FSU Navigators Lock-In 2008

Every month the FSU Navigators ministry plans one big event. Our ministry isn’t driven by events but we do consider them to be important for our students to have a sense of community. This month we were planning to bring in Jim Downing, one of the original six Navigators. Unfortunately he had a death in the family just before he planned to come to town and had to cancel. So the staff decided to make the most of the opportunity and indulge a request of the Student Leadership Team (SLT). Many of its members have been asking for more responsibility, particularly in the area of planning and steering what the ministry does. We decided this would be a great chance to let them spread their wings.

Kyle, my staff teammate and leader of the SLT, told the team of the change in plans the second day into the semester. He informed them that the event they’d be planning would be over Martin Luther King weekend and that they could do whatever they wanted (within reason, of course). Things got off to a rough start. Their first plan was to have a camping trip on the beach, but unfortunately the weather here in Tallahassee took a turn for the worse. That idea was scrapped early this past week.

But part of that original idea was salvaged and expanded upon. At the camping trip they had planned to play a lot of “little kid” games. You know, red rover, duck-duck-goose, musical chairs. Why? First Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” The idea was to illustrate the stark contrast between our childhood and our adulthood. And what says childhood more than a good old fashion high school youth group lock-in? The SLT secured a set of rooms at Northwoods Baptist Church and the plan was set.

I have to say that the SLT did an amazing job planning and carrying out their plan. They really came together as a team, serving each other and all the attendees. I believe people bonded over this shared experience and I am excited to see how that helps and enables the people in the ministry to pursue Christ throughout the semester. I was also excited to see a number of folks come who are not Christians. I wonder what they were thinking? Not just because we were acting silly, playing all those childhood games, but because people were genuinely loving each other and serving one another all evening.