01 Jun Summer LINK Myrtle Beach: Week 1
Bike week is over, but cheer up… Summer LINK has started!
On Tuesday, May 28, our Summer LINK Myrtle Beach team arrived at the coast to begin what we trust will be the most fruitful summer of our lives! After an afternoon of settling in and getting acquainted with the Sea Mist Resort, we traveled over to Cornerstone Church to begin the first of three orientation sessions. It was there that we dove into Ephesians 2:1-10 together to see God’s purpose in having each of us in Myrtle Beach this summer. We discussed how we were once dead individuals, walking in sin and darkness; however, God has made us alive together, raised us together and seated us together in Christ. We are now unified in mind and mission for God’s glory! Based upon this truth, we desire to grow as disciple makers through reaching the lost together, serving the church together and living in gospel community together!
With Wednesday morning came our second orientation session, where we discussed how Philippians 2:1-11 teaches that humility a) must characterize believers, b) is only found in Christ and c) exalts Christ for God’s glory! We expressed our desire to serve God through serving the Church, the city and one another. I was so blessed to see the that the Lord was knitting our hearts together! Pastor Russ Bennett of Cornerstone Church then shared about Cornerstone’s history and heart to be a healthy church that proclaims the Word of God in the midst of such lostness. After orientation, we grabbed a quick lunch, discussed a few administrative details, and embarked on our first team-building activity: The Scavenger Hunt. We split in two groups and raced to solve riddles, complete various tasks and ultimately rendezvous at a park to share stories, enjoy watermelon, and play outside.
Thursday brought our final orientation session. Here we discussed how Ephesians 4:1-16 teaches us to a) live lives that reflect the gospel, b) live as part of the one body of Christ, and c) live to build the body of Christ. We discussed how God has uniquely made us and yet how God has deeply unified us in Christ, a unity that we must be eager to maintain. We know we will inevitably encounter conflict, both from without and within the team, but we desire to handle it biblically. We desire to humbly speaking truth to one another so that Christ will mature us as he builds up his body in love. This discussion of unity paved the way for our team to break off into three ministry teams (Outreach, Hospitality, and Socials), in which the students were entrusted with real ministry responsibility for the summer. After each team prayed, brainstormed, and planned for a while, their passion for and ownership of the vision was clearly visible! We spent the rest of the afternoon together on the beach, connecting with one another and some families sitting nearby.
On Friday, the students spent most of the day taking care of job-related responsibilities. Several students had meetings while others applied for new jobs. That evening we gathered together to discuss how the day was and then took time to discuss Saturday’s outreach. Our outreach team cast vision for how we can pursue the two (at least) lifeguards whose posts are out in front of Sea Mist. Some of our team had already had multiple conversations with these lifeguards, so we decided to continue reaching out to these guys by bringing them some gifts they would enjoy on the job and by getting to know them and bringing them the gospel. We all decided to go to Walmart together to build two “gospel gifts” for the guys, consisting of two water bottles, trail mix, bananas, sunflower seeds, gum, chap stick, and a mini fan, all of which fit inside an insulated lunch bag.
This morning, Saturday, we gathered together to rehearse the gospel and pray before going out on the beach. We then set out in two groups and delivered the gifts to the lifeguards, who we learned are an American named Alex and a Polish guy named Jon (pronounced “yon”). We had great conversations with them, learning who they were, their religious background and their work schedule. We shared who we were, why we are down here, and that as followers of Christ we desire to get to know them and serve them. We invited them to Cornerstone and they invited us to join them in some Sunday afternoon volleyball! We will likely see Alex and Jon multiple times per week for the next 10 weeks! Pray that the Lord would bring them to faith in Christ and that they would join Cornerstone through our continued outreach! Ultimately, pray the the Lord would continue to work in and through our team for his glory!
Post by: Ryan Heard