Dear Partner,
Spring is only 36 days away. Spring training starts tomorrow. Forget for a moment that there’s the potential of 6” of snow if you live in Michigan; warmer days are right around the corner.
While it may seem like forever away, the summer season is quickly approaching, and we’re excited for what God has in store this year. We already have teen week one with 60 plus kids signed up, Teen Week 3 with 20 plus kids signed up and over 15 for Jr. Camp and Teen Week 2. These are the best numbers we’ve ever had going into February. We also have 18+ young people already signed up to work with us. Let me share with you some statistics that will encourage you to pray daily for Hiawatha and the coming season:
43% of individuals who accept Jesus do so before the age of 13.
64% make this decision before turning 18.
83% of Christians commit to their faith between the ages of 4 and 14, highlighting the importance of childhood and early youth in faith formation.
We have a chance this summer to make an eternity of difference in the lives of a couple hundred young people. It scares me to think that we may have moments when we take what God has done in the past for granted and believe that He’ll automatically do it again.
When we moved from one location to another, there was a tension at the outset, wondering if what God had done on one side of the Mackinac Bridge would be done on the lower side of that bridge. The past two years, we’ve continued to see young people’s lives changed and kids saved. In fact, at my church, a couple of Sundays back, a young person was baptized who had been saved at Hiawatha.
The statistics I shared were eye-opening to me and provided a greater sense of urgency for this coming June & July and the ministry that Hiawatha has. It’s not “now or never” for some of these young people, but statistics show we have a far better chance of reaching them as teenagers with the hope found in Jesus than as they get older.
Please pray with me for the next couple of months regarding HYC ministry.
Wisdom with all decisions pertaining to ministry: what we are doing and where we are doing it
6 more staff members
More kids saved this summer than we’ve ever seen previously. Big ask for a big God.
Grateful for you and the continued role you play in making HYC happen.
Sincerely,
Craig