Your Brothers and Sisters All Over the World
Today, we have 12 of our brothers and sisters from South Africa visiting with us. They are here to thank the church for its support and to deepen the bonds of unity and partnership between Columbia, SC and South Africa. Over the past few days, we have had the privilege of getting to know our brothers and sisters by hosting them in our homes, spending fun time with them, hearing them speak at midweek, and having deep talks about living our lives for God. Through these times it is easy to see that even though we have grown up on opposite sides of the globe…we undergo the same kind of sufferings.
“Resist him [the devil], standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” -1 Peter 5:9
Many of us are familiar with this passage and many of us believe it to be true. However, it was something completely different to see this passage come to life as we have gotten the opportunity to fellowship and share our struggles with brothers and sisters from South Africa.
1 Peter 5 encourages us to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith. Sounds simple enough, but what am I supposed to have faith in? After spending time with our brothers and sisters from South Africa, I can confidently say that we can resist the devil when we have faith in our brothers around the world and faith in the power of God.
As we meet members from our churches in South Africa, many of us can be nervous about how we will overcome the cultural and societal differences between us and them. Yet the more you get to know them, the more you will realize that when we have the same God…there are NO differences between us. The families, adults, and the teens all face the exact same struggles we face. They are tempted by the world around them; struggling to live a godly life and raise a godly family in an ungodly world; tempted by the sins of pride, greed, and impurity; fighting to be bold in sharing their faith with their co-workers, neighbors, fellow students, and families; and struggling to apply the scriptures to their everyday lives. You see there is NO difference between us and them. There is NO reason to think we are all alone in our fight against the devil.
This common ground allows each of us to build deep relationships and life-long friendships in a very short period of time. I am confident that these friendships will continue to grow over the years and will help all of us to stay faithful to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
After service, the team of 12 will be traveling to Camp Swamp near Athens, GA to learn and receive more training by serving as counselors at the Swamp alongside of seasoned counselors. The team plans to use this training to increase the capacity and effectiveness of their Youth Camp that will be held in South Africa in January 2014. In 2014, Swamp Corps: South Africa will be going for its third and final year. This year the Youth Camp will expand its camp to reach more kids by running two weeks of camp. Five members and teens of members from of the Columbia Church of Christ have already signed up to serve.
In the first two years of Swamp Corp: South Africa, 18 members and teens of members of the Columbia Church of Christ have volunteered to raise money, travel to South Africa and serve. Swamp Corps is a non-profit that takes the culture of Camp Swamp to foreign cities to train the local congregation how to run a Godly camp that helps kids develop a relationship with Jesus.
Let us remember that our brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings as us. Let us keep them in our prayers as they keep us in theirs. Together we can resist the devil and his schemes.
**To learn more about Swamp Corps visit: http://www.campswamp.com/swampcorps/
Today, we have 12 of our brothers and sisters from South Africa visiting with us. They are here to thank the church for its support and to deepen the bonds of unity and partnership between Columbia, SC and South Africa. Over the past few days, we have had the privilege of getting to know our brothers and sisters by hosting them in our homes, spending fun time with them, hearing them speak at midweek, and having deep talks about living our lives for God. Through these times it is easy to see that even though we have grown up on opposite sides of the globe…we undergo the same kind of sufferings.
“Resist him [the devil], standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” -1 Peter 5:9
Many of us are familiar with this passage and many of us believe it to be true. However, it was something completely different to see this passage come to life as we have gotten the opportunity to fellowship and share our struggles with brothers and sisters from South Africa.
1 Peter 5 encourages us to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith. Sounds simple enough, but what am I supposed to have faith in? After spending time with our brothers and sisters from South Africa, I can confidently say that we can resist the devil when we have faith in our brothers around the world and faith in the power of God.
As we meet members from our churches in South Africa, many of us can be nervous about how we will overcome the cultural and societal differences between us and them. Yet the more you get to know them, the more you will realize that when we have the same God…there are NO differences between us. The families, adults, and the teens all face the exact same struggles we face. They are tempted by the world around them; struggling to live a godly life and raise a godly family in an ungodly world; tempted by the sins of pride, greed, and impurity; fighting to be bold in sharing their faith with their co-workers, neighbors, fellow students, and families; and struggling to apply the scriptures to their everyday lives. You see there is NO difference between us and them. There is NO reason to think we are all alone in our fight against the devil.
This common ground allows each of us to build deep relationships and life-long friendships in a very short period of time. I am confident that these friendships will continue to grow over the years and will help all of us to stay faithful to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
After service, the team of 12 will be traveling to Camp Swamp near Athens, GA to learn and receive more training by serving as counselors at the Swamp alongside of seasoned counselors. The team plans to use this training to increase the capacity and effectiveness of their Youth Camp that will be held in South Africa in January 2014. In 2014, Swamp Corps: South Africa will be going for its third and final year. This year the Youth Camp will expand its camp to reach more kids by running two weeks of camp. Five members and teens of members from of the Columbia Church of Christ have already signed up to serve. In the first two years of Swamp Corp: South Africa, 18 members and teens of members of the Columbia Church of Christ have volunteered to raise money, travel to South Africa and serve. Swamp Corps is a non-profit that takes the culture of Camp Swamp to foreign cities to train the local congregation how to run a Godly camp that helps kids develop a relationship with Jesus.
Let us remember that our brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings as us. Let us keep them in our prayers as they keep us in theirs. Together we can resist the devil and his schemes.
**To learn more about Swamp Corps visit: http://www.campswamp.com/swampcorps/