Conferences - Brad Anderson
Summer camp is a natural outworking of covenant theology. Bold statement? Perhaps, but not really. Let me refine that a bit: Quest and Horizon, the ARP summer conferences for middle and high school students held at Bonclarken (our denomination’s conference center), are a natural outworking of covenant theology and what it means for God’s people to hear his promises and grow closer to his people.
Sinclair Ferguson offered up this poignant summary of God’s people: “...whenever we read the Old and New Testaments, we are looking at our family album. Learning about church history is simply visiting our relatives. Assembling for worship is going to the weekly family reunion where we ‘come to... innumerable angels... the assembly of the firstborn.’ More than that, we come ‘to the spirits of the righteous made perfect’—some of whom once sat beside us in church. And all this because through faith we, like them – including those who lived under the old covenant—have come ‘to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 12:22). You belong to a ‘mega-church.’ The congregation is much bigger than you thought.”
When our covenant children and their friends have the opportunity to attend our denominational conferences, they are more than attending an event with people their own age and similar interests just to have fun. They are attending a covenant family reunion. In doing this, we are attempting to help raise the next generation to know God and to know his people—to be a family. No other denomination I know has this opportunity (yes, I know of plenty of other denominational camps and conferences). While there are many types of Presbyterians out there, one of our major distinctives is that we are connectional. Our people from Lake Placid, FL, can become friends and join in a family reunion with students from Ronceverte, WV—becoming a friend for life and eternity as they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
While participating in retreats and conferences, ministers and leaders from this denomination mentor and disciple the next generation; not only their own students but those from across the denomination. Seeing the same faithful saints over and over again shepherd the next generation in Christ makes an important impression on a student’s faith and even life direction. In full disclosure: Having grown up in the ARP, the broader covenant family help raised me in the faith, and I am now ministering side by side with dear brothers whom I have known since my middle school years and longer. It is humbling to serve alongside fathers of the faith who have known me (warts and all) for nearly my whole life. We have seen the best and worst of each other. They know my sin, yet more so, they know my character. They all helped shape it and point me to Christ. We share in the peace that passes all understanding. When they speak on the floor of Presbytery or Synod, I know they want Christ to be glorified first and foremost.
In 1 Samuel 7:12 we learn of Ebenezer—the stone of help that Samuel set up and spoke of it saying, “till now the Lord has helped us.” Our conferences held at Bonclarken are types of Ebenezer. As Bonclarken comes to celebrate its 100 years of being part of the ARP, it has proven to be an Ebenezer for so many. As ministers may move from one church to another, and those who grew up ARP come back and visit, they look to this place where the Lord has helped us in very real and spiritual ways. We need to help the next generation understand the varied ways in which God’s covenant people reflect upon his faithfulness.
Perhaps this is my real plea: make every effort to be the covenant family that God has placed us in. If you’re new to the ARP, take time to learn, and if you’re an established ARP take time to welcome and walk beside our new brothers and sisters. Covenant theology is to be lived out, not just pondered in our favorite books. Raise your children to know Christ, grow in the broader covenant family as she seeks to minister to them and equip them for ministry for years to come. To quote Dr. Ferguson again, “This covenant perspective thrills our hearts because we realize that we have been caught up into Christ’s grand, ages-long project. It gives us a sense of identity—we know our roots.” May we train the next generation to know God’s covenant people, know their roots, and be equipped to serve his Kingdom.
Our conferences really are the best, but I’m biased.
Please pray for our conferences and all attending. Our middle school conference is this week (week of June 14) and our high school conference is next week (week of June 21).