Youth Ministry

SEP Arkansas

Mike Rasmussen

By Mike Rasmussen and James Griffin

SEARCY, Arkansas—Campers will arrive in Searcy for the Summer Educational Program (SEP) Arkansas June 30.

Camp director Mike Rasmussen of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and his assistant, James Griffin of Sherwood, Arkansas, are praying and planning for the camp.

"Pastor Mike and I pray over the phone for the camp, the staff and the campers," Mr. Griffin said. "We pray for individuals involved by name whenever possible."

SEP Arkansas will be at the Camp Wyldewood Retreat Center about 50 miles north of the greater Little Rock area. Campers will enjoy a wide variety of activities including swimming, a challenge course, horseback riding, rappelling off a 120-foot cliff, basketball, paintball and a river float trip.

A highlight of SEP Arkansas will be training to take evangelism back to the local communities. Plugging people in to local congregations for discipleship is a primary goal of SEP Arkansas. The camp will couple this training with fun activities, relationally bonding experiences, and purity ministry. SEP Arkansas will seek to continue the transformational process for those who have already met Jesus Christ and to show others the reality of God’s presence and their need for him.

For more information, please visit the SEP website at www.sep camp.com, or call Pastor Mike Rasmussen at 1-405-373-3137 or James Griffin at 1-501-346-4492.

Mike Rasmussen pastors the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, churches with his wife, Juli. They have two sons, Grant and Kurt.

I first arrived at SEP late at night, so I had no impression until I walked into the service next morning, and what I saw blew me away.

You must understand, I have seen many such retreat environments, but what I saw that morning was something very rare — young people hungry for God! The place was packed and the kids were un-self-consciously worshipping God like few assemblies I’ve encountered. I remember a couple of kids in the back of the room on their knees, their faces buried to the floor. I remember another seated on a long bench, his face bowed and his hands raised. Usually it is a chore to get kids past the need to appear ‘cool’ but these kids were well past it — they were just plain hungry for God, and boy, what He can do with that!

In so many retreats it is just an excuse for kids to have fun and if they have to go to some services, well, that’s the price you pay. But not at SEP. It was clearly about God and drawing kids closer to Him and equipping them not only to manage their lives in kingdom principles, but for Christian leadership as well. Exciting! And the testimony to how I feel about SEP is that I get many invitations from a variety of similar camps, but SEP is the only one I have returned to more than once. I want to be a part of what God is obviously doing there!

I remember standing with one of the camp leaders outside the meeting hall and this kid just walked right up to us and addressed him — "Mr…., I’ve been thinking about some of the stuff you’ve been teaching all week and I want to give my life to Jesus and be baptized. I’m going for it all the way." I tell you, a miracle right in front of my eyes. And that is just one story — I’ve seen many of these kids cross that line at SEP.

This may sound funny, but the up-front, clear and strong emphasis on Christ makes SEP different — it’s Jesus and seriously Jesus. Every activity is carefully constructed toward that focus. Another thing is the challenge that SEP presents kids with. A lot of activities are not for the faint of heart — the kids are challenged more than entertained, equipping them for what they’ll face in the real world, and that’s an SEP exclusive in my experience.

It’s so great hanging out with the SEP kids. They come and ask questions; they ask me about things they have a hard time agreeing on, they always treated me with the greatest respect. I’ve had nothing but excellent, mature experiences with them.

The leadership is great too. These men and women are so dedicated to these kids — passion for the kingdom fullness these kids can experience in their lives. And I can see that God is raising-up leaders among these kids, and what a privilege for me to be a part of that.

God is calling young people now. Not tomorrow or when they’ve finished school or when they’re 35, but now. He’s calling a generation of young people to usher the next dispensation of His grace in these uncertain times. The most valuable thing any of you can do is Jeremiah 29:11: "When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found." Jeremiah 33:3 — "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and unreachable things you do not know." It is not time to hang around and be entertained. It is a time to trim our lives of all the nonsense and anything that is unworthy of a child of God. Seek Him with our everything, and stand back and watch the "wow" that He will undoubtedly do in and for and through our lives. Glory to His name!

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002