Christian Camp Gideon is located in Aa, Estonia. The village is in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The location is beautiful. The camp itself was built prior to World War II by the Soviet Union. At that time, it was a Pioneer Camp, where communism and atheism were taught to the young. The fall of communism in 1991 changed everything. In time, Estonia became an independent country, and the camp found a new purpose.
During the summers of 1993 and 1994, Christian Camp Gideon was used by the Estonian United Methodist Church. On March 15, 1995, Christian Camp Gideon was purchased by the Asbury United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and given to the Methodist churches of Estonia. On that day Pastor Artur Põld was named the Director of Christian Camp Gideon. He still holds that position today. Currently, there are fifteen buildings on 75 acres at the camp, where there is space for to up to 400 people.
From the very beginning, American friends have supported Christian Camp Gideon – both spiritually and financially. Every summer, several groups of volunteers from the United States arrive at Camp Gideon to organize children’s programs and help repair the time-worn buildings. Over the years, Christian Camp Gideon has become internationally known in Latvia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Belarus, Germany and beyond. Thanks to the ministries of Camp Gideon, hundreds of children hear about Jesus each camp season. Together with the guests of Christian Camp Gideon, several mission events have been organized, including family camps, Walk to Emmaus, and the Annual Conference of the Estonian Methodist Church. In the past several years, Christian Camp Gideon has become a refuge for Ukrainians who are escaping the war.
In 2019, my wife Kathryn and I visited Christian Camp Gideon for the first time. We were moved by the ministry of the camp and the work of the people. Since that visit Kathryn has been raising money to help with the reconstruction of the buildings. She is returning to Christian Camp Gideon between July 16 and August 1, and I am returning between July 23 and August 1. We will be helping with English Camp and are looking forward to seeing the progress that has been made at Christian Camp Gideon. It is truly a resurrection story. A camp that once taught communism and atheism is now teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
You can help Christian Camp Gideon in two ways. First, pray for Christian Camp Gideon; Your prayers are more valuable than you will ever know. Second, prayerfully consider making a financial contribution to Camp Gideon. No amount is too small. It is amazing what God can do with a single dollar. Please make your check out to: PROJECT ORPHAN OUTREACH and mail it to 275 Bradford Drive, Canfield, Ohio, 44406. Some who read my weekly blog have already contributed. You will receive a thank-you note for your contribution as well as a follow-up report on what was accomplished after we return.
In advance, I would like to thank you for your generosity.
Our reading is Jonah 1:1-3. Jonah is one of the twelve Minor Prophets. They are considered minor because their books are brief. Tradition tells us Jonah was written by the prophet himself. The date it was written is approximately 600 BC. One of the most intriguing elements of this Old Testament book are the New Testament undertones. For example, the name Jonah means “dove,” the New Testament symbol of the Holy Spirit. Also, Jonah was saved by a great fish, which is the New Testament symbol of the Christian faith. However, what is important to us today is the basic storyline. Everyone knows the story of Jonah.
His calling comes in the very first verse of the book, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” That was a common phrase when prophets were called. It is found in other places in the Old Testament. Never forget, prophets were called to speak on behalf of God, not predict future events. The problem is not that Jonah didn’t understand his calling. The problem was Jonah didn’t want to deliver the divine message. God tells him to go to Nineveh and preach a message of repentance. Jonah didn’t care for the Ninevites. Instead of Nineveh, he headed in the opposite direction. He goes to the coastal town of Joppa and bought a ticket for Tarshish. Geography is important in this story. The two cities, Nineveh and Tarshish, represented the opposite ends of the commercial world in ancient times. Nineveh was located on the Tigris River in modern day Assyria, and Tarshish was located on the coast in modern day southwestern Spain. Jonah has been called the reluctant prophet. He forgot God is always present, everywhere. However, his story leads us to an interesting question.
How many souls have you won for Jesus Christ? Did you know, according to various sources, only 1% of all Christians have won a soul for Jesus Christ? That means 99% of us have never won a soul for Jesus Christ. Maybe that is why so many know the story of Jonah. We can relate to Jonah. He was to go to Nineveh and call them to repent, but he refused to go. We are to win the world for Jesus Christ, but we refuse to evangelize. How many souls have you won for Jesus Christ? Here is another question.
Why aren’t Christian’s evangelizing? That is the question Steven Lee tried to answer. He is the pastor of the North Church in Mounds, Minnesota. In a website called Desiring God, he says there are four basic reasons why Christians don’t evangelize. Maybe you will find yourself on this list.
Ignorance Some don’t share the Gospel message because they don’t understand Jesus’ sacrificial death. They believe they can earn their salvation.
Fear Some don’t share the Gospel message because they are afraid. They are afraid of not being accepted by their community or circle of friends. Some are afraid of losing respect within their group or losing popularity.
Discrimination Some don’t share the Gospel message because they don’t care for an entire group of people. That was Jonah’s story. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t like the Ninevites. How many groups do you belittle?
Can I be honest with you? I believe the 99% statistic is wrong. I believe many more than 1% of all Christians have won a soul for Jesus Christ. I believe that statistic is wrong because the question is flawed. The question, have you won a soul for Jesus Christ, reminds us of Billy Graham’s (1918-2018) great evangelistic crusades. At the end of every service an altar call was given, and countless people came forward to accept Jesus Christ. However, evangelism is not limited to altar calls. Evangelism is not limited to a one-time experience. Evangelism is anytime we share Jesus. How many times have you shared Jesus with your words or actions? Let me tell you a little story.
My wife Kathryn was raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. The entire family attended the local United Methodist Church. She attended Sunday school weekly.
Kathryn will tell you the best Sunday school teacher she ever had was a woman by the name of Carol. She was a stay at home mother who raised her three sons with her husband Bob. She wanted the best for them, and the best she had to offer them was Jesus. It was for this reason that she taught the high school class, which included her sons and my wife. Every Sunday morning at 9:30, she was with a group of high school students talking about Jesus. Not a single student in that class questioned her sincerity, she had known Jesus for years. Not a single student in the class questioned her commitment to them. She wanted the best for them and the best for them was Jesus. She wanted that group of teenagers to live for Jesus. My wife felt her first calling into the ministry thanks to Carol.
As a loving husband, I have to say, Carol changed my wife’s life. When Kathryn was in high school, Carol made her feel special. When Kathryn was in college, Carol prayed for her regularly. When Kathryn was in seminary, Carol invited her to come back to the church to speak to a small group of women. It was a way to encourage her. When Kathryn took those first United Methodist appointments, Carol saw her potential. When Kathryn and I moved to the Cleveland area, Carol visited our churches. When we travelled back to Kathryn’s hometown, Carol was on the itinerary. When our daughter Anna (who Carol had watched as a baby) graduated high school, Carol was invited to the party. They are now friends on Facebook. We travelled back to the Cleveland area several years ago to celebrate Carol’s special birthday. She wanted to know what Jesus was doing in our lives. She has always brought the best out of other people because she always wanted the best for them. She knew the best she could offer them was Jesus. She is simply one of the finest people I have ever known. Ask Carol if she saved Kathryn’s soul for Jesus Christ and she will say, “No!” But she has been evangelizing to Kathryn for years. Let me ask you a question.
Who is your Carol? Who led you to Jesus and encouraged your growth in the Christian faith? It is safe to say that person did not have an advanced degree in evangelism. It is equally safe to say, that person knew Jesus and wanted the best for you. The best we can offer people is Jesus. International evangelist Luis Palau (1934-2021) must have known Carol. He once said, “Evangelism is not an option for the Christian life.”
Born in Eastern Europe, Isidor I. Rabi (1898-1988) moved to America as an infant. In time, he would study physics at MIT, Columbia and Cornell. In 1942, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei.” (Whatever that is.) He credited his mother for his success. He said that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn’t interested in his daily schedule. She was more interested in the questions he asked. Daily, she asked him, “Did you ask any good questions today?” “Asking good questions,” Rabi said, “made me become a better scientist.” In our reading, Matthew 11:1-6, John the Baptist had his disciples ask Jesus an excellent question, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
There is nothing innocent about this story. John the Baptist had been imprisoned because he had made an enemy of a powerful man, Herod Antipas (72 BC- 4 BCE). He was the son of Herod the Great (BC 72-BC 4) and the grandson of Antipater the Idumaean (BCE 114-BCE 43). He was appointed by the Romans as Herodian ruler of Galilee and Perea in 4 BCE. His political connections do not impress John. He called all to repent, including Herod Antipas. His story was well known and filled with immorality – it sounds like the storyline from a contemporary soap opera. Herod went to Rome to visit his brother, and became infatuated with his sister-in-law, Herodias (15 BC- 39 AD). He seduced her, took her home for himself and divorced his wife. While many stayed silent, John proclaimed it as morally wrong. John’s protests came to the attention of Herod Antipas, who imprisoned John near the Dead Sea.
Like Jesus, all teachers had students or disciples who believed in them, including John. John sent his disciples to Jesus with our question, are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? This question is not unique to Matthew, it is also found in Luke 7:19-23. It is a great question. The issue that haunts the entire text is why John had his disciples ask the question. John knew Jesus’s identity. He knew it from within his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44) and he heard Jesus’s identity proclaimed by God at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:15). There is no sign that John doubted or became frustrated with Jesus. So why did John have his disciples ask the question, “Are you the one who has come, or should we expect another?”
The key to understanding John’s question is evangelism. We understand evangelism to be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, calling individuals to repentance and faith in Him as their Lord and Savior. John knew Jesus was the Messiah and he wanted to make sure his disciples understood Jesus to be the Messiah. He knew the benefits of discipleship, and he wanted his disciples to experience those benefits too. Consider it the pastoral side of John. He sends them to Jesus to ask the question, “are you the one who has come, or should we expect another,” because he wanted them to have the right answer too. He wanted the best for his disciples. The best we have to offer someone is Jesus. No one can accept Jesus for you, you must do it for yourself. There is a world of difference between learning about Jesus and experiencing Jesus! That reminds me of a parishioner I met years ago.
Her name was Nancy and she lived in a Cleveland, Ohio suburb. She visited my church one Sunday, and I arranged to meet her several days later. We connected in the first few minutes and she told me her story. She had just been honorably discharged from the United States Navy and moved back home to attend college. She was studying nursing and confessed it was hard for her to be living at home with her mother. She went as far as to tell me her mother was mad at her for visiting my church, because she had been raised Roman Catholic. She felt disconnected from the Roman Catholic Church during her military service. During those years, she tried various Christian traditions and had read the Bible cover to cover. Near the end of our discussion, she looked at me and said, “I know everything there is to know about Jesus, but I’m still not sure I am going to heaven when I die.” I looked at Nancy and said, “There is a world of difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.” I asked her if she knew Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She did not, so I led her to salvation. She thanked me and walked out of my church a different person.
Can you relate to Nancy’s story? You know everything there is to know about Jesus. You go to church and read the Bible. You pray for the sick and read your devotional. However, you still aren’t sure about your own salvation. John the Baptist knew it from the very beginning. You can know everything about Jesus and still not know Jesus. He sent his disciples to Jesus with the question, “are you the one who has come, or should we expect another,” so they could experience Jesus for themselves. Do you know Jesus, or do you just know about Jesus? Until you know Jesus, you know nothing at all!
Christian Camp Gideon is located in Aa, Estonia. The village is in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The location is beautiful. The camp itself was built prior to World War II by the Soviet Union. At that time, it was a Pioneer Camp, where communism and atheism were taught to the young. The fall of communism in 1991 changed everything. In time, Estonia became an independent country and Camp Gideon found a new purpose.
During the summers of 1993 and 1994, Camp Gideon was used by the Estonian United Methodist Church. On March 15, 1995, Camp Gideon was purchased by the Asbury United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma and given to the United Methodist Churches of Estonia. On that day Artur Põld was named the Director of Camp Gideon. He still holds that position today.
From the very beginning, American friends have supported Camp Gideon – both spiritually and financially. Every summer, several groups of volunteers from the United States arrive at Camp Gideon to organize children’s programs and help repair the time-worn buildings. Over the years, Camp Gideon has become internationally known in Latvia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Belarus, Germany and beyond. Thanks to the ministries of Camp Gideon, hundreds of children hear about Jesus each camp season. Together with the guests of Camp Gideon, several mission events have been organized, including family camps, Walks to Emmaus, and the Summer Conference of the UMC in Estonia.
In 2019, my wife Kathryn and I visited Camp Gideon for the first time. We were moved by the work of these people. Since that visit she has been raising money to help with the reconstruction of the buildings. Currently there are fifteen buildings on the 75-acre camp. She is returning to Estonia between July 17 and August 5, and I am returning between July 24 and August 5. We will be helping with English Camp and are looking forward to seeing the progress that has been made at Camp Gideon. It is truly a resurrection story. A camp that once taught communism and atheism is now teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
You can help Camp Gideon in two ways. First, pray for Camp Gideon and us. Your prayers are more valuable than you will ever know. Second, prayerfully consider making a financial contribution to Camp Gideon. No amount is too small. It is amazing what God can do with a single dollar. Please make your check out to: PROJECT ORPHAN OUTREACH and mail it to 275 Bradford Drive, Canfield, Ohio, 44406. Some who read my weekly blog have already contributed. You will receive a thank-you note for your contribution as well as a report on what was accomplished after we return.
In advance, I would like to thank you for your generosity.
Camp Gideon is in Aa, Estonia. The village is in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. One cannot help but be moved by the natural beauty. The camp itself was built prior to World War II by the Soviet Union. At that time, it was a Pioneer Camp, where communism and atheism were taught to the young. The fall of communism in 1991 changed everything. In time, Estonia became an independent country and Camp Gideon found a new purpose.
During the summers of 1993 and 1994, Camp Gideon was used by the Estonian United Methodist Church. On March 15, 1995, Camp Gideon was purchased by the Asbury United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma and given to the United Methodist Church of Estonia. On that day Artur Põld was named the Director of Camp Gideon. He still holds that position today.
From the very beginning, American friends have supported Camp Gideon- both spiritually and financially. Every summer, several groups of volunteers from the United States arrive at Camp Gideon to organize children’s programs and help repair the time-worn buildings. Over the years, Camp Gideon has become internationally known in Latvia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Belarus, Germany and beyond. Thanks to the ministries of Camp Gideon, hundreds of children hear about Jesus each camp season. Together with the guests of Camp Gideon, several mission events have been organized, including family camps, Walks to Emmaus, and Summer Conference of the UMC in Estonia.
In 2019, my wife Kathryn and I visited Camp Gideon. We were moved by the work of these people. Since that visit she has raised thousands of dollars to help with the reconstruction of the buildings. Currently there are fifteen buildings on the 61-acre camp. With the pandemic ending, it is now possible to return to Estonia once again. We long to return to Camp Gideon to see the progress that has been made. It is truly a resurrection story. A camp that once taught communism and atheism is now teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
You can help Camp Gideon in two ways. First, pray for Camp Gideon. Our prayers are more valuable than we will ever know. Second, prayerfully consider making a financial contribution to Camp Gideon. No amount is too small. It is amazing what God can do with a single dollar. Please make your check out to PROJECT ORPHAN OUTREACH and mail it to 275 Bradford Drive, Canfield, Ohio, 44406. You will receive a thank-you note for your contribution and will receive a report on the progress.
In advance, I would like to thank you for your generosity.
Russ Adams 