Michigan's Pathfinder Director, Craig Harris with a newly-baptized Michiana Fil-Am Follower club member at the camporee in Oshkosh, Wis.
photo credit: Daniel Mendez
In a pleasant surprise to Pathfinder Camporee organizers, 1,310 were baptized in Oshkosh, Wis. last week, and of that number 94 were from the Lake Union.
Youth, young adults and even adults were moved to answer to give their lives to Christ, in a charge delivered each evening by Damian Chandler, senior pastor of California's Capitol City Church.
The theme for the Aug. 12-17 event was centered on the theme, "Chosen", featuring a dramatized version of the story of how God chose David and how David in turn chose God.
"These 90+ baptisms are a testament to what the local clubs are doing in disciplining our young people," said Craig Harris, Michigan's Pathfinder director who served as the Lake Union Youth director since Ron Whitehead was overseeing the entire camporee. "They have been planting seeds, cultivating the soil, and getting ready for the harvest."
As the newly baptized members of the church make their way back to their home churches, Harris cautioned that these clubs must now model and empower these young people to do the work of Christ while he was on earth--helping their neighbors with their needs and knowing that God loves them. "Give the young people worthwhile work to do!"
Harris' advice to the newly baptized person was to simply keep choosing Jesus. "It is my prayer that each Pathfinder recognizes that being Chosen by God is not just a catchy saying that worked on their emotions. I pray that each Pathfinder will be like Daniel and 'purpose in their hearts to not defile themselves in this world - but Choose God and allow Him to work in them to be pure, kind, true, to be a true servant of God and a friend to man. We are chosen by God. It is our invitation to choose Him."
A video story of two sets of twins who were baptized at Oshkosh: Landon and Kendahl from the Holly Herons; and Jae'Bel and Jae'Ona' from the Hyde Park Constellations.
