Outdoor MinistryIn addition to CLBI's fall hiking and canoeing trip and the winter camping trip which include the entire student body, CLBI offers an Outdoor Minstry course that is available to those students who are interested in increasing their outdoor camping skills and who are excited to learn how to use the setting of nature to minister to youth. The “Nature” of MinistryWhen I began High School a lot of things changed. I was told a lot of things had to change. It was time to start growing up. Besides pressure from parents and other “mature folk”, being a kid just wasn’t cool anymore. Well that was some seven years ago, and now apparently I get to live out my childhood dreams again. Outdoor Ministry... Building forts, adventuring in the forest, carving spears you are sure will protect you from the bears. Truly these are the things of grown men! I’ve seen God at work in many places; among the homeless, in serving hands, in the honest gentile. He has opened my eyes to what the kingdom must really look like in all these places. But I truly believe he has revealed to me what the kingdom truly is like in me, when I am up to my ears in nature. When I remove all the life distractions and media influence from my life, I finally get a glimpse of the man who is made for God’s glory. A man not made for material pursuit or the accolades of my peers, but a man with truly deeper desires and purpose. Experiencing this yourself really makes you want to bring others into a place where they could hopefully have a similar experience. Being in the Outdoor Ministry class at CLBI has equipped me with some very practical, important knowledge and experience to build on and make wonderful memories of. Now I can confidently head out into the wild with a sleeping bag, tarp and some rope and food and be confident I will survive, and I can teach a group of youngsters to do the same. Learning the essentials (Fire building, shelters, knots) was great, but the actual ministry experience we had became far more than I expected. A group of 6 of us CLBI students (just one of the outdoor teams) led a weekend youth camp near Sylvan Lake, Alberta. Just us, the kids, tents, tarps, food, music and God. Through that we got to spend two days honestly looking at life and faith. We didn’t have the option to play video games, or watch TV. We got back to real life, and real faith. Out of it came a connection with one of the young guys that I hope will be a long and meaningful one for both of us. The city really does need God, but really struggles to find time for Him. In the wild, time is no longer the commodity, but people. I believe this is where I have spent some of my most sincere “quality time”. Eric Nordstrom
|
