Note: Refiner’s Fire will be back soon. I’m currently hunkered down researching some of the history pieces for it; the next section will be posted here soon. In the meantime, I have a special request …
If you’re reading this, chances are you know me primarily as an author or blogger. But since 2007, I have also been the co-director of a performing arts ministry which also serves as a platform for my speaking. It’s called 1:11 Ministries, and we have been using word, music, and especially dance to present the gospel all over the world for over a decade now.
1:11 was founded by myself and my cousin/roommate/dear friend Carolyn Currey. Several years later, our friend Mercy Hope came on board as a director and speaker. Needless to say, it’s been an adventure :).
I’m writing this today because we, and one part of the adventure in particular, could use your help :).
Presenting: 1:11 Arts Camp
Nine years ago, Carolyn and I decided to go out on a limb and devote a week one summer to teaching and discipling about a dozen girls through intensive Bible study and prayer, dance training, and exposure to other art forms.
That first year made a huge impact on the girls’ lives — and ours, too. We decided to do it again, and we’ve been running 1:11 Arts Camp every year now for nearly a decade.
This year (2019), we almost decided to bring camp to an end. We three directors are all in personal times of transition, and camp brings some unique challenges with it.
But also this year, we heard more than ever from students and their parents how much of an impact camp has made.
When we reached the end of this year’s camp week, we realized that we couldn’t shut it down. It’s just too fruitful — and it means too much to us and to the girls who come every year.
But we also can’t do keep doing alone.
So this year, for the first time EVER, we are running a GoFundMe to help out.
Why We Need Funds
Through this GoFundMe campaign, we are trying to raise $5000 — or more — because our camp needs extra funds in order to grow and continue.
Primarily, we are in desperate need of a new location. We’ve been running on a shoestring budget that has allowed us to rent a lodge where we set up makeshift beds and use a nearby YMCA for showers, because the lodge doesn’t have any.
This year we’re losing access to the Y (it’s closing down). We don’t want to jack up the registration fees for the girls who come. We’re too aware that it could become a burden on families. But we desperately need to move into a new location, one with actual dorm rooms, beds, and showers.
We have our eye on a new location here in the Niagara Region, but it will cost us close to $5000 above our usual costs to rent it. Any funds we raise through this campaign will help us move into a new location.
That allows us to feed the girls three great meals a day, house them overnight in a beautiful retreat setting, bring in amazing staff, and give our students all-day classes, concerts, and outings headed up by professional and kingdom-minded Christian artists and teachers.
If we can go above our goal, we’ll have the flexibility to do other things we’ve dreamed of doing for our staff and students, all while keeping the weekly registration fee low for the kids who come.
So we’re asking: will you give? Every dollar makes a difference.
The Impact of Your Gifts
In the 9 years we’ve run camp, we’ve seen it make an outsized impact for the kingdom of God over and over again.
We’ve had students get saved, learn how to hear from God, and fall in love with the Bible.
We’ve had students go on to take the arts into their churches, and to go beyond that—some have gone into missions overseas and ministry locally and all across Canada. Others have entered full-time pro-life work. All have been challenged to see their whole lives as service to God.
This year, one student told us, “I wouldn’t be who I am without this camp.” Others told us that throughout their entire time in high school, it was camp where they knew God would do something big in their lives, and he always did.
The camp also makes an unusual investment in the arts as a form of worship and of service. More and more, our culture is desperate for artists who know how to combine excellence with the love of God and a strong grasp of their role in the kingdom. We don’t know of many other places where students can go to get this.
Every year, we form an arts-based, discipleship-focused community that goes on to reach the world. You contributions to our camp will make a real kingdom impact.
So will you contribute? We can’t do this alone. Any amount makes a difference and will help us reach our goal.
You can give by going to our GoFundMe page and clicking “Donate Now.”
As a ministry, we are under the umbrella of Flyingbow Music Ministry, a registered charity, so if you are in Canada, your donations are fully tax deductible, and you will receive a receipt via email when you give.
Thanks for your time. I invite you to give and also to share this fundraiser with anyone you know who would like to invest in the arts and in the lives of young women for the kingdom of God.
And on a personal level, from me … I am more grateful than I can say for every one of my readers, your love for God, your support of me, and the way you generously act as the wind beneath my (our) wings. Thank you so much.
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