Survival’s Mission and Distinctives

Many will testify of what God has done in their lives through those serving at Survival.  This mission statement and corresponding structure of distinctives is intended to help outline why we do what we do so that “to the degree that we have attained, we walk according the same rule, we are of the same mind” (Philippians 3:16).  These distinctives find their roots in the Bible and have come to light through experience with Survival since it started in 1999.

 

 

We Motivate Students by

 

1. Helping Them Come for the Right Reasons (Luke 14:28)

Jesus warns His disciples to “count the cost” before committing to follow Him.  In marketing the event, our goal is to communicate that Survival is an intense week focused on applying Biblical truth to our roles as effective team members.  Providing summer camp style experiences, apologetics and government training, and even personal survival skill development are NOT what we do at Survival.  This is why we have the students do homework based on an expository study of one of the Bible’s “teambuilding” chapters (Romans 12, Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, etc); it helps students “count the cost” and come to Survival for the right reasons because they are aware of our focus.

2. Setting the Example as Staff (1 Tim 4:12, Philippians 3:17)

Staff are usually selected because they have already proven to be effective team members as Survival students.  They are characterized bysetting the example “in word, in conduct, in faith, and in purity” (1 Tim 4:12).  The guys must initiate godly leadership, deference, and patience.  The girls must respond with encouragement, creativity, and flexibility.  Each staffer has a specific role and unless fulfilling that role, is expected to spend time with the students.  Under a “positive peer pressure” model, we implicitly encourage students to “follow in our example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Phil 3:17).

3. Separating from Normal Distractions (Hebrews 12:1)

After a discussion of faithful examples in Hebrews 11, there is a resulting call in Hebrews 12:1 to “therefore… lay aside every weight”.  The event rules we have at Survival help accomplish this, but there are also two strategies that we employ: First, Survival is held in rustic, outdoor environments where the comforts and distractions of normal life are easier to lay aside.  Second, we do not tell the students the schedule for the week; we want them to take the week one step at a time, taking advantage of the opportunity at hand instead of being distracted by what is coming up.  The resulting increase in focus motivates the students to learn.

5. Creating a Competitive Atmosphere (Hebrews 12:1)

Every activity at Survival is a competition among the teams.  Just as Hebrews 12:1 motivates us to “run with endurance the race”, we provideclear objectives for each team to strive towards as they compete with each other during the week.  Early in the week, the scores serve as a motivator; but as the teams mature, they tend to become more energized about applying what they learn than actually ending up with the highest score.  The focus on application during the week helps facilitate this transition.

6. Pointing to the Adventure of Following Jesus on a Team (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Hebrews closes its exhortation by reminding us to “look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”.  We find that the students and staff who get the most out of participating in Survival are those who are eager to risk it all for Jesus, no matter what hardships come their way.  Using the canvas of the outdoors, we cast a vision for the effectiveness of functioning teams in the real world – at home, at work, at church, at school, and on the mission field.

We teach students by

 

1.  Starting with the Bible (2 Tim 3:15-17)

We have a distinct passion for using the Scripture as the center of our teaching; this is because it is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”. Nothing more than the Scripture is required for us to be completely equipped.

Therefore, we actively seek to let specific passages serve as our outline instead of just using the Bible to support our own thoughts.  For example, in teaching on the 4 stages of teambuilding, we teach using an expository style through Romans 12.  Exhortations for each one of the phases clearly exist in the passage, and we discuss them as we move through the chapter.  The temptation is to just reference the Bible as we hit on different topics, but we find that our teaching maintains a more balanced focus when we enslave ourselves to the Word.

2. Keeping the Gospel Central (Revelation 2:1-3)

Much of the teaching and applications at Survival are very deep.  Without reminding ourselves of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, we can fall into the same trap that the church at Ephesus did in Revelation 2:1-3.  They were very righteous, but they “left their first love”.   We make an effort to remember the passion we had when we first surrendered to Christ by discussing the Gospel, sharing it with students we suspect are not saved, and challenging students to share their faith during the night game at the end of the week.  The Gospel is only prioritized when we remind ourselves of it.

3.  Connecting Truth and Actions (Luke 12:47)

We are called to prepare and to do.  “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will,shall be beaten with many stripes.” Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the Survival training environment is the opportunity to apply what is learned to the activities of the week.  We help students connect the dots by syncing the teambuilding messages with what the students are actually doing during the week.  As their team goes through different struggles and phases of development, the talks go hand-in-hand.  In addition, we encourage students to connect their activities back to what they have learned during the debrief time each evening.  Listening to students share applications is powerful.

4.  Relying on the Holy Spirit to Apply (1 Corinthians 2:13)

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing (joining together) spiritual things with spiritual.” Although we have a plan for what we want to teach and do at Survival, the Word is clear that the joining together, or application, of spiritual things is a work of the Holy Spirit.  Ultimately, He is the One that connects the dots and puts the principles into practice.  Therefore, our goal is to be liberated by an organized structure while deliberately allowing room for the Holy Spirit to lead our words and actions.  The primary function of the Spirit is to point to Jesus, so usually, this is exactly what He leads us to do.

 

We disciple students by

 

1.  Ministering through People, Not Processes (Acts 6:1-8)

We see in Acts 6 that when the apostles were faced with a new ministry need, they identified faithful men who they could “appoint over thisbusiness”.  The response was one of picking people they could trust to do it right, not sitting down and defining a system to ensure that they did.  Trust drives excellence.

Unless debilitating problems arise, quality control in ministry should go only as far as selecting the right people – and then trusting them to select their people.  We use systems in ministry to identify and support the right people, not to control them as they minister.   Discipleship starts by knowing that if God is behind a ministry, He will guide those who have been entrusted with it to bear more fruit than our process would ever permit.

2.  Selecting Them for the Long Term (Matthew 4:18-22; Acts 16:1-5)

At Survival, our primary tool for discipling students is the leadership of the program.  We ask staff to come on board because we see them demonstrating faithfulness as students on their teams, and if they are teachable and share a passion for why we do what we do (our distinctives), we ask them to keep coming back for as long as they are able.   The older staff who keep coming back become the most equipped to make disciples of their own from among the students, the younger staff, and elsewhere in their lives.  Long term discipleship empowers multiplication.

3.  Showing them How and Why in Love (Matthew 6)

Leaders who desire to multiply their ministry will communicate how they do what they do.  But it is in answering why we do what we do that we are truly able to make disciples.  Why?  We are equipping others with the very purpose that drives our actions.  Jesus did this quite frequently with His disciples, and many examples are found in Matthew 6 – how to do good deeds, how to pray, how to fast, how to stay pure, and how to avoid worrying.  But each is empowered by communicating why: what is done in secret will be rewarded openly, the Father knows our prayers before we pray them, our heart is where our treasure is, etc.

As we disciple staff through Survival, we find that people are much more engaged when they are given instructions backed by purpose.   Often times, this requires a lot of humility because we have to reference mistakes we have made before.  But, it is our love for those we are investing in that drives us to draw from these lessons.  Discipleship answers how and why because we love people.

4.  Sending Them Out to Do (Matthew 10:16)

Discipleship is not complete unless the opportunity is provided to do what the disciple has been shown.  Jesus said, “behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves”.  Talk about loading on some responsibility.

The temptation with discipleship is to avoid stepping back and letting someone fail. It often requires that the leader be willing to give up something that he could do better himself.  At Survival, the delegation of tasks among the staff serves as a powerful training ground, especially if the proper feedback is given.  Outside of Survival, we are beginning to connect Survival students and leadership with missions opportunities.  We are always eager to explore new ways to bring discipleship full circle by plugging people into doing.

5.  Living in our Biblical Role as a Man or Woman (Ephesians 4:16; 1 Tim 2:8-14)

We teach that according to Ephesians 4, each member of the team has a specific role, and that role is vital to the success of the team.  No one role is of more importance than another; in fact, those that are considered lesser are actually greater because the greater are called to support the weaker.

The most distinct role that God has given each of us is our sexuality.  Men are called to initiate in spiritual wisdom, and women are called to respond.  I Timothy 2:8-14 makes this clear along with many other Scriptures.  Since introducing guy/girl breakout discussions where we challenge students and staff to apply what the Bible has to say about these roles to their teams, we have seen an incredible boost in the unity of our staff and student teams during the week.  We teach leadership at Survival as being more than a position; it is the opportunity to influence others to be more effective for God.

6.  Scheduling Time to Focus on the Lord (Psalm 92:2-3)

We always schedule time to “declare His loving kindness in the morning and His faithfulness every night” because the end goal of our discipleship is to point people to Jesus.  He is the Master who disciples us better than anyone else.  Each morning after breakfast at Survival, we have worship and a time of personal prayer and Bible reading.  Each evening, we have worship and a time in the Word.  Though simple, the personal quiet times are often some of the most impactful for our students, and the applications they share with the group are often derived from these times with the Lord.

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