When I discovered that my second week at Ardmore Baptist Church would be in Spartanburg, SC at PASSPORT Camps with our youth, I was thrilled! I love beginning my tenure at ABC during the summer. There’s no better time to launch a new beginning in ministry, especially when it comes to youth ministry. Nobody wants to start with stuffy weekly Sunday mornings and nights getting MAYBE a cumulative hour of interaction. Instead, I would rather go all in with six days of near-constant engagement. Get-to-know-you questions, meal conversations, group devotionals, silly songs, trampoline parks, watching the World Cup; these were just a few of the ways I began getting to know our youth.

     PASSPORT Camps is one of two youth camps partnered with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship since the early 90s and together we spent the week exploring this year’s theme: “Vamos: Let’s Go.” Throughout the week we journeyed through scripture with the camp pastor, Adewale, and learned what it means to be “On Your Mark,’ to “Get Set,” and to “Go.” While all of that is important, my goal was singular: get to know them (and I suppose return them home safely). I truly believe that I was successful. While learning their names was important, I learned things like their favorite color, about their pets, and their likes and dislikes. I also paid attention to those things that really help me get to know them like how they think and act.

     We have some amazing youth, and I cannot wait to get to know them, and those unable to attend PASSPORT, in the years ahead. Returning to my roots and focusing on youth ministry for an exclusive week was incredibly life-giving and I am so grateful for the opportunity to begin my time at Ardmore Baptist Church with such an amazing group of teenagers.

Rev. Will Raybon