Camp Week 2022: Seeking a Broken Heart

Posted on: 
June 17, 2022

"What are the qualifications for working in Latin America? There’s really only one. . . . Same qualification you would need to go any place else in the world to serve: that is a broken heart. . . . 'While you’re waiting for God to open the door, praise him in the hallway.' And when we learn to do that. . .when nothing can upset us; when we can accept any kind of thing that happens and be at peace about it. . . . Until that happens, I would suggest we stay on our knees until we get there."
—Dale Heisey

A broken heart. Incarnational ministry. Spiritual warfare. Submission. Autochthonous missions. . . .The official theme of All Nations Camp Week 2022 was on what God is doing in the world, but the topics that surfaced in the formal sessions, campfire stories, and private conversations carried a fringe theme of humility that strikes me as significant.

Have I learned to praise God in the hallway? Am I chafing against life’s trials, or allowing God to mold me into Christ’s image through affliction? How resilient am I in the face of difficulty?

Roland Muller spoke to us about "incarnational ministry." That is, making the lifestyle changes necessary to effectively engage with the people we’re ministering to. What sacrifices are too great when compared to Jesus' ministry on earth?

How do we recognize and engage in spiritual warfare? This was a topic that came up in several conversations as well as one that Ethan W. briefly touched on. Ultimately, the battle is God’s, and so we trust in His stratagem and might.

In Earl Peachey’s talk, he challenged us to incorporate submission on our teams. Is being "clothed with humility" a mark of our team relationships?

"Autochthonous missions"—that is, missions that sprout churches native to their own soil—was emphasized by Dale Heisey in one of the final sessions of Camp Week. Are we imposing our own culture and resources on the people we are serving, or are we allowing them to flourish within their own culture and context?

As expected, it was rewarding to attend Camp Week again this year. It’s always uplifting to be around people with enthusiasm for God’s mission, while in the phase of waiting and preparing, ourselves. And while we’re waiting, may we allow God to break our hearts.

—TM

Category: 
  • “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
  • “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witness of these things.” Luke 24:47, 48
  • “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19
  • “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3
  • “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the Gospel.” Ephesians 3:6
  • “That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21
  • “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’?” Mark 11:17
  • “Ask of me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance.” Psalm 2:8
  • “Behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes.” Revelation 7:9
  • “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1
  • “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
  • “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
  • “As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country.” Proverbs 25:25
  • “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:10
  • “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.” Psalm 22:27
  • “Truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.” Numbers 14:21
  • “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” Psalm 96:3, 4
  • “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
  • “That all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.” 1 Kings 8:60
  • “For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations.” Malachi 1:11
  • “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.” Psalm 86:9
  • “For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:11
  • "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10
  • "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3, 4
  • "You are worthy. . .; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God." Revelation 5:9, 10