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About this blog
Brian Frick is the Associate for Camp and Conferences Ministries with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He has been involved in camp and conference ministry since high school. For the past ten years, Brian has served as program director of Johnsonburg Center in New Jersey, Westminster Woods in California, and Heartland Center in Missouri.
Camp and conference ministry compliments and partners with other ministry aspects of our church to foster faith development and reflection. As our communities and our church changes, our ministries need to grow and adapt with creative and emergent programming and leadership to meet new realities.
These blogs entries, though varied, are intended to spur thought and conversation around the opportunities and challenges before us.
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- Camp Curriculum Discount Available
- Earth Day Resources from the National Council of Churches
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Practice What You Preach...
"Preach always, use words when necessary." St. Francis of Assisi.
We Christians are good at talking. Great at it actually. However, we spend a lot of time talking to ourselves about the great things that are happening in the name of Jesus. We are not so good at evangelizing. We can debate why, but I am convinced that most Presbyterians are allergic to the word - though there are great efforts underway to help us change that and cure that allergy in a way that is consistent with our Reformed Theological heritage and our comfort level with telling others about what we believe and inviting them to follow - see Good News.
I recently spent a week at Ferncliff at a conference for Presbyterian Camp and Conference professionals at the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA) annual confernce.
Wow. Is all I can say.
Ferncliff lives their faith by responding to God's call to care for others (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Warehouse, electric/solar people mover, intentional recycling, Equal Exchange Coffee, etc). They also share it openly - displays in rooms about how to save water, about the projects they are involved in with invitations to support those projects.
Most noticeable for me was the placement of "What Kind of World Do You Want?" by Jim Lord. What a powerful book! It has a bookmark in it inviting you to take it, free, read it, and promise to pass it on to others.
The extra steps Ferncliff takes to show others what they practice in response to their faith, invite others to walk with them. I am convinced that church groups and secular groups that come for their own planned meetings or retreats at Ferncliff, choose Ferncliff at least in part, because they know something is happening. Everyone wants to be where something is happening!
How are you showing what is happening in your ministry? What is drawing people in? How are evangelizing with actions as well as words?
- Posted at 3:22 p.m.
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