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Future Camp 2026 - Night One
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Welcome to Future Camp. Before we dive in, I want to set the tone for tonight. Some of you walked in thinking this is just another service—a time to zone out before heading to games. But here's what I need you to know: one of you might hear something tonight that literally changes your life. So I'm asking for maturity in this room. If you're genuinely seeking a touch from Jesus, great. But if you're here to distract others, please don't get in the way of someone who desperately needs to encounter God.
We're not here to spectate tonight. We're here to participate in what God is doing.
I want to start with a simple question: What happened to that kid? We just looked at photos of people as children—Steph Curry, Taylor Swift, Caitlyn Clark, MrBeast—all just regular kids at one point. None of them had any idea what was coming their way.
Here's what strikes me: these photos remind us of something powerful. They inspire us because they show us that great things can happen to ordinary people. You're sitting in this room right now as a kid. So what could happen to you?
I've noticed something about our generation. There's a tendency in us not just to survive, but to constantly try to prove ourselves worthy of other people's approval. Deep down, I think we all hope and desire that our life has purpose. Even the kid who acts like they don't care? They're usually just hiding insecurity. That's why we scroll endlessly on social media—it's easier to watch other people live out their purpose than to actually do it ourselves. So we numb out. We get drunk. We get high. Because when you feel like you're failing at purpose in your current season, the only way to disengage is to let your mind drift somewhere else.
Here's the truth: every vice, at its core, is about searching for meaning and purpose. Every single one. Whether you're 12 or 17, you have purpose on your life, my friend.
The culture will try to define purpose for you. Make money. Be successful. Get the girl or the guy. Go to the right school. But here's what I've learned: when you chase purpose without God in the picture, you end up with weight, pressure, and anxiety.
Anxiety is thinking about a future without God in it. Many of you are factoring in everything except the one who gave you purpose—the Way Maker himself. So you walk into camp thinking, I don't know if I fit in. I don't know if I'm good enough to be here.
But I'm telling you tonight: God has a purpose on your life. And by the end of our time together, I believe every single one of you will leave knowing not just that you have purpose, but that you have the wind of heaven on your back to run after it for the rest of your days.
Do not forget: the breath in your lung tonight is valuable. The enemy isn't trying to convince you that you have no purpose. He's trying to get you to forget, a month from now, that purpose is in your bones.
Let me pray for some of you right now. Maybe you're the youngest child and your older brother has it all figured out. Maybe all your friends are going to college with scholarships, and you feel left behind. Maybe you don't think you're the best athlete, you don't have the best friend group, you don't look the best, and you're wondering if you really have purpose at all.
I believe if you open your heart to the Holy Spirit, he's going to reveal your purpose to you tonight. So right now, close your eyes in your seat. Under your breath, say to the Holy Spirit: "Holy Spirit, I'm listening. I want a word from you. You are the author of my purpose. Tonight, God, I want to hear about it. I want to be inspired. I want to be filled with faith. I want clarity."
God, would you move through these rows and aisles? Would you whisper into our hearts tonight that you love us and care for us? Not as an idea or a theory, but as real, manifest presence. We want to leave here knowing, "My life is different." Amen.
I was talking with my friend Graham earlier, and he said something powerful: "Pressure is a privilege." I love that thought.
You can live one of two ways. You can have no pressure and play Fortnite all day—and hey, I'm all about Fortnite. But before you were born, heaven had an assignment for your life. I don't want you to get so caught up in the distractions of this world that you forget: God actually wants a godly ambition and pressure for you.
Tonight, we're going to study Samson. He was a judge in the Old Testament—not a judge like in a courtroom, but the strongest, most powerful person in the kingdom, appointed by God to deliver his people from oppression and bondage.
At this time in history, the Israelites had been captured by the Philistine army. They were living in oppression, shackled and chained. They cried out, "God, deliver us. God, deliver us." And you know who God sent? He sent Samson. Before Samson was even born, God showed up to his parents and put purpose on his life: he would be a deliverer.
Here's what I want you to catch: There are no accidents in the kingdom of God. Before you were ever born, heaven had a plan and a purpose for your life. The culture tries to get you to forget that—tries to make you think you have to earn it. But it's freely received.
Just like Samson, you and I have been born with a God-call on our lives. Whether you're preaching, singing, in the marketplace, on a sports team, or in middle school—there is purpose on your life.
Samson had incredible physical strength, but here's what made him truly terrifying: the power of God would come upon him, and he would operate in supernatural strength. A lion came at him, and he snapped its face with his bare hands. At his own wedding, when people tried to cheat him, he killed 30 of them with his bare hands. Another time, he defeated over a thousand people with his own hands.
He wasn't just physically strong. He had the power and anointing of God.
Here's what I want you to understand: God has given all of you a specific strength, calling, and gift. In your flesh, you can operate in it. But there's also what we call an anointing—a power from God that comes upon what you do and elevates it to a new level. Samson had purpose, potential, calling, a role, gifting, strength, and power. He had it all.
But then look at how the story ends:
"The Philistines captured him, gouged out his eyes, took him to Gaza where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in prison."
How do you have somebody with that level of purpose, calling, strength—all of it—and find himself with his eyes gouged out, chained up by the enemy he's supposed to deliver his people from, imprisoned?
Here's the answer: It wasn't the Philistines that took him out. It wasn't a lion. It wasn't an outside enemy. It was Samson himself.
So let me preach this tonight: The greatest threat to your purpose is not an outside enemy. It's you.
Let me remind you: God has already stepped on the heel of Satan. The Bible teaches that there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Satan can whisper lies, but you combat that with the word of the Lord. He's already been defeated. The same power that rose Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you. So this is good news. But it's also terrifying. Because if that power lives in me, could I do as Samson did?
Let me show you where Samson made his first mistake. In Judges 14, verse 1 and 3, it says:
"Samson went down to Timna. There he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. He came up to his father and mother and said, 'I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timna. Now get her for me as my wife.' But his father and mother said to him, 'Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among our other people? But you must go take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.' Samson said to his father, 'Get her for me, for she is right'—and whose eyes? My eyes."
Do you see what happened? Samson didn't go to God and say, "Lord, I was praying and I felt you speak to me about this woman." No. He was honest about it: "God didn't tell me, but she looks right in my eyes."
The opposite of faith is not fear. The opposite of faith is sight. The Bible says we don't walk by what? Sight. We walk by faith.
Here's what many of us in our generation live by: TikTok theology—if it feels good and looks good, I consume it. We don't even pause to ask, "God, is this for me?" You'll look at a college and evaluate the party scene and the academics, but never ask, "God, is this right for me?"
When Samson decides to do what feels right rather than what God says, a ripple effect begins. And here's something fascinating: at the very end of the book of Judges, God tells the people of Israel why they keep messing up, making mistakes, and doing horrible things. He says:
"It's because they did what was right in their own eyes."
Watch out for the sin of the culture becoming the sin you internalize in your own life. Just because it's popular online does not mean it needs to be popular in your spirit. Just because everybody else does it doesn't mean you need to do it.
I wonder: Is there a generation here that says, "I want to do what's right, not in my eyes, but in God's eyes?"
Here's what happened to Samson: He was called to be different, but he started blending in. Write this down: Don't date the culture you're called to change. He was called to set the Philistines' captives free, and he starts giving love eyes to the very people he's called to deliver his own people from.
Some of you need to hear this: maybe you've had a dad who let you down through his sin. He walked out. He cheated. He made a mistake. You have to learn to look at the pattern of brokenness and learn from it, not follow it.
The disciples don't ask, "What do I want?" They ask, "What does God want?" You want to find your purpose? Ask God.
But maybe you say, "I tried, Ben. He didn't answer. I prayed for about 14 seconds when I woke up that morning." Here's the truth: If you really value God giving you purpose, you will value spending alone time with him. Some of you want God to microwave purpose into your life that he's saying he wants to birth and develop inside your soul over time.
You are called to not blend in. You're called to stand out. As followers of Jesus, we don't live by what feels right. We live by what is right—the word of God.
Eventually, Samson finds another woman named Delilah. Here's something you need to know: Samson had beautiful, long hair. The Lord told him as a sign of their covenant: "Samson, one rule—don't cut your hair, because it represents that you are set apart. I've called you for a purpose."
Now, thank God we don't live under that same covenant today. Shave your head if you want. But here's what the hair meant: Every time Samson looked in a mirror, his long hair was reminding him, I'm called and I'm set apart.
I would encourage some of you: Have something that reminds you daily that you're called and set apart. Because here's what happens next.
The Philistine army goes to Delilah and says, "Find out where his power comes from." They keep chaining him up, and he just breaks out. So Delilah pesters and pesters and pesters him. Finally, one night, Samson falls asleep in her arms and says, "My power is in my hair." That night, while he sleeps, she cuts it off.
He wakes up and his hair is gone. But worse—he's now strapped and entangled and captured by the Philistine army. They gouge out his eyes. He's struck down, depressed, humiliated. He was called to set them free. Now he finds himself in bondage to them.
But here's where it gets fascinating. Look at Judges 16, verse 20:
"He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'Well, I'll just go out as the other times and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him."
I can picture this. He wakes up, and he's thinking, "Oh, I've been here before. That's weird." He tries again. Nothing happens. And then... he didn't even know God had left him.
And I think that's because he had gotten confused. All the times he had messed up, God's grace was still allowing him to move. He had confused God's grace for God's permission. Because God had allowed him to be strong in prior seasons when he had sinned, in this season he's thinking, "God's going to do the same thing." And all of a sudden, he doesn't realize that the one who gave him power is no longer with him.
Isn't it like us as human beings? We often live life like God doesn't even exist. You'll be here at camp singing, and then three weeks later you'll be cursing out your teacher or doing something else. You'll be in a dark place acting as if God was never there. And that's because it's a slow, overtime drift.
Samson walked in with purpose, calling, everything flooding his life. Then he made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision. And because the power was still working in his life, he didn't even realize that the one who gave him power had left.
Please do not put more value on the gift God has given you than the person who gave you the gift.
I was in the back just a few moments ago with my phone in my Bible, and they both fell on the ground. You know what my first thought was? "Oh my gosh, is my phone screen cracked?" I flipped it over, and my Bible was on the ground while my phone was in my hand. I had to laugh because it revealed what was more valuable to me in that moment.
Here's what I feel some of you need to catch: You need to value what God has put in your life. Some of you are devaluing the cross by how you're living. Some of you are devaluing the cross by how little you think of yourself. Some of you are squandering the breath in your lungs, the blood that paid for you.
Can I remind somebody in this room tonight: The most costly price was paid on the cross. You and I get to live under the blood of Jesus. We have to make sure we keep the right things valuable.
How could Samson fall? He stopped valuing God. And here's how you miss your purpose: you start valuing what people think over God. You start valuing how you perform over God. You start valuing whether you have a girlfriend or boyfriend over God.
Some of you need to get this in your heart tonight: I will value the most valuable thing on the planet—the grace, the mercy, the blood poured out for me. The power of God is the most valuable thing you have in your life.
Stop gossiping and tearing people down. Stop putting things in your body that don't belong there. Value what God values. He values you.
Samson finds himself in prison, eyes gouged out, completely broken. And here's the miracle: His hair began to grow back.
Some of you need to hear this tonight: You can try and screw up the purpose for your life, but the grace of God is so good. It's so faithful.
When I think back on my life and how I got here, it wasn't my strength. It wasn't my muscle. It wasn't my mind. It was the grace of God.
Here's the resolution I want some of you to have years down the road at a college reunion or a high school reunion when people ask, "Whatever happened to that one kid?" I want you to be able to say:
"Man, it wasn't my strength. It wasn't my wit. It wasn't my intellect. It wasn't my skill. It wasn't how much I grinded. It was the grace of God. God met me. God showed up. God healed me. God restored me. I tried to screw this thing up so many times, but the grace of God picked me back up again."
God's not just going to use your strength. He's going to use your mess-ups. So chill. God's grace is too good. Even in your weakness, he's going to pick you back up again.
If you find yourself in this room tonight, my friend, the hair is growing back. The grace is growing back. The favor is growing back. The freedom's growing back. You might try and screw it up, but God's grace is pulling you back.
Samson's in prison, blind and broken. His hair is growing back. And you know what he prays?
"Lord, remember me."
And he repents. He says, "God, give me strength." And his strength returns. He tears down the walls and pillars and defeats the entire Philistine army.
Some of you need to catch this tonight: The prayer is not, "God, I'm already great, so will you just put a cross on my life so I feel good about it?" The prayer is not, "God, I'm already gifted, so will you just be a cool accessory in my life?"
The call is this: God will often get you to your lowest point to get you to pray again—"God, remember me. Remember where my strength comes from."
I wonder tonight if you're in this room and you would say, "I want that grace for my life. I've been dealing with shame. I've been dealing with condemnation. I've been feeling left out. I've been feeling like I don't have a purpose or a calling. I want God's grace."
If that's you, lift your hands toward heaven right now. I'm going to pray the Holy Spirit would give you a deposit of his grace right now.
Jesus, tonight I pray that the blood of Jesus that covers a multitude of sins would cover every young person in this room who receives it. God, we need new grace for our future. We need new hope for our future. We need faith that comes from you. Tonight we dedicate our future into your hands. We want your plan. We want your purpose. We want what you have for us, God. We don't want to look like everybody else. We want to look more like Jesus.
If you're saying, "That's me. I want to look more like Jesus," give God a shout all over this room.
Now, if there's someone in this room who has never given their life to Jesus—you know about him, but he doesn't live in your heart—and tonight you would say, "I want to make him King and Lord and Savior of my life. I'm laying down my agenda, my plan, and I'm saying yes to Jesus"—here's what that means:
No longer do you get condemnation for your mess-ups and your sin. You get the grace of God to cover all of it. Shame leaves your life. All God sees when he sees you is his righteousness.
If tonight you need to receive Jesus into your life, on the count of three, I want you to leave your seat and meet me at the front. One, two, and three.
[People come forward]
I'm proud of you. Keep coming. If you're at the front of this room, put your hands toward heaven. Can the whole room repeat this prayer after me:
"Lord Jesus, I make you the King of my life. I want your plan, God, not mine. I want to follow you all the days of my life. I admit I'm a sinner. I admit I'm broken, but with you, God, I am strong and more than a conqueror."
And all God's people said, "Amen." Amen and amen. Come on, let's give God a shout of praise all over this room!
