Campers SHAKEN

Matt Miles • June 13, 2023

   Genesis Week Camp has become one of my favorite weeks in the summer. Ten years ago the camp was started by Ryan Cox, my now colleague. It is a unique church camp in Illinois since it is the only place we teach year after year. Over the course of 3 years, Genesis Week covers Creation, Flood, and Babel so students that attend every year from middle through high school get these worldview foundations twice. The Lord has provided an avenue for us to impact young lives now and for generations to come. This year I was reminded of the importance of this camp, the first of the summer season.


  This year’s camp maintenance director is a former Genesis Week camper. It was great to catch up and see what the Lord has been doing in his life. He is now married to a fellow Genesis Week camper from years back and has two children. (This is a gentle reminder from the Lord we are not getting any younger.) He directly equated the strength of his faith to the study and worldview development each summer at Genesis Week. I was able to meet his wife and children over lunch one day. She expressed similar sentiment for the two years of Genesis Week she attended, stating, “They were my favorite weeks of camp ever.”


   One evening at campfire, a camper got up and expressed the Lord has called him to full-time preaching and teaching of the Word. He relayed to his fellow campers that the Lord, through Genesis Week, had greatly impacted and equipped him for ministry. I don’t know how many of you have the opportunity to impact young lives for the Kingdom, but please don’t pass on those opportunities. He went on to express that during his first summer my teaching had been most impactful. There are moments in life that are more than humbling, yet most rewarding at the same time – this was one of them.


   Another camper approached me and stated her desire to be a “creation scientist”. She asked how to be one. We talked through a whole game time about different avenues and possibilities. I expressed to her the need for more to step up and be called to science. She shared that for the entire past year she has carried everywhere the books she bought last year at Genesis Week so she could give Biblical answers to friends and family members on foundational issues from Genesis. I pray that the Lord continues to use her in a mighty way, as I observed her influence on fellow campers all week with positive results.


   This year, Genesis Week impacted 102 camper lives, along with all the adult staff. The Lord saved 6 students that realized He is the only door to salvation, and He called 5 students to vocational ministry. Ryan and I are deeply impacted year after year with the opportunity to pour Christ’s foundation into students’ lives for eternity. We thank the Lord for your support that makes this Kingdom work possible and encourage you to be SHAKEN to service, if you are not already. The Lord is coming, and there are many lost that need His direction. Blessings!

By Ryan Cox June 18, 2025
Moses & History (part 3)
lined up books
By Matt Miles June 18, 2025
Over the course of time a person can accumulate many things. Most of the stuff we collect is meaningless to most everyone else, but when a person collects books, they can be treasured for a lifetime and even beyond. In this age of digital media, physical books seem to be less important to many people. Digital books are searchable, and copy/paste functions make it easy to use those great quotes. Yet, there is still something great about a physical book, things you can’t get digitally: the turning of pages, the feel of it in your hand, and the “book” smell. For our founder Dr. Sharp, physical books could never be replaced by digital. While my collection of books is growing each year, it is dwarfed by Dr. Sharp’s collection. Over the years he collected thousands of titles for research and enjoyment. Through the course of his ministry he had to sell his book collection a couple of different times to support his family, only to start collecting again when he was able to do so. When Doc passed his office full of packed bookshelves to me and said he would clear the shelves, I laughed out loud at the prospect of having loads of empty bookshelves. So I urged him to instead leave his books for my, and anyone else’s, use. Little did I understand that the four bookcases in my office were only a fraction of his entire collection. A couple of years back when Doc moved from his house, it was decided that his book collection would be stored at the office. Our thought was to establish a library, yet none of us had time to plan, organize and catalog all 79 boxes of books. They sat piled in his office until last year when my daughter Megan joined our ministry. She has a love of books, both reading and writing. So we offered her the task of cataloging and establishing Doc’s library. Can you picture me, a bbq lover, being offered a table full of succulent smoked offerings - brisket, sausage, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey and all sides? Yep, that was Megan’s response to the library. For over four months she cataloged and organized the entire collection. The Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library was completed earlier this year in his old office space, with overflow into my office. The entire 2700+ volume agglomeration is digitally cataloged for searching and locating. As you might expect, there is an extensive collection of creation and evolution subject matter, yet the library is full of many different categories. It very much reflects Doc’s love of gaining knowledge and research. An extensive commentary collection and multiple Biblical reference sections are invaluable to our ministry. There is even a whole bookcase housing books that are over 100 years old. Our desire was not to just house books but to also make a place of honor and inspiration. One wall exhibits Doc’s many diplomas, and throughout the library we have placed personal memorabilia of the mission trips he took over the years. Come, grab a book, relax in the sitting area and allow Doc’s handwritten notes from the margins or post-it notes bring a smile to your face. For those who may be more ambitious, Doc's office chair resides at the credenza for anyone to sit and be inspired to study. This is a place to honor Doc’s life and love for books. We at CTF have already utilized this great resource for further study, and we are so thankful to Diane and their family for donating these books for continued Kingdom growth. Blessings.
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