Life on the farm in the summertime bustled with activity and chores. Participation of all family members was required and valued. Yet no matter how much our help was needed on the farm, my parents prioritized time and money for me and my siblings to attend Bible camp every summer. After a week away, immersed in God’s Word and on vacation from our regular chores, one might expect we would come back exceedingly thankful and ever joyful to help with farm and household tasks, beautifully displaying the fruits of the Spirit in our words, actions, and attitudes at every moment! Sadly, I think my life may have often exhibited the opposite and plunged into a valley after a utopian week at camp.

Bible camps and youth retreats can have a significant impact on spiritual life and growth, and certainly did in my life—spending rich time in the Word, listening to Bible teachers, singing and sharing testimonies, enjoying fellowship and fun with Christians my age. I also remember coming home from Bible camp with greater excitement about being a Christian and increased determination to witness to my friends at school. That vigor sometimes was followed by waning outward zeal and then disappointment that I wasn’t measuring up to my own expectations of what I thought a Christian should look like or feel like. I was beginning to learn that mountains have valleys. 

But I also had been taught by family members, youth leaders, teachers, and Bible camp counselors the value of a daily devotional time—reading God’s Word, praying, and memorizing Scripture. Years of this practice being modeled and taught instilled in me a lifelong habit. I learned the valleys don’t magically disappear with age and may even get deeper and darker. But in the valleys, we can turn to God, whose promises will not fail, and rest in the protection of His presence. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NIV). In the valley, the sun can be hidden. But when we know there will be valleys of darkness (doubt, fear, loneliness, grief), we can better prepare for them, letting the light of His Word shine forth on our path in the midst of the darkness (Psalm 119:105; 139:12).

Families and congregations can do two significant things for our youth in anticipation of these difficult times. First, constantly point them to the unchanging Word of God as the foundation of faith and life in our Sunday school classes, youth group gatherings, and personal conversations. Second, look for ways to be present with them both on the mountains and in the valleys. When we walk with children and youth through their joys and challenges, we are “little Christs,” as Luther says. We are the tangible presence of Christ. We can show that God is ever present with us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Though sometimes hidden in the valley, God is still there working in us and through us. His Word sustains us and gives confidence, hope, and peace.

For more than 20 years, I have thought how wonderful it would be to publish devotional material for youth as spiritual sustenance for the valleys that may come after their mountaintop experiences at Bible camp or youth conventions. Introducing our newest publication, a devotional booklet for teens, was a highlight of the Free Lutheran Youth (FLY) Convention for me this past summer. Alive in Christ: 31 Days in the Word was put together through the efforts of AFLC Parish Education, AFLC Youth Ministries, and 31 men and women writers from across the AFLC. Thanks to a generous donor, more than 800 youth and youth leaders who attended FLY were gifted a copy of the new devotional. Perfect for personal study of God’s Word or in a small group or youth group setting, Alive in Christ is a tool to help the Word of Christ dwell richly in teens through all the terrains of life. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).  

Marian Christopherson
AFLC Parish Education Director

Read the rest of our Fall ’25 newsletter here, and sign up for future newsletters here.