Did You Know You Can Find Jesus at Camp? Hold Me in the Boat!

Okay...this is one great story!

Have you ever been white water rafting? This summer we took our students on an adventure experience in Colorado. Among the hiking, climbing, and rappelling, we managed to slide in a day of white water rafting. I think it might be the most exhilarating sporting event ever!!

The river was beyond freezing to our beach-conditioned bodies. Within minutes our feet were numbed by the icy waters. But, wow, when they gave us a chance to jump from the safety of our rafts into the murky, frigid water, over half of us took that opportunity. Once in the water, we realized just how cold the water actually was. Many of the kids flung themselves back into the raft breathless and stinging from the snow-fed river.

Throughout the rafting trip there were periods of calm water. The guide took these moments to talk about the history of the river, the heritage of the town we were floating through, points of interest in the terrain—your basic tourist talk. But there were points on the float that weren’t so serene.

I’m told we were rafting some Class 4 rapids—with Class 5 being professional grade only. In fact, there were rapids on the float we took that were designed as training rapids for the US Olympic kayaking team. Now they may tell all the newbies that junk to get a good laugh at our unsuspecting expense, but those rapids seemed pretty serious to me, nonetheless. So as we hit the rapids, excitement was building. The guide was more serious. Those designated rowers in the raft began frantically slapping their oars in the water. Riders were hanging on for dear life.

Then, it happened. All chaos broke loose! We hit the rapids in a…less-than-conventional way. Oars were flying. Kids were screaming. The guide was praying…at least that’s what I choose to believe those words meant! And then the unthinkable…one of our rafters began to fall overboard! I’m not normally a risk-taking kind of guy—and I don’t know where it came from, but I just dove across the raft and grabbed him by the legs as the rest of his body hit the water. His eyes were the size of the boulders we were trying desperately to avoid. “PULL ME IN! PULL ME IN!!”

A few of our students were able to grab his life vest—I continued to hold him in the raft—and we were able to get him in the raft just as we righted our course. Seriously, that was like something you see on G4 or one of those “I Shoulda Died” shows on Discovery Channel. We continued through the rapid, and then laughed nervously about what could have been.

After the day was over and my feet had finally thawed, I thought back on the experience and how similar it is to student ministry. We all have students who have come dangerously close to falling out. Some have had a heroic person risk life and limb to hold them in. Others have slipped beneath the surface of the icy water, never to be seen again—drowning in the murkiness of life. What makes the difference?

1. You must have adults willing to take a risk. When you seek out leadership, make sure you aren’t just filling holes. Find adults who love students enough that they will let go of their own ropes in order to save one falling out of the raft.

2. You have to prep everyone for the ride. I was so glad the guides had given us instructions for what to do if someone went overboard…even though that’s supposedly rare! They told us how to pull someone back into the boat without falling in ourselves. They prepped us for the rough water ahead. They got us ready for just about every eventuality.

3. Give your students the right equipment. If we hadn’t been wearing life jackets, it would have been nearly impossible to get Joseph back into the boat. He was bigger than the students pulling him in—and if I had let go of his legs, he would have been overboard in a flash. That life jacket might not have helped much in the rapids, but it’s what allowed our students to take hold of him and pull him back into the boat. It was essential gear, gear that he probably didn’t think much about at the time, but was really glad to have on when the stormy waters took over.

4. Give a safe place for kids to ask for help. When Joseph was going over, he knew he couldn’t get in the boat on his own, and he was desperate for help. No one teased Joseph for falling off the raft. No one said, "You should have been more careful, Joseph." No one quoted Bible verses to him. We just saved him. Kids have to know when they are going overboard there’s a safe place in which to call out.

5. Never underestimate your influence. Sometimes it seems like we’re talking to brick walls in student ministry. They aren’t listening. It’s not working. They aren’t changing. But when it was time to spring into action, those kids did everything they had been instructed to do. They were listening. They had information at the ready when they needed it most—and they used every bit of it…almost instinctively. Kids fall out of the boat all the time. Sometimes, they even jump out, not realizing how the cold water will affect them until they are completely submerged. Don’t give up on them. Risk your safe life – train other people to risk theirs – and hang onto those kids during the Class 5 rapids of life. Someone has to help hold them in the boat! Don’t let go.

Darren is a veteran youth pastor in Corpus Christi, TX, and the co-founder of Millennial Influence (www.minfluence.com).