Cardboard Testimonies
It is not a new idea; it has been used before at other camps, on videos and in dramas. Still it had a powerful effect on the students present Friday night at Word of Life Florida Youth Camp and more to the point…on me. I was moved by the honesty and the courage of each teen.
One by one the campers walked up the steps and to the center of the platform where they revealed their cardboard testimony. They had been instructed to stop at the “X” that was marked on the floor so the camera in the back could focus on their homemade cardboard sign.
Some walked briskly maybe because they were nervous, others moved more slowly perhaps out of fear but I was proud of them for taking this bold step. Everyone had a story to tell on just two sides of a piece of cardboard approximately 12 inches square. Not much real estate to tell your story but it proved to be more than enough to move me to tears.
On the first side they revealed some of their deepest hurts, fears, sins, painful experiences and secrets. I love teens because they are so brutally honest but as I read their words I found myself asking how someone so young could become so lonely, angry, neglected, abused, enslaved and used. It was a heart wrenching time as they held their little piece of brown cardboard up allowing us to get a peek inside their secret world.
Without exception their expressions changed to a smile as they flipped over the cardboard to reveal the change that had taken place in their lives at camp as a result of the Word of God. I saw signs that went from “fearful” to “trusting Him,” “lonely” to “secure,” “fatherless” to “I have a Heavenly Father,” “lost” to “found” and “running from God” to “running to God.”
It was a wonderful night and I was reminded once again of one of the reasons why I do what I do. I love student ministry! I love seeing changed lives! I love seeing the Spirit of God use the Word of God to turn the lights on in a dark life!
If you would like to see the Friday night meeting, which includes my message and the cardboard testimonies, check out http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16178370.
