Stu tells you about The Wilds Christian Camp

Is anyone out there been to a solid Christian camp. Maybe a better question. Is there another who hasn't been to a Christian Listing. Right now I'm Stu Epperson so that have your truth talk my good buddy Matt hurst or is the director of such a camp, a camp that I went to grown-up Jason alive and he's got a passion for young people and he is got a camp it is called the wilds that spelled out as WI L DS Matt hurst or what kind of camp will be called the wilds may want the world you that people think of it by Wilde without the Christian camp.

A wild, Christian U through tension but wilds actually is the idea of wilderness being out in the middle of nowhere.

We are definitely there in Brevard, North Carolina, and it is immediate to get there. You keep track and in as a little kid go to this camp.

I Think and making that famous statement.

Are we there yet and there was no not there yet. Just a little bit farther just a little bit farther but you have people to come from multiple states. Really all of the country to come to the wilds solely over the United States. We have a group every year from Hawaii group in Puerto Rico textbook so that it's all over the place to work very privilege that way, and there are some wonderful camps out there throughout the country. When you've heard you versus interview we just look our passion of the Truth Network is to see people's lives changed and we really need to reach the next generation. And there's this disguise doing it. Matt tells little bit about your your background maybe your your passion Kenneth and how you got in all this by working here as a college student, and then after seminary more really broadened my heart for the generation of young people that was coming up after me been here about 50 years and work is continuing to seek to reach Junior age you know a lot of the problems that teenagers were facing. Years ago, now it's been pushed down to the junior agent. So were trying to reach Junior's trying to reach teenagers to give them hope and point them to the message of Jesus Christ. While is so this is a love to hear little about your story. May you have been through quite a bit you. Your turn to your kids a little bit before the showing went with your wife passing away and I was able to a lot of folks were watching that and praying for you made a lot of tears, a lot of a lot of things going on the hurst her family give us everyone little bit about who is Matt hurst or first round of the sinner saved by grace here on nothing special but my wife and I my high school sweetheart and I've been married for almost 18 years and were given us five children and really out of nowhere. My wife started feeling a little bit fatigued which we come to start up logic homeschool mama five kids.

Of course she's petite but went and went to the doctor and two days later, we were informed she had stage IV colon cancer. She was 38 years old mother of five kids and 10 months later, the Lord saw fit to take her home and no question the hardest time of my life. One of the things I love doing it in the ministry to got his call me to is looking at teenagers and saying you know God.

God took me through a really difficult time and what I love about it is that I can declare boldly that God is good. His promises are true and he is faithful and God's timing is allow me to get remarried. That's a whole another beautiful story that we don't have time for right now but pray for my kids are doing great. My kids are ages 7 to 14 when their mom passed away there now ages 12 to 19 in all of trusting the Lord and pursuing him and so very thankful for God's faithfulness on families life. What a story. How does that play out is a camp director mean you gotta have your stuff together. You got kids flooding in from all over the place and you really are a spiritual reservoir for so many folk some kids never heard the gospel. Some inner-city kids. It that that have gone are you families even help sponsor gone there what what's that like when you have you have your life going on. You have, you know your your your your first wife goes to heaven you've got your kids processing all this tell us how the gospel has become real to you and then how that translates into ministering to thousands and thousands of kids from all over. Actually, in my estimation, it really strengthened by ministry years to know that the focus is so easy to focus ourselves by you. I be deal with my wife's cancer and I come down to camp we live right here in the campsite academic camp and there be 800 teenagers and 200 juniors and 300 college students here that I just was like yeah I want to share with them that you can trust God even during the hard times and people asked me how you doing and I would say well I have five good reasons at home to trust God knows my kids and I have other thousand reasons down here camp to look at people and say life is not always easy. It's not perfect. We have a God is all-knowing to God that we can trust and walk by faith in the sacraments, 57 walk by faith not by sight.

While let's it is that is a powerful testimony of God's grace in your life and you have effectively camp or stump just givest 10 like you're the you're the bus driver on the microphone it were words winding through the amazing, you know, smoky mountains on one side to maybe coming from Tennessee Blue Ridge Mountains coming up the other side maybe coming through Black Mountain in old Forge and in Asheville and we will come in from Charlotte and all over North Carolina to the wilds taped it did give us that that that that your got the microphone tell us what were about to experience sure they don't get sick on the winding road coming up the hairpin curves but it's a beautiful beautiful part of the country. Lord, give us about a thousand acres here. That includes four gorgeous waterfalls. One of them being hundred 25 foot waterfall so they are in for a week of hearing God's word were very intentional of that they hear God's word.

We we have a time every day were there in God's word on their own are usually 2 to 3 specific sessions were we talk about God's word in there that have a counselor in one counselor for every eight campers with been highly trained to point them to God's word but then besides the fine I tell campers all the time. We want you to. We want you to hear God's word. Once you get to know him, but were at a youth camp so I might as well have fun while here and the activities are. Honestly, I can parent anywhere in the country can have a blast and that you do it all for a price that really is extremely reasonable me for 360 boxer to feed them all weekend ran great activities and get away from all the distractions of life and be challenged from the word of God to love him more and really define the fine hope and that's that's our desire okay very good so they they come they find help in the way they come to a beautiful like right out of the middle of nowhere this amazing spread to camp in. This was some pretty cool activities to yeah absolutely. We got out in our giant swing. We have our our creek to go tubing and we have a major zip line over one of our waterfalls and just a lot of things they definitely are not going to do everything that the ropes course emeritus all kinds of things are all included in their cost to come to camp so your biggest challenge to parents out there, it's summertime need to send a kid to camp about coming to the wilds or did any Christian camp.

The desperate need of our youth today. What is it Matt. My kids are ages 12 to 19/5 of them there. All right there in that teenagers time and it's a confusing world we live in, and I would just say with all the distractions that kids are tempted with today all the things that are grabbing for their attention. All the things that they are tempted to look to for happiness and satisfaction and hold none of those things answer all those things are distracting them from the most important thing that the relationship of God and I have Psalm 78 measure looking at it here my office five Psalm 78 versus four and seven on my wall that we would show the next generation the praises of the Lord and his strength is wonderful works that they might set their hope in God not forget his works, but keep his commandments.

So that's kind of our prayer. I just I just saw an article recently, March 2018 USA Today teen suicide is soaring.

There's a lot of kids there that there's more things available to them than ever, but they're more hopeless than ever in a good place in the getaway really focus and re-recalibrate on what's important and that's knowing God and their place in this world and how he relates to us.

We relate to them. What a blessing just a website supposed general use job openings write all summer long. If the paradigm to get the kids out, but we got 9000 people already signed up. We still got openings awesome. It's www.wildslds.org so wilds.org and they can find out more about the place there and register love to have them remember this is the age group. This is the Jesus said he said I can bring the young people in the me because this is when hearts are more to the gospel right Madison when the greatest personal decisions are made to get them away out of the home, and I guarantee the goat allows a comeback different yeah amen absolutely so great writing fourth-graders all the way through senior in high school and graduated there got spots form near the summer – thanks for all you doing man for the kingdom absolutely praise your matter for the director camp director of the wilds Christian camp. Please visit their site Google him and get your kids to a solid Christian camp this summer. Learn more@truthnetwork.com will also put all of this up as a podcast so you can hear more about Matt and you in real time and forge other folks