100 miles, 12 teenagers and $8
We just sent over 600 teenagers home today from our first week of Crossroads summer camps. It was the best first week we ever had in 13 years of camp with over 100 students making professions of faith and surrendering to God’s call to ministry. And it may be my age or a combination of a lack of sleep and massive doses of caffeine in my system (I broke down and hit the sauce again this week. Hey, whatever it takes for the kids…) but I have revisited an old memory all day long today.
Some adults at Crossroads were asking me today as they prepared to drive back to their hometown exactly how I got started in ministry and how Crossroads began. This prompted me to delve back over two decades to some of the defining moments that placed me on the path to ministry and helped shape the future of this great ministry I am honored to serve in. One really stands out and I have been thinking about it all day. Let me share it with you.
I was 15 years old. I was preaching every Sunday night at Givens Correctional Facility to young men who had broken the law and were serving time. I had been preaching for over a year at local churches in my community and word was getting out about a teenage preacher boy who was so young he had to get his parents to drive him to speaking engagements. Once I got my driver’s permit, things sped up, and looking back, they have still not slowed down.
One of the people I met while I was preaching in prisons was involved in the youth group at his church and he asked me if I would come speak to them on a Wednesday night. Back then I did not have to pray about saying yes or no when I got an invitation to preach. Fact was, I had already prayed on my knees for hours that God would give me opportunities to preach, so when I got one, the answer was an automatic YES. I didn’t care about details, money, mileage, or attendance.
At age 15 I payed cash for a vehicle. It was a 1979 Chevrolet Camaro, black with chrome mags. I worked for my father in his motor shop and on our farm to make money, and I payed $2300 for the car. I also bought my own gas, tires, and oil. I was so excited to have my own vehicle when I got old enough to drive because that meant I could go anywhere to preach and would not have to ride in my mama’s station wagon.
I drove to that little church and to get prepared for the message, I listened to my brand new cassette tape of “ON FIRE” by Petra, my 2nd favorite Christian rock band at the time (Stryper was of course first). And when I got there, I could not believe it! There were 12 teenagers!!! I was the luckiest man on earth. I GOT to prech the gospel to a dozen students.
When the service was over, my friend who invited me to come walked with me to my Camaro, and as he thanked me for coming, he reached into his pocket as his eyes teared up. He pulled out a fistfull of dollar bills, not folded neatly but crumpled up in individual balls like my grandfather’s cash used to be. He put it in my hand as he cried and thanked me driving all the way out there to preach to his kids, most of whom were older than I was. He was a great big man, and when he hugged me and said goodbye, I remember sensing how genuinely thankful he was that I had come.
I drove home with my stereo at full blast. I sang every word with John Schlitt, note for note, and when that cassette had flipped over and side 2 was done, I popped in “TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL” by Stryper and hit all the high notes with Michael Sweet. I had just preached, seen 5 students saved, and got paid for it! This was the life.
As I pulled into the driveway back home in Fountain Inn, SC, I gathered up the cash balls, unwrapped them, and stacked them flat on top of one another. My friend had given me $8. I looked at my odometer, which I had set before I left (to see how far I had traveled to preach the gospel) and it was exactly 100 miles.
I was 15 years old and I had just driven 100 miles to preach the gospel to 12 teenagers and 5 of them got saved and I got paid $8. It was the happiest moment of my 15 year long life.
Most everything about my life has changed since then, but a few things remain the same. I am still stoked about seeing teenagers saved. I am absolutely lit up about the gospel. And I still pray for opportunities to preach the cross to those who will listen.
I just have a feeling as I type this that someone (maybe you) needs to revisit one of those defining moments…a time when you were carefree and trusted God much more easily than you do now. You need to remember God’s faithfulness and the joy you felt at small chances to serve Him and share the story of your salvation. You did not care about money, you did not worry about details, you were just punch-drunk in love with God and willing to embarass yourself and risk it all for Him.
He is still the same God, and while we are different now than we were back then, there are some things that we need to hold on to…some things we need to never outgrow. Maybe you have a memory down deep inside that you need to dust off and remember. I hope yours is as sweet as my 100 mile adventure. It was the best $8 I ever made.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Clayton, this was AWESOME! God bless you brother and I share a similar story starting out. What a JOY it is to serve the Lord and be used by Him. It is still the greatest HIGH in life.
I love how you noted you prayed for so long started out in ministry that when you finally got the invite the answer was already a resounding YES! To often and sadly, too many in ministry forgot why we got in it to begin with. God has had His Hands on your life for a long, long time. Even while students together at Gardner Webb your schedule was slammed solid. Yes, I am honored to be a friend and to have seen ALL the HUGE doors of ministry that God has opened for you since your commitment at 15, but I am convinced the “larger” events for ministry have opened to you because you were faithful in small and you realized that regardless if speaking to a couple teens or preaching to several thousands at a massive meeting it was all BIG when our heart is right and as pure as possible.
Thanks for your burning heart for evangelism and I truly believe when we promote Jesus that Jesus promotes us. God bless you brother and hope to see you next month in NC. Congrats on a great week at CROSSROADS and I am praying on my knees for the rest of your camps this summer that many more will come to Christ, surrender to the Savior and live for our Lord like never before. Go with God!
Love in Christ-
Frank
July 6th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Hey Clayton,
My name is Jennifer Adams. I’m the summer youth intern at First Baptist Chula. This was my first year at Crossroads, even though this was year six for the group. Everyone told me how great Crossroads was going to be and how it was going to change my life. So my expectations were pretty high. However, Crossroads far exceeded my expectations! The staff was amazing. You, Matt Orth, and all the other speakers were amazing. The workshops blew me away. I loved everything! When I go back to school at Brewton-Parker College in Ga, I will be working with the youth part time at the church I attend there. I want to make an effort to bring those youth to Winter Crossroads. This past week made that much of an impact on me. Keep up the good work! I will be praying for your ministry, as I know God will continue to work in youth these next few weeks. Agian well done!!
In His Love,
Jennifer Adams
July 7th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Clayton,
I just want to say that the time in my faith that you’re describing falls during and after my first year at camp–as a staff member–in 1998. My life was completely changed that summer, much more than I knew it needed to be. It’s good to be reminded today of that electric time of chasing after God . . .
Grant and I are incredibly thankful for Crossroads and for you. We can’t describe our spiritual lives, our courtship and marriage, or our reasons for being here in Manali without mentioning CR and you. We love you a lot, and our hearts are forever tied to this ministry. We’re thinking of you every day as you’re preaching and living camp life, and praying for you as well.
Thank you for the blog post. It means so much to us to know we’re being thought of there at home.
Joyfully,
Charlene and Grant
July 8th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Clayton,
One of those memories for me was in Joplin, Missouri. My family was traveling in evangelism, and we spent a week at a conference out there and you were there. It was with the Cox’s I believe. You spoke to the youth on “Youth Night” during the meeting, but we just got to hang out the rest of the time. Good times!
July 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Hey Clayton!!
God bless you and all you’ve done for Him and His kingdom! I went to Week 1 of Crossroads this past week and was blessed over and over again. From the scripture that you read and explained, to Carl Cartee’s music, I loved every last second! However, I meant to speak to you before I left and never got a chance. But I just had something on my heart I wanted to share with you, and how God has used you to bring Him into my life. I went to the Ignite ‘08 conference you spoke at Mars Hill college. And you spoke about the word “believe” and what it means to believe in God. You made the point that we’ve completely changed the meaning of what it means to “believe” and trust in Him. As soon as you began to speak I was overcome with a tremendous blessing from God. Because on August 26th, 2001 on a warm sunday night, you spoke the same message and I was saved. I surrendered everything to Him that night, and I’ll never forget it. Thank you Clayton for following Christ for the sake of the call.
-Your brother in Christ,
Sean
July 11th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Crossroads played a big part of instilling memories in my that I can hold on to… memories of the Spirit of God working so actively in my life and in the lives of my friends, and of us bringing that fire back from camp to our churches and communities. Part of what fought against that fire was my dependence on humans to “keep me on fire” instead of on God.
Some of my friends that were fired up at crossroads with me ended up walking away from the faith, to a certain extent. The girl I met through crossroads ended up building a relationship with another guy while we were dating… which hurt incredibly. I realized the church I was attending had some hypocrisy in the leadership. I also began to notice that the pastors were teaching things that were wrong… like saying the Bible *requires* total abstinence from alcohol, that dancing is a sin, etc… things that make you wonder what else “they” were wrong about after you start reading the Bible for yourself. I had thought the “Church” was like heaven on earth. When reality set in it was painful to face.
The problem was that my relationship with God was not personal enough to hold me together and keep the fire going even if it was just me and God. Now when I remember the great moments of faith in my life, I try to focus simply on God and me. Neither you nor I nor the Church is perfect. He alone is. God alone will never let us down. Your blog has reminded me of that truth. It was you and God driving to preach the gospel that evening. Those are the types of memories that inspire us again… the memories of God personally working with us. Finding joy in community is a great thing, but depending on community for that joy is a disappointment waiting to happen.