Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!
Every year when it is time to open registration for Camp GAudeo, I'm asked a few important questions about its name. The first question is usually regarding its pronunciation (Gow-Day-Oh). Other questions usually inquire as to its meaning and origin. The Latin word "gaudeo" means "I rejoice," and I'll confess that it first came to me as a name for camp because I was looking for something ending in "o" and I liked that it started with "GA." Upon further consideration, however, it seemed the perfect name for what I hope youth ministry shares with our students: the overwhelming JOY that comes with following after the Lord. This joy is not the fleetingly happy feelings which can come from any number of worldly delights (both good and bad). Rather, it is a wellspring from which we draw strength through good times and bad. I hope that your involvement as a member of our community leads you closer to that joy each day, and that together we can help our young people find this source of strength as well!
Below you'll find a listing of the things that are in store for our middle school and high school students in the month of February. I hope that you or your child will be able to join us for some of these offerings. May God richly bless you!
In Christ,
Bradley Barnes, Coordinator of Youth Ministry