| 2007 Spring Newsletter |
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An Easter Prayer Lord thank you for the gift of HOPE You gave us on Easter morning. Because of You we know that no problem is too difficult and even death does not have power over us Thank you for the gift of JOY You gave us when You were resurrected. Because of You we know that no matter how challenging life may be, in the end we will rejoice again. Thank you for the gift of LOVE You gave us when You laid down Your life. Because of You we know there is no sin too great to separate us and we are incredibly valuable to You. Thank you for the gift of LIFE You gave us when You left the tomb. Because of Easter we know this world is just the beginning and we will spend forever in heaven with You. We celebrate You Jesus with hearts full of praise and gratitude for who You are and all You’ve done for us. Amen By Holley Gerth Courtesy © 2007 DaySpring Cards www.dayspring.com www.blessingsdirect.com Here it is Spring already and summer is just around the corner. It’s time to get excited about what the Lord will do through Monarch this summer. Already He has encouraged by some new camp inquires and support from some new sources.God is good and when we need help in our direction He comes through with that kind of confirmation. I hope you will get excited about the plans the Lord has and will support this ministry in prayer and finances. This is a very important ministry teaching children about growing in a relationship with God. Many of our campers are churched children and camp is an extension of their Christian Education. Some of our campers have started attending churches because of the challenge from camp that they need to grow in their faith through church attendance. We also have many campers who do not attend church yet and camp is the source of their Christian teaching. For many of these campers this will be their initial Christian input. We may not see the results of that influence now, but trust that God will use it as one of the tools He puts in place to help that person come to Him. We know that the number of salvations is only one measure of success. Teaching these children the importance of having God in their lives and presenting the Bible through solid teaching is a huge measure of success because we know the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their hearts long after camp is finished. This email from my niece, Allison illustrates that: "Your camp is such an amazing ministry. I know God will bless you and give you what you need to keep it going. I saw your special prayers in the newsletter for funds and we will send along a donation as well. For many kids your camp will be their only exposure to God and later on in life they may remember that experience and open their hearts to God if they don't already through the camp experience. Craig is an example of this. He was given no exposure as a child to God except for at Bible camp where he remembers reading the Bible and learning about God. I'm sure that left an impact on him. Years later when we started to go to church it was a slow process of exposure to Christ that opened his heart fully. He had a conversion when we were at Lac Ste. Anne and outside on the walkway there are the stations of the cross and he realized for the first time that Jesus went through that for him, and for all of us. God bless and I'll be praying for you and the camp as you approach your busy season." Allison is our web designer and maintains the site at no charge as a service to the Lord. PRAISE HIM! I’ll give you a few stats so you can get a picture of the scope of this ministry. I know these numbers may seem small to someone experienced with large camps, but for a mobile ministry in smaller communities, I think these numbers are impressive. So, from 1999 to 2006 inclusive we have ministered to 1,543 campers in 51 camps. That’s packing up all that equipment, setting up and taking down tents, archery ranges, trampoline, unloading bikes and canoes, etc, etc. over 50 times!! In that time we had 295 children make a first time commitment to the Lord. Remember many of the campers are churched kids and know the Lord as Savior before coming to camp. And we’ve had 112 children recommit to the Lord. Praise God for the ministry of CAMP!! A very effective tool He uses to touch the lives of children. This year we are getting ready and getting excited about doing it all over again. We are praying for record numbers of campers, of financial supporters and for Prayer Warriors to keep bringing the ministry before God for protection and direction. You can bet Satan isn’t pleased with those numbers so we need your prayers to guide and protect us. We need your financial support to enable us to keep this ministry operating. The camp fees do not cover all the expenses. Fund raising and supporters are needed to keep Monarch "on the road". Fund raising is time consuming and my time can be better spent preparing for camp. If enough people commit to supporting the ministry we won’t have to look outside of Christian circles for money. We have an automatic withdrawal program, so please ask for a form if you are interested. Donations go to head office and are tax deductible: CSSM ON Funds are needed for camp, for my missionary support, for Campership and for STAFF. What’s the most important part of camp? STAFF!! They are key to the camp’s success. All the greatest programs in the world mean nothing if you don’t have quality staff to be there for the campers. We know that the greatest growth is in serving. We have to give young people the opportunity to grow through service. Too often we focus on Mission Trips as the way to challenge our teens to serve and to grow. I know these trips have had hugely positive effects, but we need to show our teens that local ministries are JUST as important. I kind of think more so, because it is more challenging living out your faith in the community you live in. We need to see our own communities as the mission fields. We have several returning Summer Missionaries:
Please pray for these young ladies and for the recruitment of more. Some males would be nice! Here’s our Summer Line-up:
Looks like fun doesn’t it? Maybe you know some young people you could talk to about mission work with Monarch for the summer. COMING EVENTS (click here to view this section of the site) Monarch’s Annual Banquet This year we are combining our banquet with a concert to bring you some variety. Triumphant Sound will perform. They are a Male Trio who sing Gospel greats. BANQUET AND CONCERT Saturday, May 5th Pioneer Baptist Church - Norland 5:30 punch-dinner + concert to follow Adults $20 Students $12 Reservations PLEASE Concert only $10 at the door 7:30 Again this year we will take up a special offering for our Summer Missionaries. Thank you for participating in this. They need our financial and prayer support. For 7 years the Forget Me Nots have performed concerts to help Monarch fund raise. Unfortunately they are unavailable this year. We are planning a Giant Yard Sale in the Minden area. The location isn’t confirmed, but we hope to be along hwy 35. It’s on May19th so plan to come out and find some treasures. We are planning a plant sale and face painting so bring the kids. 1 Samuel 12:24 "But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you." I thank you and praise God for your interest in Monarch Bible Camp. May God bless you. Barrie and Teresa Ward |
Take advantage of the opportunity to read our newsletter and our news blog and find out all the exciting news from Monarch Bible Camp headquarters.
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