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Here is a volunteer showing two kids how to pet and be gentle with a horse at Gospel Rocks Ranch. Courtesy of Jon Hager -
Here is one of the many volunteers at Gospel Rocks Ranch giving the kids a tractor hayride. Courtesy of Jon Hager -
Each child gets a Bible at Gospel Rocks Ranch. In this photo, you see the kids holding the Bibles and bandanas they got at Gospel Rocks Ranch. The child in the middle is holding a gnome which was part of the scavenger hunt. Courtesy of Jon Hager -
Jon Hager speaking to the kids at Gospel Rocks Ranch.
Talk is so easy. Most of us have soap boxes that we are more than eager to mount. Some of mine are politics, the damage that screens and social media have done to society, and wet socks. I really hate wet socks. But even though we enjoy a passionate discourse, many of us do not take meaningful action to remedy the problems that we see. I use the word, “meaningful,” because saying “God bless you” at the store or posting a Facebook rant probably does not have the impact that we wish it did.
In the Bible, Gideon saw a big problem. The Midianites were raiding Israelite lands, stealing their livestock and produce. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon to hail him as a mighty hero, Gideon complained about the state of affairs in Israel, asking where the Lord’s deliverance was and accusing the Lord of abandoning them. When the angel commissioned him to rescue Israel, Gideon squirmed in his reply and tried to disqualify himself from the task for being the weakest in his family and being from the weakest tribe.
One of my favorite societal commentaries commonly attributed to Edmund Burke is that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Evil does indeed seem to be triumphing in our society. But should we just wring our hands? No. Let’s redirect our future.
Children are not being taught the Word of God and are more adapted to video games than God’s outdoor creation. We formed Gospel Rocks Ranch (GRR) in 2021 to take on that problem. GRR is a ranch ministry to children ages 5-12 where we bus them to our ranch, give them a fun ranch Saturday with nine different engaging activities, and teach them the basics of the Bible. Most importantly, we share the Gospel with them, that Christ died and rose again for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that by trusting in Him as our Savior, we can be granted repentance and forgiveness.
If you have noticed that the world is going downhill quickly, please don’t just sit and talk about the weather (old men), or sit and talk about old men (old women). Join our team at GRR! The next generation is crucial. We need to teach them God’s Word, Biblical character, and common sense. We will do these things on May 4th and May 11th for our next two day camps to round out this spring camp season.
If you have tried to disqualify yourself from making a difference in the world because you are too old, too young, too inexperienced, too weak, too unqualified, or too shy, please don’t. God does not call the equipped, but rather equips the called as He did with Gideon.
For more information on Gospel Rocks Ranch, go to gospelrocksranch.org. You can also contact them via email: gospelrocksranch@yahoo.com.