The Chapel is a beautiful thing to be part of.
Time is a gift. To give that gift away to anyone or anything is a sacrifice. And the Chapel demands a lot of one’s time.
So why would someone come? Why would you come?
Because of the Gospel.
We’re Christians. We’re called by His Name. We live for him. Our hearts have been changed for him. So why do we forget the Gospel? Why are we afraid to share it? Is it because we don’t know how? The Chapel is a picture of what the Church should be—a beautiful community of believers who live together and love one another and spend their days praising God and telling people about him. Do you want to get to know God better? Do you want to understand the Gospel better? Do you long for a closer communion with the One who made you? Come. Come to the Chapel. See the goodness of God and the sacrifice of the Cross in a brighter and clearer light.
“My main reasons why I came to the Chapel were to be of service to the team, and to learn about evangelism—because the more I’m learning about God, the more I’m realizing I need to want to share my faith,” said Jennifer, one of our female staff counselors. “I want to want to share my faith. And so coming here has made me want to share my faith more. It has also deepened my faith. I think that’s the reason a lot of people come to the Chapel—to deepen their faith. If you want to grow in your faith, the Boardwalk Chapel is a great experience because it stretches you, and you’re forced to trust in God every night. Especially when you’re going out every single night. When you don’t feel like it, you’re learning to completely depend on God for everything. And it really helps deepen your relationship with the Lord.”
“[The Chapel] is a great ministry that will equip you to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the boardwalk, and help you do the Great Commission,” said Andrew, who serves on our evangelism team. “Some people cannot give their entire summer away, but I would encourage anyone to have this experience.”
If you come and serve on staff, you will learn how to share the Gospel. That is an invaluable skill, because it’s one of the commands of Jesus. We ought to be telling people about Him. But if you feel helpless and don’t know how, you will learn here.
“Don’t expect it to be easy,” says Hannah Beth, one of our evangelism staffers. “It’s not going to just be all fun and games the whole time. It’s emotionally draining, and it’s hard, but it’s also very worth it. It’s an opportunity to grow in your faith and to learn how to obey the Great Commission in a different way. But also be prepared to have nights when you’re exhausted, to have nights when you’re emotionally shot. That’s okay, and it’s very well worth it for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of growing your faith. But be prepared for that.” The reality is that it’s not easy to be rejected. It’s not easy when the Gospel that you share is disregarded by unbelievers. It’s tempting to take that personally. But they’re not rejecting you. They’re rejecting Jesus. It is enough that you are doing his work. Enough that you are proclaiming his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit can use that for what he wills. We aren’t out there to change peoples’ minds. We’re out there to proclaim the Good News.
If you come and serve on staff, you will be built up in your faith by the atmosphere of prayer and Christian fellowship. Tom, an evangelism intern who has been serving here for four years, said, “A lot of the relationships built on staff, they continue throughout the year. This is a body. But God drags you along the finish line if you’re really in it. I think God always orchestrates things where you can’t feel self-willed or self-empowered. It’s a very humbling experience. So, highlighting again, relationships.”
“The community here is really rewarding,” Jennifer added. “If you want to make friendships that will last you a lifetime, come to the Chapel. The atmosphere of service together is really uplifting and encouraging. The more we work together, the staff comes together and creates a bond that you can’t really describe.”
Getting to serve God here at the Chapel is a gift. It is an unusual place with unusual opportunities. Not everyone has that chance. But those who do take it don’t regret it. “I came here last year as a youth grouper, and I came back as staff because I admire the almost machine-like way that everybody kept going forward,” said a Junior Staff team member. “They kept going out, they kept singing, they kept praising God. and I began to realize that the biggest thing about being here at the Chapel is when you keep in mind that you are serving God, you are living the Great Commission. You are given the privilege of speaking to people who aren’t going out of their way to try to find the Gospel or to hear the Gospel. It’s more fueling and more invigorating than any sort of outside stimulant. And realize, getting to serve God in this capacity is probably the greatest gift any young adult can have. Because we’re not only coming to learn what our gifts are, but it also helps to form us with a Christ-centered, kingdom-centered mindset going into our college years, into our eventual adulthood.”
So why should someone come? You’ll be equipped to obey the Great Commission. You’ll be put outside your comfort zone. You’ll make lasting friendships. You’ll be able to use your gifts for God’s glory.
It will be good. It will be joyful. It will be painful.
But it will be beautiful.