After 25 years of camps, retreats, and mission trips I still believe the number one thing that deepens a kids faith is a time of prayer and reflection. Yes, they have a time of prayer and reflection at some of the activities above but is within the context of a busy schedule of games, ministry, and distractions. The number one activity I have done with kids at camp are prayer stations. I have seen kids go to a station and literally weep because of God’s presence. The Holy Spirit may have used the pictures, the scriptures, or the response mechanism but there is no doubt they took a deep dive with the Creator of all man kind.
Prayer stations are not a magic bullet to spiritual growth. It is a tool that allows kids (and adults) to slow down, think, pray, be still, meditate, and think of the ramifications of the faith they have been called to. It is during this time that people reflect on who they are, where they are at, and allow the fears and worries of life that the’ve been suppressing to stream to the top. It’s for this reasons that I continue to do them and, from time to time, continue to create them.
This past weekend was just such a weekend where prayer stations did what they were supposed to do, allow kids to connect with the Creator. The whole event took about 30 minutes and here are some of the responses I received after when we debriefed:
I like being different, and I was afraid my my new school was going to force me into being “normal”. God delivered me from this fear and told me it’s o.k. to be different.
I was afraid that I was going go be all alone and God assured me that He was with me no matter what.
I want to be all in with God but God show me an area of my life where I have yet to surrender it to Him. I have to tell my father that I forgive him for being an alcoholic.
Now, I take no credit for any of this. All I did was create an opportunity for a bunch of kids who are normally busy with homework and surviving high school to engage with a God who loves them very much. I set the room and God did the rest. This is why I continue to be sold on them and this is why i created the new Humility Prayer Stations.
There are 8 stations in this resource and I offer
- Tips on how to dress up your stations for maximum engagement
- A list of suggested songs to use to go along with the stations
- Pictures of my stations set up
- Scripture cards ready for hanging or display
- Questions for each station
I hope you’ll take look at this resource and consider purchasing it for your youth group. If you’d like more tips you can watch my recent episode of The Tuesday Panic, below, where I overview the stations.
Your Turn
Have you done prayer stations with your youth ministry? How did they respond?
What is your number one way of deepening your teens faith?