By: Wagon Master Jeb
As I was reflecting on this past summer in Wagon Train, I was struck with the idea of “partners in the gospel” from Philippians 1:5. The entire verse reads, “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” There are so many examples of partnerships within the overall Hume ministry.
One example of a gospel-centered partnership was between a father and a son. As I was catching up with the father, who I remember from the previous summer, he told me they travel baseball throughout the year and expressed the reality of how much time that takes for them. However, he said they use baseball as their personal family ministry and get to know the families on the baseball team and share Jesus with them. The father shared with me that his son, a fifth grader, invited one of his teammates to Wagon Train, and his parents allowed him to come. This teammate had never been to any “church function,” and he was so excited that his teammate decided to come to camp. On gospel night, the father came up to me before and asked that this boy would respond to
the Gospel. Moose, a Wagon Train staff member, and I prayed for this boy right there. The night went on, and the Gospel went out. It was a beautiful night. Fifteen minutes after the chapel was over, the father came up to me with tears in his eyes and exclaimed, “He stayed back!”. The Lord worked in his heart! He had received new life in Jesus! After the week was over, I received a follow-up comment from
the father telling us that as he was saying goodnight to his son, his son said, “One by one, Dad. One by one.” When I read that, I started tearing up. How amazing that this 5th-grade boy understood the need to share the love of Jesus, and he saw that he and his father could, one by one, share the Gospel
with their friends on the baseball team. This story was a genuine highlight of the summer for me.
I was sharing this story with the Hume Lakers retreat guests. While I was sharing about this and thinking about partnerships, I was also reminded of the fact that when I came to Ponderosa in 2005 as a “super senior” (a graduated senior). The only reason that I was able to go up to camp that summer was that someone from my church had donated money and covered my registration fees. While at camp that week, I learned about the Joshua Wilderness Program and was later admitted to the program. That one week at camp changed the entire course of my life, all thanks to the incredible generosity of an anonymous person. It is so amazing to look back and see how God works. There are so many more examples of partners in the Gospel, but these were a few that I have
been thinking about lately. Thank you all for serving, working, supporting, and praying for this place. It is a joy to serve up here and be a part of God’s plan to seek and save the lost.
God Bless, and Happy New Year!
Wagon Master Jeb
