By Sarah Jennings
Ministry work is often like gardening. You till the soil, plant seeds, faithfully water, but mostly you watch and hope for fruit. Then, all at once, when the weather is finally right, the garden seems to explode with new life.
For BCYM, this summer felt like a long-awaited harvest season. Dozens of volunteers and Ghina Saad, BCYM Senior Officer, worked behind the scenes all spring to build relationships in different regions of Lebanon, so that the summer camp season could take off in new communities.
Ever since the pandemic, BCYM has experienced a transformation to match the current climate in Lebanon. This started small with the Camp-In-A-Box projects, which enabled us to reach new groups, namely Catholic and Maronite churches.
At the same time, we observed a need for encouragement in local churches, as Lebanon’s severe economic and social challenges drive many youth and church leaders to emigrate. Especially for small churches in Lebanon, there are rarely dedicated children or youth pastors to organize camps and training. However, there are many willing, passionate volunteers in these churches, but what they need is a catalyst!
This gap is where BCYM has focused its efforts this year, with the goal of equipping young church leaders and young believers to serve in their communities. So far, three clusters of ministries have formed in different regions: Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, and the Bekaa valley.
In the Bekaa valley, for example, we started with a Dir Belak camp in Kherbeh. Similar to the June camp in Mansourieh, the theme was inspired by the song “O Be Careful Little Eyes” and focused on helping kids understand how to both guard their senses and celebrate them as gifts from God. Each day’s curriculum was concentrated on a different sense, such as eyes, ears and mouth, and finally, arms and legs.
A month later, one of the church leaders sent us an audio message about the impact of these lessons on some children in their community.