Summer 2020 Ministry Update
Dear Friends of Rock Mountain,
In Matthew 5, Jesus goes up to a mountain and standing before a crowd along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, begins arguably the greatest sermon ever preached. A discourse that is meant to reveal the spirit of the way in which God desires people to live. He is interested in much more than outward conformity. He wants a heart that reflects His heart; actions derived from conviction; doing which flows out of being.
He brings His sermon to a close with a declaration and a promise:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
Notice both builders experience the storms of life. Neither is exempt from hardship and difficulty. The difference is in the hearing and doing. And it all begins with the foundation. The wise man, who is built on a solid foundation endures; the foolish man, without this foundation, falls.
The last three months have been a time of testing for all of us. On all fronts – physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, communal – we have been forced to change and deal with things in new ways. In the midst of this change and uncertainty, many have experienced confusion, frustration, stress, anxiety, and loss. The foundation of “our house” has been put to the test. The reality of life is not candy-coated; there will be hardship. Likewise, the reality of His promise can be experienced through a foundation built on Christ. We can remain standing.
At Rock Mountain, we have experienced challenges as guests have been unable to come to camp. The last time we were privileged to serve a guest group was the weekend of March 6-8. Missed opportunities for ministry have been heartbreaking and it has certainly impacted our day-to-day operations. And yet, we remain standing. He has sustained us.
May 15 was an encouraging day for us. Though we were still in the red phase we were permitted to open our family campground and begin serving guests. Like everywhere else, CDC and PA Dept. of Health guidelines require additional steps for cleaning, sanitizing, distancing, masks, etc. It’s been a collective effort by the entire staff to put these guidelines into practice and we’ve been pleased to do so in order to make it feasible to serve guests.
On May 22 we entered the yellow phase. This move came two weeks earlier than anticipated. While we follow guidelines for this phase, and serve guests in ways we can, the good news is that we are one step closer to being in the green phase. In the green phase we can begin serving overnight guests and provide food service in our dining room. This is our intention. We will be open to serve guest groups and to offer summer youth programming beginning in the green phase. As we adhere to government guidelines, things will be different, but we will make the necessary adjustments in order to promote health and safety as we provide hospitality and life-changing ministry to our guests.
We remain standing because God is faithful and because He has a mission for us to accomplish. Through the prayer and financial support of His people, He has met needs, and we have every reason to believe that He will continue to do so. Would you be willing to be a part of His sustaining plan for us? Would you pray for us? Would you ask the Lord to guide and direct our steps and to give us wisdom and creativity in the decisions we need to make? Would you ask God to send us more guests to minister to? Would you ask for His spirit to work in the hearts of those we serve? Would you ask Him for His hand of protection to be over us?
Likewise, would you be willing to help us financially? If you are in a position to do so, would you bless us with a financial gift toward the general operations of our ministry? We greatly appreciate any help you can give us.
As God sends us people this summer, we will serve them. We are excited and honored to do so. May this summer, as unique as it will be, be a time where people will look back and point to as a time where God did significant things in their lives in order to draw them closer to Himself.
In Christ,
Dan Krug
Director