David Van Bebber
Auburn | For Pastor David Van Bebber this summer was all about investing in the lives of young people in his community and then watching as God prepared the harvest. His church sent 22 students to summer camp in late June, and by mid-August saw nine students accept Christ and baptized six of them.
Van Bebber pastors Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Auburn, which averages about 40 on Sunday mornings. According to Van Bebber, church members “prayed and worked hard” putting “a lot of emphasis on VBS and summer camp.” And God rewarded their efforts.
This year’s camp theme was “I am a Follower” taken from John 10:27. “We talked quite a bit about what it means to be follower of Christ,” said the pastor. “Some of the kids been thinking about it for quite a while and those where the ones I baptized.”
The church laid the groundwork for camp on Wednesday nights in the spring through Team Kid and youth group. He described his church members as “faithful” in how they followed through with their hard work and prayer throughout the spring and summer.
Van Bebber said the nine students who came to Christ “were from families we’ve been working with. The Lord was moving. He started working in their lives.”
One of the teens had also been talking with her Sunday school about accepting Christ. The girl, who had been dealing with anxiety issues, expressed concern about walking down the center aisle of the church during the invitation time at the end of the service to make a public commitment to express her faith in Christ. Van Bebber said, “Her Sunday school teacher told her she didn’t have to walk the aisle to be saved.”
One Sunday morning in early August, the teen overcame her anxiety and walked down the center aisle in front of the assembled church body. “I told her it was a brave thing to do,” said the pastor. “Then her brother came forward the next week.”
This was the sixth year the church has partnered with IBSA to host its summer camp at Streator Baptist Camp in Streator. Van Bebber noted students from First Baptist Edinburgh and Pasfield Baptist Church in Springfield also made decisions at the camp. Overall, 87 students came to Christ through IBSA Summer Camps held at Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps this summer.
For Van Bebber faithfulness was key. “People were being faithful. The Lord was faithful and the Lord gave the harvest.”
He is still talking with the families of the other three students who want to be baptized but their families don’t attend the church. However, he is excited about what God is doing in the community. The impact of the summer camp has led to decisions outside of the local youth, as well.
After one student accepted Christ, her 67-year-old grandfather also accepted Christ. “I’ve known the grandpa and been working with him for 22 years,” said Van Bebber. Then, when his wife heard the news, she rededicated her life to Christ. “It was very exciting,” he said.
“It makes you want to see more and more folks come to Christ and be baptized,” the pastor said. “You don’t want it to end.”