“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19, NRSV)
This summer, our youth will be dwelling in this passage from Ephesians. At Day Camp, Ewalu Bible camp counselors led our youth in worship, Bible study, and prayer centered on this text which expresses God’s boundless love for you and the whole world. Later this month, our confirmation students will be exploring the same passage as they spend an entire week at Ewalu in the confirmation camp program. The staff at Ewalu continue to express to our children how God’s love reaches every length, height, and depth. God is rooting and grounding all people in love through faith. Our youth learn how God’s boundless love reaches them through an intentional and faithful community. One message we tend to forget through the trials of life is that God loves. We get distracted by the message of hate and division. Our young people see a world of grownups that argue, judge, and dehumanize.
I pray that God may fill our young people with love, hope, and joy, as they live among God’s faithful people. As they daily dwell in scripture, prayer, and worship, I pray that our young people witness the gospel. When our youth enter an environment set apart from what they consider normal, I pray they may hear how God is moving through the world around them. I pray that our young people find security and develop safe, trusting relationships with their peers, counselors, and God. I pray that God’s boundless love will fill our young people. I pray and hope they witness God’s love so much that they return home and to school to love their families, peers, and friends. I pray that God’s boundless love experienced in camping ministry transforms our young people. I hope our children leave Ewalu with hearts filled with boundless love and continue to share that boundless love with all of you.
Peace,
Pastor Tyler Hoey, July 2022