Project 83 includes three distinct mission tracks and four group and individual missionary roles.   The mission tracks are Servant Evangelism, Day Camp, and Construction.  The missionary roles are Mission Team Volunteers, Local Churches, Individual Local Volunteers, and Camp Staff.  The Camp staff is further broken down into Permanent Staff, Volunteer Staff, and Student Summer Missionaries.

Staffing for the ministries is as follows:

Weekend Evangelism Team – 12-16 members
Construction Team – 12-16 members
Day Camp Team – 12-16 members
Local Church Team – Numbers vary, min 1 per ministry location
Weekday Evangelism Team – 12-16 members

The focus of our weekly efforts is to reach our community for Christ.  The three mission tracks overlap each other at several points throughout the week, and at times work independently.  It is of ultimate importance that each individual involved in our ministry has first and foremost in their hearts and minds that all we do we do for Christ.  Each project week begins and ends on successive Fridays.  Keeping in mind that plans are merely the springboard for change, let’s look at an ideal week day-by-day. We will try to keep each day to a page.

First Friday – Members from local churches for the following two weeks arrive at camp and meet the local church members currently on board.  The on board team briefs the new teams concerning lessons learned and practices that seemed to work well during their week.   They work out the canvassing plan for the afternoon and evening to include last minute reminders in the next week church’s neighborhood as well working in the neighborhood for the two week out church.  Let’s make that clear.  The Friday before the construction projects and block party is typically not enough notice for the neighborhood to solicit good participation.  Because of this, our main focus on this Friday evening canvassing needs to be NOT in the neighborhood where Monday’s activities begin, but in the neighborhood where the following Monday’s activities begin.  This should give families more than a weekend’s notice that we will be in their neighborhood and can plan to participate.  We will also remind next week’s neighborhood if we have time or see a need to recover some ground.

If there is a Weekend Evangelism team on board that weekend, they will also help early in the afternoon with the canvassing.  In the evening they will be setting up at the Dragon with one or two members from the new church team.

There is also an opportunity for the new church to hang out a little at camp in the evening and get to know the summer staff, plan for the upcoming week, and speak with the weekend evangelism team about activities for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday – If we have a weekend evangelism team on board, the local church will provide one or two members to escort the mission team to the Dragon and possibly Laurel Falls.  If there is no weekend mission team, the local church may still want to participate in this important ministry of sharing through servant evangelism with locals and tourists at these locations.  Two camp staff members will accompany them.  A small number of people can easily reach folks at these locations.

The team will leave Camp Tipton shortly after 10:00 am.  This gives them plenty of time to prepare the kits and lunches for themselves.  Most teams elect to stay at either location until about four o’clock.  This puts them comfortably back at camp by five and ready for supper.

The kits consist of things like face wipes, chap-stick, small Bibles or tracts, and coolers filled with water and lemonade with some cups.  In addition to offering these, we also take a step ladder so we can get a nice high vantage point for pictures we take of visitors.  At the Dragon the location looks like this:

Here’s Laurel Falls:

At these locations we greet folks, take their pictures, and engage in conversation.  “Where are you from?” is enough to get things rolling.  From there we just talk to folks and get to know them, offer our services, and share our faith if the Lord opens a door.  Many folks ask why we are here, and express an interest in knowing all about it once we explain.  Many respond to, “Is there something you would like us to pray about for you?”  We learn that sharing faith is really just loving people and letting the Lord do the rest.  We don’t “go witness” we go as witnesses.  Saturday night we enjoy fellowship and rest at camp.

Sunday - This is the day the weekday mission teams show up.  There may be a weekend team on board and some of those teams that come for the week show up pretty early.  Anyone on board Sunday morning will attend services with the local church partner after breakfast.  IF the local church has the ability and desire to host the mission team for lunch they may, but the plan is for the mission team to return to camp for a picnic lunch and then head back out to the Dragon to catch Sunday riders.  This is a short mission day, but crucial in terms of evangelism because, those at the Dragon on Sunday are generally those who aren’t in church on Sunday.  Some of those are tourists, but some are locals.  More locals are mixed in with tourists on the weekend than through the week as they only have the weekends to ride.  The basic time frame at the Dragon on Sunday is 1:00 until 4:00 pm.

Supper will be served around 5:00 pm and the local church partner(s) will be at Camp Tipton to meet the mission teams that are coming in and provide a worship service or a devotional for the teams.  We will then spend some meet and greet time and introduce the camp staff.

Once we have had some time getting to know each other we will turn our focus to getting familiar with the Camp Tipton routine for things like food, cleanup, accountability, looking after each other, problem resolution, spiritual conditioning, and related.  We will also answer any questions folks have about the week and begin making a Monday morning plan.

Members assigned to each mission track will assemble and look over the next day’s needs and tie up any loose ends.  Specific assignments can be made or solidified and last minute “gotcha’s” can be addressed.  If there is time and energy, the teams can begin assembling supplies and materials for the next day.  The local churches should have the canvassing materials ready for the construction work-site neighborhoods and will be prepared to talk strategy with both the construction and evangelism teams.   The day camp folks will discuss their plan for the morning and be ready to receive children as early as 7:30 am.  We should know who is driving and riding busses, who is staying at camp to greet drop-offs, and who will be in which role throughout the day.

Remember, the reason we are performing any of this work is to reveal our Savior to a lost world and bring believers closer to Him.  None of it is about us, our teams, or our churches; it is all about our Lord.  Egos get checked at the door.

At the end of the evening we will circle up and offer praise and supplication to the Lord and place our hearts and hands in His care for the week.  Our eyes need to be His eyes, our hearts need to be His heart, and our ears need to be His ears.  Anybody not feeling right with the Lord at this point needs to cowboy up and lay it on the altar.

Lights out no later than eleven; Monday comes early.  Breakfast is served at seven and missed after fifteen minutes.  This isn’t the night for howling at the moon until all hours.

Monday – Let the fun begin!  If you need a shower in the morning, you’ll need to get it in time for a seven o’clock breakfast.  We serve a hot meal that will get you through until lunch.  The weekend evangelism heads for home after we have a five minute devotional at seven-thirty and make any last minute plans and preparations for the teams remaining.

For the day camp crew the team will have a few members ready to receive drop-offs and others will be on the bus meeting and greeting our precious cargo as they are picked up.  Someone will have to be at the pickup locations waiting with kids for the bus, and they will head back to camp or on to another pickup location once the bus pulls out of their spot.  The bus should arrive at the camp between 8:10 and 8:20.  At 8:30 the “official” activities begin according to the program schedule for that week.  There’s a break for lunch and then back to the program.  At four o’clock the bus loads up and kids head for home.  Someone stays at the drop-off location until the last parent picks up their child, then they head back to camp.  A few staff members watch kids at camp waiting to be picked up while the rest cleanup and prepare materials and supplies for the next day.

The construction crew and evangelism team load up any tools and supplies that aren’t ready and head to the job-sites.  One or two of the evangelism crew members focus on the homeowner and next door neighbors, while the remaining members help the construction crew get set up.  Once the construction crew is readied to work, the evangelism team prayer walks the neighborhood, looks for opportunity spots such as parks, corner markets, stores, and similar where they can bump into people casually and talk about the project in the neighborhood.  They will also finish up any homes that were missed in prior canvassing and follow up on folks who indicated needs in the prior canvassing.  This visiting and canvassing should be done in time to be back at the job-site to have lunch with the construction crew, homeowners, and neighbors who may be around.  After lunch, the construction crew goes back to work with a goal of being buttoned up for the day by 4:30.  The evangelism crew returns to camp to plan the rest of the week and maybe visit some of the locations.

Supper begins between 5:00 and 5:15 pm.  During/after supper there is a debrief for all concerning the day and review of tomorrow’s plan.  The goal is to have most “work-related” stuff done by six or so to allow time to teach Adventures in Learning games and get closer as a team.  There will be a devotional for the evening, and all members will be encouraged to write down a few key thoughts from the day in a journal.  Our goal is for that to be complete by 8:30.  From then until bedtime (not later than ten-thirty or eleven) your time is your own.

If there is certified staff on hand, the taller rock wall can be used.  The slip-n-slide can be set up; there are trails and ball sports, and all sorts of games that can be played.  Just don’t forget that Tuesday’s seven am breakfast comes early!

Tuesday – Everybody had a long day yesterday and here we go again!  Today the evangelism and construction teams go their own way.  There is someone from the local church at each job-site in an evangelism role – maybe praying for the work, maybe performing work, maybe just chatting with the family and neighbors.  This person is always watching for opportunities to help in a spiritual sense.  It’s possible that someone we bring to the job-site doesn’t know Christ, right?  This person is the crew’s heart for people in action.  They blend right in with the rest of the crew, but their main focus is people, not tasks.  This person has been praying for a long time about this work and has asked the Lord to put every right word on their lips.  The rest of the team is also praying for this person as they work.  This one home may be the key that unlocks the neighborhood’s door to the church.

The day camp crew is performing as usual – waiting for the bus to arrive, thinking about the day’s schedule, making sure everything is ready for the kids the Lord has placed in our care.  After yesterday, every member of the crew should have an equal division of the kids adopted as their very own spiritual garden.  If there are thirty kids and ten crew members, each should be spiritually connecting with three kids.  This is the handful that God entrusted to YOU.  This is where your heart is all day long, these three kids.  These few need to see the difference Christ has made in your life.  They need to understand that you are different only because of Christ.  The focus is on Him.  If we spend our energy on the relationship, and keep our hearts on Christ, the Lord is going to open up opportunities to share.  Don’t worry about forcing it, just wait and listen.

The evangelism team is split into two teams and is at Western Heights and Montgomery Village Baptist Centers.  There will be differing activities at each, but whatever it is we are doing, it is in His service, and performed with a heart of looking for opportunity.  Western Heights has a food pantry that puts groceries in the hands of two to three-hundred people each Tuesday.  Our part is to help pick out groceries and carry bags.  There is great one on one contact and lots of need.  This is not an “I have to tell you my testimony” experience.  This is a chance to ask people how they are, how is their family, where are they from, and really try to connect with an individual.  You have about five minutes as you walk the line together.  Once you have had an opportunity to get to know each other, maybe a simple prayer request will be what takes a burden off of them.  I have yet to find one person who didn’t have at least one thing they wanted prayer for.  I write them down and pray.  There will be kids there, tagging along with their parents.  Some of us usually go outside and play games with them while they wait.  One day I listened to a fellow unload his burdens for twenty minutes – a person who probably didn’t have that opportunity much.  My part was to listen and connect.  It’s hard to keep in mind that homeless often means more than having no home, it often means having no family and no real friends.  I cannot describe what it feels like to see Christ loving others through my heart.

After the day’s end, supper, devotionals, and prep for tomorrow we play paintball!    Everybody hits the hay by ten-thirty or eleven and waits for another exciting adventure on Wednesday!

Wednesday – For everyone except the evangelism team, this day is like yesterday.  The construction teams are finishing up their jobs, the day camp is working with kids, and everyone is at a point where they are realizing the fruits of their labor.  By now we have had time to build real relationships with those around us and are meeting needs in a real way.

The evangelism team is headed to the schools for Adventures in Learning.  The way this works out will depend on where the school is, how many kids there are, and how many team members there are.  We’ll know all of that at the beginning of the week and can have all of the details worked out.

The local church should have a couple of people in this crew and we are going to try to be in their neighborhood school.  We will play the learning games we first learned on Monday night and help the children think about their lives and relationships.  In the afternoon the evangelism crews will be back in the job-site neighborhoods reminding people about Thursday’s block party and making sure they feel very welcome to come.

Near the end of the day the construction crew should be finishing up their projects and ready for help getting all of their tools and supplies put up.  This last day on the site can turn into a late day for the construction team if they don’t have a little help.  The evangelism team will pitch in and help get things loaded and then back at camp, both teams will help put everything up.

Tomorrow, everyone except the day camp crew will be focused on preparing and putting on the block party.

Since this is Wednesday, the evening will include a service either at the local church or by the local church at Camp Tipton.  This service should be a spiritual preparation for Thursday.  Thursday is the most important day from a spiritual perspective.  The day camp will be having an invitation for the kids who have been learning the four spiritual laws all week, the block party setup will be a large task requiring sacrifice and patience, and the block party itself will be an opportunity for neighbors to find Christ and a church home all in one event.  This is something we each need to be praying for from the moment this is read until that Thursday when the opportunity for the Lord to work is presented.  All of our week’s efforts have led to this chance to introduce the neighborhood to one more person – Christ!

After the service we will have plenty of time for personal reflection and prayer.  Relax, play a little, and take enough time with the Lord to make sure your heart is right.  If you’ve had difficulties with someone this week, settle it now, won’t you?  What was all of this about if we ourselves don’t end up right with the Lord?  Wednesday may be your most important day of the week.  We are only performing tasks of little consequence if the Lord isn’t in it.  It is through our prayers to and relationship with Him that all things are possible.  Let’s walk with Him daily here as we one day will in the everlasting.  We’ll never have a second chance to do this end of that right.

Thursday – Today we have the usual early breakfast and devotions, and the day camp staff goes to work.  There will be a pastor or member from a local church here at lunch time to deliver the final message to the kids concerning the four spiritual laws, and an invitation will be given.  Each day camp team member will be keen to notice if one in their personal garden answers the call.  We have had folks working with kids in this manner lead their first soul to Christ – changing both lives forever!  The day camp crew members will speak with their kids and make sure those that made decisions really understand what happened.  The rest of the day at camp will be casual and easy, playing games and engaging in activities as things sink in.  We don’t want anyone to feel troubled or pressured, it is between them and God if now is the time.  If it isn’t, we know with confidence that we have presented the truth and that God works it out from there.

While the day camp crew is working with their kids, the construction and evangelism teams are relaxing and praying for the kids and the block party.  These folks will have a long day; we want the morning to be an easy one.  Somewhere just before or after lunch these two teams will begin setting up for the party.  First the equipment will need to be readied and transported to the site.  Once there the local church will direct the setup in locations they have previously defined for the party.  It will likely be at the church, but may be in a nearby park or school yard.  You can imagine the tasks involved in getting the blow-ups ready, preparing to cook food, setting up a sound system, and putting on a festive atmosphere.  This is no small venture.  Everyone who is not running the day camp (including the local church) will be a part of this process.  It all needs to be ready for guests by four or five o’clock.

The whole neighborhood and all of the families of kids at camp will be invited to the party.  If we do the same thing with these families as we do with the kids in the day camp, our hearts will be looking for the one or two families we can connect with and minister to as our own.  The focus is on them and their needs, not on our desire to share our testimony.  There will be a message delivered, and an invitation.  The local church needs to be really plugging in here to lead people to Christ and add to their membership in the natural way – by winning souls.  What is being established during this week is a relationship where the church proves its heart for the people in its neighborhood.  The way the local church invests their hearts in this week and the party at the end of it earns their place in the community.

I am a lot like Jonah, and I hate being put in the position to say this, but right here is the truth – the local church either totally submits to the will of God, or it faces the fact that it is not willing to be His Church.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  Are we looking busy, or are we going for broke and giving our all to God?  What an opportunity for revival, what a chance to get right with God, and what a change to see His Church grow.

Tomorrow is Friday!

Friday – That was a long week!  If there are any final tasks to be done, we’re doing them today.  The block party equipment gets tucked safely away, the last shingle gets put on a roof if the job went long, the final visits to folks God is leading us to visit get made.

On this day we get ready to welcome a new local church for next week and we teach them what we have learned.  We know now what to pray for them, and we do what we can to prepare them for a successful week.

The day camp team is working the last day with the kids this week and following up on decisions and questions.  The theme for the day is “Now What?” The local church makes sure as many of these kids as possible find a church home, and helps the families understand what their kids now know.  We tell them about reading their Bibles, being faithful in church, and how to grow as disciples.  We also teach those who did not make decisions how to do it alone if they feel the call later on.

If the construction crew has any wind left in their sails we are going to ask them to help out a little at camp with some minor infrastructure projects – maybe replacing a broken door, or building a shelf, or just helping do a little maintenance.  Every dollar saved is put right back into telling others about Christ.  A few more Bibles get purchased for the Dragon, another pack of paper gets bought for the day camp, because anything we save in labor goes back into the camp.

The evangelism team is out with their church partner and the new church along with the incoming weekend evangelism team making sure neighborhoods know about the next couple of weeks.

The day will end as early as possible so folks have time to decompress before the long ride home on Saturday morning.  We usually play hard at camp on Friday night – slip and slide, rock wall, maybe a fire and s’mores.  Some groups decide to do a cookout and sit around talking.

So, that’s a week at camp.  I want to remind you that plans are merely the springboard for change, and we’ve only looked at an ideal week day by day.

Please begin praying for your week now.  Please ask the Father to show you every little thorn that is getting between you and Him and pull them out one by one.  There are a lot of people praying daily for revival in our country.  Do you know what revival looks like?  It looks like people being obedient to God.  Search your heart, do you personally want revival?  If you do, it is as close as saying YES LORD.