'What I Saw Blew Me Away'

By Bruce Marchiano

ORR, Minnesota—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 rare—young people hungry for God! The place was packed, and the kids were un-self-consciously worshiping 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 young person 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 young people 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 young people—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 us can do is to seek God with all of our hearts, because if we do, we will find him. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unreachable things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).

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!

Bruce Marchiano portrayed Jesus in the Matthew videos. E-mail your comments to Bruce at marchmin@ juno.com

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002