I recently met an old friend from high school for lunch, which he and I do about once a year. The topic of Falls Creek came up, and we reminisced about one special summer. Of course, with Falls Creek, all summers are special, but this one was particularly memorable.
For starters, the music was powerful, the ping pong tournaments in our cabin fierce, and the friendships made were strong. But what made that summer different was that my friend, Nick, accepted Christ at one of the evening sessions.
I still vividly recall him telling me of his decision that very night. I remember the thrilled look on his face and that a group of us guys rejoiced with him. The memories we made that hot summer week were, after all these years, lasting and near. The spiritual consequences, though, are eternal for this young man, and today his wife and children.
Whenever I hear each summer of the thousands who have made decisions for Christ since that summer, I think of Nick. If you are in and around Baptist life in Oklahoma, chances are you, too, know a “Nick.” Or perhaps you are the one. You felt the Lord’s leading and responding to His saving grace. While the Lord calls us through a variety of events, people and places, Falls Creek has proven time and again to be especially ripe for a move of God.
As I drove away from lunch, I was excited just thinking about what lies ahead for 2012. Powerful plans are in the works for this summer. The BGCO and Falls Creek staff are, even now, busily preparing the programming and encampment for the tens of thousands of young people and adults who will flock to Davis.
In a recent Messenger Insight Podcast program, the BGCO’s Andy Harrison, who is program director for Falls Creek, highlighted the focus of the 2012 programming. Called “Undiscovered Territory,” the theme for 2012 calls attention to the spiritual discipline of prayer. The key verse is Jer. 33:3, which says “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” To hear the complete interview, visit https://www.baptistmessenger.com/insight/FallsCreek12 or look for information on www.skopos.org.
After my lunch visit, I whispered a prayer for Nick and his family. I also remembered to pray that the Lord would move in mighty ways this summer.
The Falls Creek website lists specific ways we can pray for students, sponsors and staff attending camp this summer. It then says this: “We want to engage Oklahoma Southern Baptists to pray for Falls Creek in an unprecedented way.” At the Baptist Messenger, that is our heart’s desire as well.