About a month ago, on June 8th, World Race Training Camp began once again.
Nearly 300 racers and their packs filled the Adventures campus. Enthusiastic first meetings echoed around the property. Hundreds of tents popped up all over the grounds. And God continued His pursuit of every single racer in a way that will change their lives forever.
The last time I went to a World Race Training Camp, it was my own. I stepped onto the Gainesville property with so much anticipation, not sure what to expect but so excited to experience God in new, deeper ways. This time, I returned to Adventures, a place I now call home, with that same excitement and expectancy. I had the amazing opportunity to be on a training team for a Gap Year squad, and I was so eager to watch the Lord do His thing in every single one of them.
He sure delivered. Just in those 10 days of training, I saw such radical growth in each of those 38 Racers. As they stepped into challenges of all kinds, wrestled with God, and came to believe some core truths about Him in deeper, more personal ways, I watched them begin to walk in more confidence of their identities as sons and daughters of God. It was seriously a privilege to witness and encourage.
They’ve been writing some awesome blogs about their experiences, and I’ve been excitedly reading every single post. Which got me thinking…why am I not writing about what the Lord taught me at Training Camp??? I may have had the role of “Trainer,” but God used my friends on Gap G Squad to remind me of an invaluable lesson.
So here’s my blog about what I learned at World Race Training Camp:
The power of belief.
What does it look like to believe in someone? Can you recall a time when someone told you or showed you that they believed in you? What kind of impact did that have?
I had the awesome privilege of showing many of the participants on G Squad that I believed in them. If I’m being honest, this wasn’t something I did with a ton of intentionality at first. I wanted to empower them and call them higher, but I didn’t go in thinking, “I’m gonna tell these Racers how much I believe in them!” But as I began to do life with them, recognize the incredible gifts and hearts they have, and ask the Lord how He sees them, I developed such a deep belief in each person and where I saw the Lord taking them. From there, conversations with each participant naturally revealed my belief in them and, more importantly, God’s belief in them. I got to encourage them, challenge them, and call them into who they truly are! Throughout Training Camp, my Training Team and I saw people unsure of their ability to lead begin to step up as leaders, guys who never thought of themselves as men start walking in confidence of their manhood, and recent high school graduates who still saw themselves as kids start taking responsibility as adults.
It was awesome, and it got me thinking about how I’ve personally been impacted by people who believe in me.
Growing up, I was blessed with incredibly encouraging parents. I did gymnastics for years and truly believed I could go to the Olympics one day (though, who’s to say that couldn’t have happened?!). I performed in my high school’s musicals and truly believed I could end up on Broadway (again, let’s not say it couldn’t happen!). I currently work at an international missions organization with big dreams of leading missionaries all over the world (definitely believing this one will happen!!). It all started with parents who always believed in me and encouraged me to go after my dreams. #thanksmomanddad
On the World Race, my mentor saw my hunger to grow, so she encouraged me in my strengths and areas I was seeking growth in. She also loved me enough to call me out on my junk! It all played a huge part in that life changing journey and allowed me to end the 11 months as a much more confident leader and disciple of Jesus. #thanksrenee
But seriously, saying the words…
“I believe in you, and I see _____ in you”
or “I love you, and so I’m going to challenge you to _____”
or “I recognize that you are _____, so I’m going to push you to start walking in _____”
or anything else expressing belief in a person
…can honestly change the trajectory of someone’s life.
Let this be a reminder that your words have so much power, and expressing belief in someone can have a tremendous, lasting impact. Don’t miss an opportunity to change someone’s life.
