Children's Camps International

God is doing some exciting things here in Mexico. This past week we hosted four representatives from Children’s Camps International. CCI is an evangelical organization whose goal is to “Seek opportunities in the developing world together with indigenous churches/leaders to equip them to reach their communities with ongoing ministry that targets the next generation to fulfill the great Commission.” CCI works to accomplish this vision by establishing kids camps that are funded by small business which are operated by members of the local church.

CCI currently operates in 6 developing countries and they are expanding. One of the countries they hope to expand into in the near future is Mexico. The four representatives I mentioned earlier were here to meet with the local pastors and to inform them of their ministry and express their desire to expand their ministry into Mexico. They wanted to know if the local churches were interested in starting kids camps and if so, would micro financing be a reasonable means for launching small businesses to support these kids clubs.

On Thursday we had a pastors meeting here at the mission. Over 40 pastors from the surrounding community came; this was a major deal as there has been quite a bit of division among the local churches recently.  There were several pastors there who already have healthy kids camps in their churches, but there were a number of pastors who did not have kids camps. There was quite a bit of enthusiasm expressed about starting up more kids camps, but there was also concern that micro financing might not be the best way to go about funding those camps.

Over the next few days the men form CCI traveled around the community to meet with a number of these pastors to get to know them better and also to discuss more in-depth the ministry opportunities as well as the concerns.  I was privileged to be able to go along with them as their photographer.

It was exciting and encouraging to see all of the enthusiasm expressed in starting up kids camps but perhaps the most exciting thing for me was to see the local churches come together and work toward a common vision. CCI not only pushed for starting kids camps but they also stressed unity among the local church. Division among believers can be a powerful hindrance to expanding God’s kingdom. My hope and prayer is that through the work that CCI is doing the local church will be reunited.

A meeting between the locals church leaders and the CCI representatives. 

Between meetings one of the CCI representatives stopped to get his shoes shined. 

The shoe shining session quickly turned into a Son shining session 

as the men shared the Gospel message with the shoe shiner. 

He claimed to be an atheist but it was apparent that he also held some 

new age/eastern beliefs. We left him a Bible and encouraged him 

to read it. Please pray that the seeds we planted in this 

man's heart would produce a 100 fold crop.