're gonna get choke choked up over something, get choked up over this.
Speaker 1:You don't apologize for that.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure how. I just wanna spread his love.
Speaker 1:I just wanna spread his love. You don't have have hey, girl. You don't have to have it all figured out. We'll help you. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Sorry. Coffee break?
Speaker 3:I'm also I'm still a little sick,
Speaker 1:so don't blame it on the sick.
Speaker 2:For, like, five days.
Speaker 1:I'm not I'm not crying.
Speaker 3:I have pink eye. Right. Okay. Last one.
Speaker 2:I feel like I need to be, like, in another room for me.
Speaker 1:Yep. Maybe. Yeah. If you're just listening, you should know
Speaker 3:that the sand is between us.
Speaker 1:Okay. This one mine's incredibly contagious.
Speaker 2:Which is why after I helped you adjust your mic, I used your hand sanitizer.
Speaker 1:I am carrying it around. It's my courtesy.
Speaker 3:Okay. Last one is a junior high boy. K. I've never really been completely convinced that God is real but my eyes were opened and I've never been so sure that God is my father. So
Speaker 2:Well Wow.
Speaker 1:It's been a good podcast, y'all. What are supposed to do
Speaker 2:with that? I think we just preached the gospel and I
Speaker 1:think And here's the good the good Mhmm. Here's why I'm proud that we do camp that way. Like, these response cards are taken home with the youth ministries so that you can shepherd these kids through these decisions. Yes. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:They're not just kept on this mountaintop experience of phone free camp. You know? Right. You come back and you you've said these things out loud and and y'all will help them. We will help them Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Live into these convictions and realities and callings for their whole time here. It's really special.
Speaker 3:Yep. Mhmm. Yeah. I I really love that we do camp right at the top of the summer too because it gives us the whole summer to walk alongside them and all of these things and
Speaker 1:It's a good launch. Really It is a good launch. For a lot of that. And for them too to have like a detox after school year of who knows what Oh my goodness. Right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah. To just process a little bit, come down, speak with God, have God speak with them. It's really so after reading all those, Chelsea, what's your dominant what are you what are you feeling right now as their minister?
Speaker 3:You know, our prayer going into camp was that our our students would all take the next step in their faith journey. And so I do think I think that's what we're seeing is some people coming to know him for the very first time or letting go of whatever it was that was holding him back and taking a step forward. Some of them making it public for the first time. Some of them saying yes to a calling on their lives. Some of them just really figuring out what sin they need to let go of.
Speaker 3:And, I mean, we got a 140 of these cards that we didn't read. So
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:I think that's just God's so faithful. You know, he's so faithful to to answer our prayers and to show up when we call on him, and and I think that's what we've seen. And so I'm proud of our family leaders. I'm proud of our adult leaders that really helped shepherd a lot of this. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So it was a it was a really good week. I think the way that we do camp is really special, and this is what you see from it.
Speaker 1:It's worth it.
Speaker 3:It's worth it. It's worth all the hard work. Oh, that's yeah. Yeah. The older I get, the harder it is to recover.
Speaker 3:But
Speaker 1:That also somehow feels personal even though it's not directed at me at all. It's the truth, isn't
Speaker 2:it? Yeah.
Speaker 3:I don't know how Brian does it, man.
Speaker 2:He slept for twenty hours.
Speaker 1:Brian That's true. Yeah. But Brian's he's a superhuman.
Speaker 3:I was so grateful. My kids were at Nana Camp during camp since
Speaker 1:Kyle and
Speaker 3:I were both there. Yeah. Mom and dad. My parents plan out. They got, like, a memory verse each day, art decraps.
Speaker 3:Alright. Come on. Little field trips. I know. And she did all of their laundry before she brought them back to me, so I did not have to wash
Speaker 2:them. Mother blessings.
Speaker 1:Okay. Let's use
Speaker 2:let's just grandparents this. Listening to the podcast and you're wondering how to bless your children with kids
Speaker 3:I mean
Speaker 2:do their laundry.
Speaker 1:Help me clean laundry.
Speaker 3:A gift. But I can't even remember where I was going with that. It
Speaker 1:it it well, nanny camp. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:What a gift?
Speaker 1:Memory versus all that. You talking about being tired though?
Speaker 3:Did that tie in with Oh, yes. So, yes, she kept them until Saturday. So Friday, we came home, got everyone back to their parents, and then took a very long nap. Woke up to eat dinner, and then went right back to bed.
Speaker 1:Perfect. It is. There's, like, no exhaustion. Like, I didn't really do a I mean, I did pine I did Pine Cove when but I was early twenties. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Energy through the roof. But It's I did a lot of mission trips in college ministry. Right. I mean, for my, you know, big thirteen year run as college minister. A lot of mission trips.
Speaker 1:And you get home and it's like, I don't talk to anybody. Mhmm. I want, like, Chipotle on the way home. Uh-huh. And then I wanna crash until I feel like reemerging.
Speaker 1:Yes. And that's before I had kids and you can kinda do that. Uh-huh. Now with kids
Speaker 2:You just keep going.
Speaker 1:You just don't really get you don't get a huge reset.
Speaker 3:That's that extra day was so good.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Nana Judkins.
Speaker 1:I know. That yeah. Francis. Nana Francis.
Speaker 3:I I'm That's true. It's my mom, but it is the Judkins family, Nana. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Anyway, it's awesome. Yes.
Speaker 2:There we go.
Speaker 1:Yeah. My mother-in-law, Ryan Swamp, is with Sam today. Just and I'm not worried at all. She's just a great
Speaker 2:Love
Speaker 1:it. She's a great space grandmother to them, and it is a gift.
Speaker 2:It is such a gift.
Speaker 1:Hashtag intergenerational ministry.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well Yeah. I don't know.
Speaker 2:We are
Speaker 1:It's camp. I don't know. What do wanna talk about?
Speaker 2:Well, next week, because we're thirty five minutes, you're preaching
Speaker 1:I'm preaching Sunday. On peace. I'm excited about it.
Speaker 2:And it's send Sunday. We're making sure we enunciate because sometimes
Speaker 1:say send Sunday.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Oh.
Speaker 2:It's not send Sunday.
Speaker 1:It will never be.
Speaker 2:Send. It
Speaker 1:will never
Speaker 2:be. Send. We may talk about sin.
Speaker 1:Oh,
Speaker 2:yeah. But we're not going to encourage it.
Speaker 1:We're not celebrating sin. We are celebrating
Speaker 2:That we are sending
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:All of these students, both youth and college out. They're gonna get commissioned in our worship services. We got trainings for them in the day. We're doing three trips for our youth, two for our college. And I think next week on the podcast, the plan is to have I will be out of town.
Speaker 1:Ashley.
Speaker 2:So it'll be Katie, Ashley, and Sarah Yeah.
Speaker 1:And Sarah.
Speaker 2:Talking about
Speaker 1:What a team. You can't lose. Man, Chelsea, you're welcome.
Speaker 2:Just All the summer scents.
Speaker 1:We'll get we'll get everybody. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot to talk about with the summer. There's some great opportunities for people and some trips that I think, maybe not for summer but I know they're recruiting for the Japan Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Trip that's gonna happen over Thanksgiving break. Yep. So there's some entry points for everybody.
Speaker 2:There
Speaker 1:are. Always at First Fever Charlingson. So, I thought we could celebrate camp.
Speaker 2:Me too.
Speaker 3:It was a good week.
Speaker 2:Good work.
Speaker 3:Just feeling really good.
Speaker 2:Chelsea, Tanner,
Speaker 3:Amanda. Tanner and Amanda worked so hard. Just so grateful for that team.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Are two good people, three good people. Mhmm. Well, there's more we could talk about, but I don't feel the need. So, Chelsea, thanks for joining us this morning.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me. We're grateful
Speaker 2:for you.
Speaker 1:We're grateful for you leading camp. We're grateful for the movement of the spirit at camp, just God's work. So all all glory to God. Mhmm. Amen.
Speaker 1:Thank y'all. See you next week. Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1:Have a good day.