Teamwork, paper ninjas, and a paralytic

Posted on by Bobby Arkills

Teamwork, paper ninjas, and a paralytic

As I walked into First Creek Campus Life this afternoon I was taken back down memory lane to the many years I led YFC middle school ministry–the energy, lack of attention, and openness to meet anyone new.

Being the “visitor” (with the fancy name badge courtesy of the front office) allowed me to join in the games and mingle with kids. Just minutes into arriving someone grabbed my arm, “Hey, Bobby…remember me, Ramon, from summer camp?” Ramon and I had hung out quite a bit at YFCamp at Island Lake last July and he was happy to see a familiar face.

One of the games before the talk was a contest of creativity …aka–”How can I dress someone up like a ninja fighter wearing only paper sacks?” My team outfitted Carson and you can see our handiwork below.


Carson, the ninja fighter!

Towards the end of the club Joseph walked up to me and said, “Hey, our speaker just got sick…can you speak today…in 5 minutes…on teamwork?” Just a few minutes before that question the Lord had spoken to my heart to stay for the entire Campus Life meeting and now I knew why. So, I opened my Bible (okay, turned on my iPhone and opened up the Bible app) and shared from Mark 2:1-12. Here four friends tear a hole in the roof of a standing room only crowd with Jesus and lower their paraplegic friend to the Savior. I challenged the kids to be “one of the four” who help others make the right decisions, choose the right peer group, and treat friends with respect. Most importantly, I told them the best kinds of friends are those who get their buddies in front of Jesus…and that is just what we want to do at First Creek Campus Life.

There was plenty of work waiting back in my office and calls to be made. But for 5 minutes I had the privilege of being “one of the four” who lowered these kids into the presence of Jesus. Thank you, Father.

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