Kids Baptism & Testimony Night

Thank you guys for coming out to service today. Today is a celebration. Are you ready to celebrate tonight? Come on. In a little bit.

We are gonna. We are about to baptize 24 kids. Come on. I mean, I'm so excited about it. It's so good to Just like Kelsey said, there's.

There's all the things that we have to do and the things that we can try to make camp happen, but none of those things are a substitute for the Holy Spirit moving in our homes, in our lives at camp. And I try to tell the kids this all the time. Like, the Holy Spirit doesn't live far away. He doesn't live at camp. And we don't chase a moment at camp every year so we can go get closer to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is literally in this room right now. He dws dwells within us. So this year at camp. Well, if I haven't introduced myself, my name is Prabhu. I serve as a kids pastor here, one of the executive pastors here at the Refuge.

Come on. Like our band. This was our camp band, by the way. Were they incredible? So good.

Kelsey and Krista, who are also staff members. I mean, it took a village to put it on together. Last week, I was standing in this very spot celebrating God's goodness for the end of our youth camp at MSC at the beach. And now a week later, I get to stand here at the conclusion of two incredible camps. I just want to give thanks to Jesus.

So come on, can we? Put your hands together. Let's give the Lord the first fruits and say, lord, you are good. You are amazing at what you do. And 24 kids getting baptized, man, that's amazing.

That's Incredible. We took 150 campers with us this year. 150 campers. We had about 85 adult counselors go with us, a lot of them on support team and most of them on as counselors. And I know there are moments where the counselor's like, oh, my gosh, what did I just sign up to do?

When you're stuck in a room with 12 kids. But can I tell you, when we see the fruit, the fruit of what's coming after that. Come on. How many of you know? It's worth it.

Amen, counselors. So to everybody who helped put all of these camps up, whether it was msc, whether it was kids camp, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, thank you on behalf of the Refuge, on behalf of pastors Jay and Melanie, Stuart and myself, and just thank you guys. We are an Amazing church together. We're an amazing church family that we get to do this.

Thank you for those who contributed financially, who sewed in. It's so man. Warms my heart that we get to do this together as a community. Amen. So what we learned with 150 campuses here, our focus, our theme this year was wind and fire.

And we were introducing our kids to the person of the Holy Spirit. He's not an it. He's not a vibe. He's not an experience. The Holy Spirit's a person.

Amen. And so all of our sessions were designed to introduce our kids to who this is. I remember the first session and somebody asked the question, where does the Holy Spirit live? And the kids immediately went in heaven. I was like, well, we're gonna have to fix that real quick, because it's Jesus's words, hey, I have to go in order so the Holy Spirit can come.

And so the first session, we talked about how the Holy Spirit, our friend. In the next session, we talked about how the Holy Spirit is around us and it's constantly working. Life is not about us. It's not our story. It's the Lord's story that we get to be a part of.

And then we talked about the Holy Spirit. Spirit brings conviction. And so for some of our kids, that's a hard concept to understand. Like, what do you mean? Like, the Holy Spirit can convict me and tell me if I'm about to do something that I'm not supposed to.

We're able to talk through that with them. The Holy Spirit can so consuming us that he wants all of us. He doesn't want a part of you. He wants all of us. And then finally, the last night, we talked about how this Holy Spirit empowers us.

Just like the Book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit fell in the room. And by the end, can I tell you, there were literally kids praying over leaders, kids praying for each other, kids praying over their parents. It was. It was absolutely incredible for some of you. Joined us online and were able to watch online.

And can I tell you, just being in the room, the Holy Spirit, his presence was thick. His presence was tangible. It was amazing. So more than you guys hearing it from me, why don't you guys, if you can put your hands together, let's hear from a couple kids. So kids, if you had signed up to talk, to do a testimony, if you guys want to come up real quick, that would be amazing.

So kids with testimonies, they're coming. So let's. Let's give them A hand church. Let's encourage them because it is scary to come up here. It is very scary.

I'm scared right now. But they're as. They're coming up. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Yes.

You got your. Got your paper. That's awesome. Come on down. Come on down.

All right, well, kids, before I go any further here, just move up here so you guys are in the light. Awesome. Before I go any further, did you guys have an awesome time at camp? Yeah. For some of you guys, this is your last year, right?

I know that that decision was heavy. You guys are like, oh, man, I don't want to leave. But I know we talked about this on Sunday during our service. So we had a special service where we got share the things that Jesus did. So, Jonah, why don't you kick us off?

What did. What did Jesus do at camp? Hi, guys. My name is Jonah, and before camp, I did not know the Lord well. I wasn't obeying my mom.

I wasn't obeying my parents. I wasn't being kind to my sister and brother. And then I went to camp. On the last night, the Lord told me to go to the ground, and I started praying, and the Lord put his hand on me and said, jonah, obey your mom and love your sister and brother as I do to you. And then I get back from camp, I go to my house, and I do what the Lord told me.

And it's been going well so far. That's awesome.

And can I tell you, Jonah, the Holy Spirit wants to invade every part of your life. Whether it's disobedience, There are decisions that are going to kind of be coming your way, man. Lean on the Holy Spirit. Amen. It's awesome.

Luna, do you want to. I see you have your paper here. Do you want to read it for us? Hello, my name is Luna, and I would like to share my testimony from Tid Stamp. So on the last night of Tid Stamp, I really felt scared and shady to pray for people.

But the Lord gave me power to pray for people, and it felt really good. And the Lord used me to pray for people. Come on.

That is the Holy Spirit empowering us to do amazing things. And the Holy Spirit comes close. Come on. He's gonna set you guys on fire. Let's see, Axel.

What do we have? Hi, my name is Axel. When I first came to camp, I wasn't so close to God. I sinned a lot. I disobeyed my parents.

But when I came to camp, I wanted to pour out all my heart. So on the last night, I gave it all I got and I focused my eyes on God. Since then, I've been much closer to God and it feels great.

Come on. How awesome.

This is my last year at camp and I feel like every year camp just gets better and better. But this year I feel like was the best year. Especially on the second night when this girl was praying over me and I just felt like this heavy backpack just got lifted off me. And after that, I just felt so much joy.

Hi, my name is Abigail Grace Scott. This was my very first year at camp. There were so many fun activities, but my favorite one was swimming in the lake. I really enjoyed the church services. The one thing that stood out to me, that the preacher said, I never will forget, he said, think of God as an airplane.

When the airplane is high up in the sky, it looks small. Kind of how God sometimes feels far away. But when you're standing close to an airplane at the airport, it looks huge. That's how God is. He may feel far sometimes, but he's always, always big and he's always close.

That helped me understand how big God is. Really the best part of camp was that I gave my heart to Jesus. I asked him to live in my life. And now I'm going to get baptized. This is my testimony.

I am so thankful I got to go to camp, Man. So awesome. Can we get on our feet, church? I know I'm asking a lot, but come on, can we show these kids they're not alone in following Jesus and their boldness to come and testify? Come on.

So, so, so good. I'm proud of you guys.

Awesome kids. I'm so proud of you guys. Camp is life. You guys can get a seat. You guys can't get a seat.

I will say, people ask me all the time, pastor, probably when you prepare for sermons, how do you do so? And my response is always, the best sermons that you could prepare are the ones that you're preaching to yourself, right? And can I tell you, I like, yes. It took a village. It was incredible this year.

Camp was amazing. The sessions were incredible. But I believe the Holy Spirit ministered to me myself first and foremost. Like, I've been carrying around a lot of stuff. Last year was a brutal year for me in and of doctor's visits and things.

And I just feel like this year the Holy Spirit really met with me. It was meant to be. And so I know, Holy Spirit, if you're going to meet with me, then come on. It's going to trickle down from there. And that's first and foremost.

And so, man, it was just such an incredible experience. And I want. I want you guys to hear from a couple of our counselors as well. I'm going to go get ready so I can get. Get change to jump in the tank here in a second.

But, counselor, there are a couple of you that we picked to share a testimony today. So, Ms. Bethany, if you're in the house, Ms. Taylor, if you're in the house', Mr. David, if you're in the house, you guys want to come up here real quick. And I want you guys to hear from our counselor's perspective, because sometimes it's. It's. We.

We think it's like, oh, it's a kids camp. That's awesome. But can I tell you, the Holy Spirit, he's not judging in his mind. Oh, it's just a kids camp. It's just a youth camp.

It's just a revival. So that's not how the Holy Spirit works. Come on. He draws near to those who seek him. So can I tell you, while we were out there, the Holy Spirit really met us.

And in this service, even after worship, I was like, holy Spirit, you're gonna meet us right now, right here. And so I want you guys to hear from some of our counselors that got to go this year. Guys, if you can quickly share something that was on your heart this year and what the Lord showed you guys, give me some time to change, that'd be awesome. All right, well, I'm sure you guys were all super blessed by having the kids in worship tonight. It is.

That is one of the joys of getting to go on camp and getting to serve in kids ministry is to be worshiping with the pure hearts surrounded by you. So my name is Bethany, and this was my second year getting to go to kids camp. And it was incredible and a totally marking experience. I had a friend kind of joke with me before I left because I'm a schoolteacher. And so they were like, man, you're kind of a glutton for punishment.

Like, you just wrapped up a school year and now you're going to summer camp. But when I say I get to go, I really mean it. It is truly an incredible experience. And I shared with Prabhu. My heart was, like, bursting when they shared what camp was going to be about, that it was going to be wind and fire and centered around the Holy Spirit, because for me, I grew up in the church, but I was 8 years old going into the 4th grade when I went to our church camp.

And the speaker that week had it on their heart to make it centered around the Holy spirit. And at 8 years old, I fell in love with the person of the Holy Spirit. And that's something that changed the trajectory of my life. I can't remember a day where I didn't really want to follow him. And that's a.

You know, growing up, sometimes you heard some different testimonies and you're like, man, my testimony's kind of boring. But what a great thing that I can say that I fell in love with holy spirit at 8 years old. And one of the things that was cool about camp this week was that they kicked it kind of old school with the worship songs. And so. So as someone who grew up in the church, it was very nostalgic.

As they are singing songs like I'm coming back to the heart of worship or I'm desperate for you. Those are songs that I can distinctly remember being at the altar at kids camp and youth camp, being wrecked in worship as I sang along those songs. And so to see the students crying out to the very words that I recall crying out to was just very nostalgic. And. And one song specifically that we just sang, I was so glad they wrapped up singing I'm desperate for you because I shared with my dorm, my group of girls, that that was a song that really captivated my mind and my heart when I was growing up.

And I remember going to camp, and I remember those song lyrics just gripping my heart. And I remember just feeling this mountaintop high of like, yes, I'm desper the Lord and he's got all of me and every part of me. And I'm gonna obey my parents and I'm gonna be nicer to my brother and sister. And I remember all those amazing feelings and truly meaning it. And then I remember getting back from camp and life getting normal and school starting and things getting busy and sports and all the things.

And I remember slowly feeling less like, you have all of me, Jesus. And I shared with dorm that. That song I remember putting. Going up to my room and I remember putting in my CD player and hitting play on repeat, because there was a little button where you could hit repeat. And I played that song I'm desperate for you over and over again.

Because I remember laying there just saying, holy Spirit, I miss you. I miss you. I don't feel you the way I felt you at camp, and I miss you. And so to be at kids camp again, no longer 8 years old, 38 years old, and getting to sing that Song Once Again. And having those words grip my heart once again was so, yes, nostalgic.

But then I'm looking over at my daughter, just turned nine, going into the fourth grade and seeing her hands lifted high, saying, I'm desperate for you. And I'm like, I'm not a glutton for punishment. There's nowhere else I'd rather be. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing than to be pouring my love out on Jesus and watching children fall, fall in love with the person of the Holy Spirit. But I'll wrap it up because I know two other people are going to talk.

And I. I confessed I'm a teacher, so I can talk a long time. But I. I will say, as I was praying and as I was being moved by the words of that song and the worship that was happening all around me, and I was feeling so desperate for the Lord to move on my daughter, to move on these kids. There's moments in my life where I'm desperate, desperate for the Lord to move in my marriage or my finances. I mean, most of you can probably relate. And I felt Holy Spirit, though, as I was singing.

And I could feel Holy Spirit delighting in my praise. But I felt that slow, like, soft little nudge of being desperate for me to move in your child's life, being desperate for me to move in your finances, being desperate for me to move in your marriage or in a church service or in my classroom. Those are wonderful things, but they are not to be mistaken with being desperate for me, Holy Spirit. And it was just like, oh, yes, I want you to move. Yes, I want you to flow through my family, but I don't want to lose sight of me.

Bethany. Just being in love with Holy Spirit, not for what he can do, but just because he is the person, my friend, my comforter, my protector, my provider, Just being in love with him. And so at camp, you don't sleep very well. And so I got to just lay in my uncomfortable bunk bed and dwell on who Holy Spirit has been in my life in the past, who Holy Spirit was being in my present in those services. But also to begin a prayer of just, I want to go away with you, Holy Spirit.

I want to spend time with you, reawaken my heart's desire for just you. And it was like I got to hit repeat on my CD player again and just lay there singing, I'm desperate for you. And it was a wonderful, beautiful invitation at Kids Camp to just fall in love with Holy Spirit. But campers like Pastor Prabhu said, and like what I kind of just shared that like exciting mountaintop kind of wears off and you might accidentally disobey or be mean to brother and sister but it doesn't mean that we can't slip back away with Holy Spirit and just say I want you, I need you, you have all that I am and I just want to encounter you. So anyways, that is what kind of happened in my heart and it was just a great thing.

So thank you to those who were praying over us and supporting us. We felt it to greatly.

Good. My name is David, this is my third year at camp and I'll say by far the best so far. Encountering the Holy Spirit myself, going with a little doubt.

Really should I be here? Am I really doing any good? Same way with working with the kids in the back. You know, I work with the three to six year olds every Sunday and you kind of get a little doubt. And this year as I was at camp, got to meet the kids Monday night as they come in.

And that night after Nicole got through speaking, she had us to go down front to pray for any of the kids that wanted a better experience with the Holy Spirit, wanted to know the Holy Spirit a bit more. And I had a young man come to me in my group. So I was blessed to be able to sit down and pray over this guy and to talk to him. And then later that night I had a child that couldn't rest. He said, I need somebody to pray for me.

So I got to lay my hands on him and pray over him. I went to take my shower and he was gone. He was out. I was sat here thinking to me that's a blessing. I know it's small stuff but to me it's what God has showed me.

It's what God was working in me and the Holy Spirit working in me. Even the next night, the next morning during service, he laid on my heart. He said he laid some stuff on my heart. I won't get into all the details but he said this year, this year is your blessing. This year you're gonna be blessed.

This year I'm giving it to you. Of course that night I was beginning to doubt getting ready to go to bed and I had to go out. I had a utility vehicle that I had brought with us for the support team to use. Well, it broke down 11:30 at night so I happened to go take chase this down. Plus I had a homesick kid so luckily Michael Ray, I had him to handle him a little bit so I could Go take care of that.

When I come back, he was in bed. It wasn't long. He was awake again and crying. So I laid in my bed. His head was towards mine.

I got to lay my hands on him, on his head and shoulder, pray over him, had him to go out. And he kept coming back and forth, homesick. We got maybe two hours sleep that night, so. But anyway, the next night, when Pastor Brothers finished up on Wednesday night, he's like, he had us to stand up. He told the kids, these are counselors.

If it weren't for them, you wouldn't be here. Just go thank them for it. So that same kid that I prayed over the night for, for homesick, he runs up to me, hugs me and tells me, you're the best, and if you don't think that, don't break, fill your heart. I just. I lost it.

To know that you can touch their lives. To be able to be a part of something so big and to feel so much love and to be blessed by God. To be able to be a part of something so great as this camp. I know it's not all about the camp. I know life goes on, but I'm continuing on with what God's laid on my heart.

The freedom that he's given me from things that I've held onto, my past, that he worked on me this week, too. Some sins I had a hold to, that I let go, that God took care of. The Holy Spirit has helped me. And then I had some kids, when they was leaving Thursday, I called his name. He turned around, looked at me, running to me, gave me a hug and a high five.

He said, bye. Then I had another one. I said, call this. And he come back to me, give me a high five. And he said, this kid was unchurched.

He looks at me and he says, I'm coming back next year. I said, what? I said, you coming back next year? He said, I'm coming back next year. I said, that's what I want to hear.

That's what I want to hear. That's awesome. I'm glad. That's what I want. So the Holy Spirit has worked in these kids, even unchurched kids.

The Holy Spirit was there. The Holy Spirit was working. And he's still continuing. He is still continuing to bless me. I didn't want to go work Monday.

I mean, I have been on a high. I have cried. I have thought about these kids. Because I sit there and watch these kids every night or every service, praise God. They all come down to the front and praise God and come and be prayed over, to be hugged, to be loved and be able to show the love of Jesus back to them and to be a part of something so great and so big.

And then to be here tonight.

To watch these 24 kids get baptized because they give their life to Jesus Christ. They're going to carry this forever in their hearts. They're going to live this life. We need to pray for them and keep an eye on them and teach them. That's why I do what I do every Sunday morning back there is for these kids, because I want them to grow up.

I want them to live a better life than I did. I want them to know Jesus and carry him through their life. Because when it's all said and done, everything's over with and I take my last breath, the only thing that's going to matter is that they know Jesus. Thank you.

Hi. For those that don't know me, my name is Taylor or Ms. Taylor. I was a chinchilla again this year. This is my second year at camp. Thank you, Thomas, for clapping.

He also was a chinchilla.

So Bethany's story was so beautiful. Oh, my goodness. That really touched me when I decided to go to camp this year. Prabhu always says, you know, to be thinking about your why we have a lot of leaders meetings that lead up to us going to camp. There's a lot of prayer and consideration.

There's a lot of fundraising, and there's a lot of just making sure we're involved with our campers and those that come on Wednesday nights. And so this year, my why, I just didn't really know. I knew that I was supposed to go. I knew that the Lord wanted me to be there, but I was just hoping he would be more specific. And last year, the last night of camp, the Lord laid it on my heart to go up and give my testimony, my, like, health journey testimony.

And I have never done anything like that before. And Prabhu was about to go on the stage, and I was like, I'm so sorry. I think I'm supposed to say something. And so he was like, okay. So I ended up going up and sharing my testimony, and it was really awesome.

And just the Lord was just a lot of confirmation afterwards, people saying, like, hey, that was for me. So that felt really cool. You know, you never want to just talk and everybody be like, okay. And then it not really resonate. That's embarrassing.

It's like, maybe I just heard from the Lord or maybe not. So on the last night of camp leading up to every single speaker. I mean, this year, it was just really awesome. Obviously, on the holy spirit and his work in our lives. And.

And on the first night, I thought that the Lord had shared with me through watching another student what my why was. And I actually went and got my phone. I took the picture. I was gonna share it with the mom of the child. And I was just like, thank you, Lord, that I was able to see it.

And then on the second night, I saw it again. A different student, a different moment. So I went and got my phone, came back out, took a picture. It was like a video. It was so precious.

I was, lord, yes, this is my why. And this year, for camp, I was more of a parent than a counselor. And for those that are in here, that are counselors. And you went. Sometimes it's just like that.

Like, last year, I had four volleyball players, and they were all going into sixth grade, and we were, like, all journaling during service. And this year, I was, like, grabbing wads of tinsel. I was like, please put that in your bag. Please stop playing with this tinsel. Please put this tinsel in your bag.

Like, I came home with tinsel everywhere. Me and another counselor were like, where is this coming from, Kelsey? It was coming from Kelsey. So anyways, the last night of camp, I kept getting so distracted, and for those that actually know me, you know, that's really easy. Honestly, the lights are really getting me right now, so I'm gonna try to be quick so I stay on topic.

But the last night, I was trying to focus on what the worship was about. Mary was leading us again, and Danelle, and we were about to go into a song for a second time, and I was at the front and then just needed. You know, I was sharing on Sunday. It was just a year of being needed more and more interruption and, like, for lack of better words, dealing with inconveniences. And so I was at my seat for a second, and I just felt the lord say, you know what?

Whoever's sitting there, they can sit there. They'll be fine. Go back to the front. So I did. I started to worship.

And we're singing this song, one of them that we sang tonight about the Lord consuming us, consuming fire. And I remember that he just called me over to the dark, and I was like, okay. So I just went over into, like, where the light didn't touch, and I. I got on my knees, and the. This, like, really heavy weight was pushing me to the floor. I. I even have, like, a mark on my right knee from where I was just pushed down.

I can't really explain it other than that. And I kept seeing this sword being sharpened by a stone. And the Lord, in the most gentle way, was saying, you're resisting the friction that's here to make you better. And I almost missed my why. But my why was actually repentance.

Because while I was singing about the Lord consuming me, the Lord was like, there's an idol that already consumes you, and it's the idol of control. And I think some of that is due to just being a parent, but also my personality that I do want to control lots of aspects. And when I can't, I all of a sudden just feel, like, flooded with this, like, urge that it's like, oh, my goodness. Like, okay, okay, yeah, I'll help. Hang on a second.

And you just get overwhelmed. And the Lord was just gently reminding that idols of our heart are really just what consume our thoughts all the time. And I had put it before him. I had put another God before him. So I just began to repent over and over and over again to the point where it was, like, uncontrollable.

So I got up, I went to the back behind the curtains, and honestly, just trying to get it together. I had left my other counselor just out there with all of our kids. And it was like the Lord pulled me to the back, and I went to go sit down. And I kid you not, it was like a wall pushing me further and further. And he said, I'm not done.

So I stayed there a little longer until I heard the worship was over, and I tried to get myself together. I went back to my seat. I'm back to, you know, trying to keep it all together and to pay attention. And we're coming to the end of the service, and Prabhu is calling kids forward that want prayer want to go further in their walk with the Lord. Counselors were coming forward, and I wasn't feeling that I needed to go forward, but the Lord had me stand because, again, I was just getting so distracted.

I'm like, I don't want to lose sight what the Lord has. And as soon as I stood up, like, almost as soon as I did, Pastor Prabhu said, is Ms. Taylor in the room? And Taylor Brown, if you know him, he was also at camp. So that came on the walkie a lot. And I was like, nope, that's not him.

That's me, Ms. Taylor. He said, can you come forward? So I was like, oh, no. And he had me sit on the stage. But before I made my way up to the stage, he looked at me and said, full circle moment.

And I know he was talking about that last night when I gave my testimony. And my testimony was that the Lord was with me through some struggles. I had suffered some strokes in 2019, and the Lord had brought me through it. And so as I sat on the stage, he was saying, if anyone, the lord is laying Ms. Taylor on anyone's heart, please come forward and pray over her. And it was like everything was muffled for a second.

And the Lord brought me back to. Literally, it was like he was saying, remember your strokes. What led to your strokes? And probably only a handful of people know this, but the day that I had my stroke, I was inconvenienced and completely consumed. And it was because of something that I couldn't control.

It just had to do with my kid that I was picking up in the childcare at the time. And I like my whole body. And it's just been year after year since then that something has come up and it's had to do with control. And so on that stage again, I just began to weep for forgiveness that I almost missed it again. And I felt the Lord in that moment deliver me from something that's really had its paws on me since 2019.

And I just really wouldn't be doing him any justice if I didn't stand up and give him all the glory. Because it really is his testimony. It's coming from my lips, but it's really what he's done and decided to do in my life. So before we bring out all of these children, 24 are going to be baptized. I just want to take a minute to give the Lord the glory and to just offer up our hearts, because I'm going to be bold for a second and just say, if the Lord is through something, I'm saying laying it on your heart tonight to clean up your house, your house being your heart, there is deliverance that is literally waiting for you to just surrender that control.

A lot of times, as parents, students, aunts, friends, sisters. One time someone said to me, I was trying to be the best mother, the best teacher, the best friend, the best wife. And while I saw that my husband was addicted to something, I realized I was addicted to something, too. And it was control.

So I just. I absolutely know what that feels like. I want to give the Lord a minute to minister to someone in here like he ministered to me. So if you will just bow your heads before we bring these beautiful children out Lord, we honor you. We honor you because you deserve it all.

Every seed that has been sowed from the heart, every moment that we have walked through, every struggle, every trial, it is for nothing.

God, if we don't take time to focus our attention on you, to give over and to surrender ourselves fully, we might miss it. So, Lord, I just pray right now over every soul in this room for eyes to be opened and for you to break down the walls of each heart. Reveal in us, God, what it is that you wish to do.

And, Lord, I just give you all the glory and the praise for these kids.

For all 24, Lord, that met you, saw you, heard from you. You are changing lives. And may each one, as they come to be baptized, be an example to us of where our hearts should be.

Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for these kids. And we give you all the glory and all the praise. In your name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, guys.