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What a great weekend I had with Shawn and Cheryl Ammons and their incredible team of leaders who will be serving camp this summer. My wife Sandi and I did the math and if the 30 leaders each have 40 years of ministry ahead of them that equals 1,200 ministry years represented in that group! The campers they will reach this summer and the people they will reach for the rest of their lives represents a staggering influence for the Kingdom of God these staff members will have. What an amazing privilege to speak with them! Our text for the training came from Mark 4 and one of the key ideas is found in verses 30-32. “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
One pastor wrote that if you dropped a slab of concrete pavement on top of a mustard seed it might not have a chance—but—if you plant a mustard seed in good soil directly underneath concrete it will break through and grow tall. The Kingdom is like that seed. Its progress is inevitable, unstoppable and irresistible. Many of you will be leading camp or another ministry this summer and many of you are in the midst of training your staff. Remember the ministry years the staff have in front of them. They are of the highest value, and we should give ourselves to their training, instruction, encouragement and nurture to the utmost of our ability. Your labor in the Lord is never in vain.
“Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58