To rally, equip and deploy Bay Area Youth to serve in the Kingdom of God as a Biblically-sharpened and spirit-filled positive influences to win souls for Jesus Christ through transformed lives.

Encounter Bay Camp is a Christian Summer Youth Camp with the purpose of preparing young people for the adversity they will face in their formative years to adulthood. The camp provides an environment to equip the youth with foundational teachings toward a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to provide them wit a memorable and life-changing experience.

Encounter Bay Camp is a collaborative partnership of local Bay Area Christian churches that seeks to unite Bay Area youth in fellowship with Jesus Christ. The youth between the ages of 12-21 gather for a time of Biblical teachings, powerful praise and worship, and fellowship between like-minded believers in Christ Jesus.

Encounter Bay Camp is a time for young people to experience passionate praise and worship, form lasting friendships through fellowship with others, and learn how to deal with life challenges from a Biblical perspective, and gain spiritual refreshment, renewal and transformation through the Love of the Lord.

Encounter Bay Camp's purpose is to ground the youth in God's Word while inspiring them to live for Jesus Christ. The camp will feature powerful, relevant and entertaining messages that lead the youth to have a meaningful understanding of God in their lives, their relationships with family and friends, and to live lives rooted in faith in Jesus Christ. The camp will also include small group sessions to provide a more interactive setting to discuss what was learned and minister to each other in an atmosphere of prayer and meditation. In addition, workshops dealing with topics such as sexual purity, prayer, worship, family, and the power and influence of the media, will be presented to address specific needs of youth believers.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

God is setting you up for a BLESSING!

Ruth 2:12
12The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.
 
Have you ever wondered why, in some Bible stories, God asked the people to give what little they had to Him?  It may appear cruel, but the truth is that God was setting them up for a blessing!  God’s way is to use whatever we have, and multiply it back to us once we put it in His hands.

The widow of Zarephath had only a handful of flour and a little oil to make one last meal for her son and herself before they faced starvation.  But she trusted God and used a portion of the little that she had to make a cake for the prophet Elijah.  And God rewarded her by making sure that her bin of flour was not used up and her jar of oil did not run dry until the drought ended (1 Kings 17:8-16)

Similarly, the boy who gave his little lunch of five loaves and two small fish to Jesus not only ate well, but he also saw it being used to feed more than 5,000 people with 12 baskets full of leftovers! (John 6:1-13)

Whenever we give what little we have to God, whether it is money, time or energy, it opens up our hearts so that God can fill us up with more.  And when we give our lives to God, we can trust Him to make things right for us and to be the rewarder of our faith.

When Ruth, a childless Moabite widow, left the comfort of her home to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and the God of Israel back to a foreign land (Ruth 1:16), she was given a full reward by the Lord.  God gave Ruth protection and ensured that she was well-provided for through Boaz, a wealthy relative who took on the role of kinsman-redeemer for her and Naomi. (Ruth 2:9, 4:9-10)

Beloved, as you trust God with what you have today, know that He loves you and is setting you up for more blessings.  So expect to see even more of His provision and abundance in the days to come!  We serve a God who is ever faithful...ever loving...So, trust Him for ALL you need!

God Loves You and I Love You! Pastor Erwin

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