This summer, the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ first All Nations Youth Camp packed out WorldSong Missions Place in Cook Springs with 100 teenagers from a variety of cultures.
Annel Robayna, intercultural ministries missionary for SBOM, said the four-day event was intended to “reach out to a community we haven’t reached out to in this way before” and to prepare students to be strong in their faith as they grow into adulthood.
“Some youth may grow up in youth group, but once they get to college age a lot of them … forget about the church,” Robayna noted. “Knowing that [many of the students] were seniors, our idea was to do a camp based on purpose, identity and calling so that they know they are valuable before the Lord.”
He said they also wanted to challenge some of the teens who might be wrestling with a call to ministry to “think about it now rather than later.”
During the week, 10 students professed faith in Christ and more than 20 committed their lives to missions and ministry.
Kimberly Sandoval, a ministry assistant in Robayna’s office and part of the intercultural ministry team, said in addition to those decisions, one of the biggest things she saw during the week was that students began to realize they are not the church of tomorrow — they are the church of today.
‘Called to serve’
“They understood that the Great Commission is for them, and the majority of them understood they are also called to serve in their church,” she said.
Sandoval added it was amazing to see the way God built community across cultural lines, noting when many of the students are in the U.S. they feel like they are not entirely American, but when they are visiting their parents’ home countries they are seen as the Americans.
So it’s easy for them to embrace the fact that they belong to a family of like-minded people through their faith in Jesus, Sandoval said.
“They’re so open to unity,” she added. “It’s so easy for them to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is just the beginning.”
Jacobo Morales, also part of the intercultural ministry team, said it was beautiful to see relationships form. He’s heard that some have kept in touch even though they are in different cities, and have planned get-togethers.
“They have this fire — they are thirsty for more activities,” he reflected.
Partners together
During the All Nations Youth Camp, students heard messages from Robayna as well as Theron Hawkins, lead pastor of Next Level Church in Tuscaloosa.
They also heard two missions testimonies. Jackie Rodriguez, youth leader at Center Point Baptist Hispanic Church in Birmingham, shared about her experience in Senegal this summer serving with other Hispanics from Alabama. And Clarke Skelton, a retired pastor and former International Mission Board missionary to South Korea who also is on SBOM’s intercultural ministry team, spoke about his calling and ministry in Korea.
Robayna said he and his team are making plans now for next year’s camp, and he’s thankful for the generous support of Alabama Baptist churches through the Cooperative Program, which makes a camp like this happen.
“We are taking this initiative to show all the cultures represented in the state in our Baptist churches that we can partner together for the Great Commission,” Robayna said. “We’re starting with the youth, but we are also working on initiatives to involve the adults in the same endeavors.”
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