Hi Parents, thanks for being part of our daily devotionals. Thank you for signing up to be a part of the daily devotionals—such an important part of what students will experience and learn this summer at camp!
Each morning at camp, students spend focused, quiet time with God, free from the usual distractions. It’s one of the most powerful parts of the week, and now you get to experience it too. These devotionals follow what your camper is learning, with content written specifically for you!
As you read, pray for your student and invite God to speak to your heart. He is moving in a big way at Allaso Ranch, and we are believing he will move in your life this week as well.
Letter From Pastor Sam Kelly
Hi Parents!
Thanks for being part of our daily devotionals.
Each morning at camp, students spend focused, quiet time with God, free from the usual distractions. It’s one of the most powerful parts of the week, and now you get to experience it too. These devotionals follow what your camper is learning, with content written specifically for you!
As you read, pray for your student and invite God to speak to your heart. He is moving in a big way at Allaso Ranch, and we are believing he will move in your life this week as well.
Blessings,
Pastor Sam Kelly
Day 1 - Monday
Poor is the new Rich
Think:
Throughout this week your student is diving into the Sermon on the Mount. This is the most famous sermon in human history. In this sermon Jesus lays out what it truly means to follow Him.
Today’s devotional kicked off camp with an upside-down truth from Jesus: the most blessed aren’t those who seem strong, confident, or spiritual—but those who admit they need help. “Poor in spirit” means acknowledging that without God, we’re spiritually poor – empty and desperate for Him.
Your student was challenged to be honest with God about where they’re running low. Today’s devotional invited them to lay down performance and lean fully into their need for Jesus.
As parents, we sometimes forget how much we need God in the busyness of everyday life—parenting, work, home, schedules—it can be easy to forget just how much we need God. We can fall into the trap of thinking we must have it all figured out for everyone else’s sake.
But what if, like your student is learning, the real blessing is found in admitting we don’t?
Today, take a few moments to breathe deeply and recognize the gift of spiritual poverty. The gift of not having to be the answer. The freedom of coming to God just as you are—and finding that He meets you there with grace, peace, and power.
Pray:
Pray for your student to lean into God this week, to put to the side the things the world tells them is true strength, and pursue Jesus.
Ask God to show you the places in your life where He’s inviting you to surrender and depend on Him more deeply.
Day 2 - Tuesday
An Upside-Down Blessing
Think:
In continuing to walk through the Sermon on the Mount, we focused on Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Once again Jesus flips the script on what the world tells us.
How can mourning be a blessing?
Sometimes we mourn because of painful external situations like loss or disappointment. Other times, we mourn internal situations like sin. Sin is when we miss the mark of God’s standard of perfection.
Your student spent time today reflecting on what it means to mourn—not just grief from loss, but also mourning over sin, brokenness, and the hard things we often try to ignore. Jesus’ teaching reveals that mourning isn’t something to avoid—it’s something He meets with comfort. Jesus includes the promise that those who mourn will receive His comfort.
The word Jesus uses for “comfort” here is not like a “there-there” pat-on-the-back kind of comfort. It’s His presence. It’s God moving toward you. Sitting with you. Holding you steady when it feels like everything might fall apart.
They were challenged to bring their pain honestly before God instead of stuffing it down or pushing past it. Jesus promises not just sympathy, but His presence, power, and comfort for those who mourn.
In adult life, we often keep moving—carpool, deadlines, family needs—without stopping to process pain or loss. But today’s verse invites us, like your student, to pause and give to God what we are dealing with. Mourning can feel like weakness—but it’s actually where Jesus meets us with His deepest comfort.
Is there something you’ve been carrying that God is inviting you to give to Him? He sees it. He can handle it. And He’s near.
Pray:
Pray that your student would have the courage to be real with God about what they’re carrying - and receive His comfort.
Ask God to help you model what it looks like to give Jesus every aspect of your life – the good and the tough.
Day 3 - Wednesday
Strength Isn’t What You Think
Think:
The world teaches that true strength is about bold, loud, dominant actions. That strength is about putting yourself first. Jesus turns this thinking on its head. “Blessed are the meek…”
That word “meek” isn’t about being timid or a pushover. In Jesus’ world, meekness was used to describe something like a wild horse that had been trained—not stripped of its power, but under control. Not weak. Just steady.
Meekness doesn’t mean silence or inaction. It just means choosing Him over yourself. Asking yourself, “What would Jesus do?” Not, “What would I do?” It’s the choice to stay steady, humble, and surrendered even when pride wants to take the lead.
Jesus makes a promise to those who live this teaching out: “The meek will inherit the earth.”
If you live surrendered, grounded in who God says you are, the reward is so much bigger than a moment of recognition. It’s eternal.
Parenting often feels like pressure—to be in control, to lead confidently, to hold it all together. But Jesus redefines strength. Meekness is surrender with purpose. It’s choosing restraint, humility, and trust in God over proving ourselves.
Where in your life is God inviting you to let go of control and embrace quiet strength?
Pray:
Pray that your student would grow in true strength—not performance, but a life anchored in surrender to Jesus.
Ask God to show you where you can lead with meekness at home, at work, and in your relationships.
Day 4 - Thursday
Hunger That Actually Satisfies
Read:
Matthew 5:6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Think:
What Your Student Learned Today:
One of the great things at Allaso Ranch is the food. From orange chicken to French toast, students have been eating great food. There is no doubt that they are hungry, but it’s not just for food.
Today’s devotional wasn’t about physical hunger—it was about the hunger that lives in all of us on a soul level. Jesus says the blessed life doesn’t come from filling up on success, attention, popularity, or comfort—but from craving righteousness. That word isn’t about being “perfect” or religious—it’s about being in right relationship with God. It’s about wanting what He wants, living in sync with His heart, and pursuing a life that reflects Him.
Today, your student was invited to pay attention to what they’re really craving. Not just the surface-level stuff, but the ache for something more. They were challenged to shift their appetite away from temporary things and toward what truly satisfies—Jesus Himself.
And here’s the promise Jesus makes: If they hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled. Not just inspired. Not temporarily encouraged. Filled. Lastingly. Eternally.
This verse is as true for us as it is for our students. We know what it’s like to chase comfort in all the wrong places—achievement, affirmation, entertainment, even routine. We know what it’s like to feel full on the outside but spiritually running on empty.
Jesus offers us something better: a fullness that comes from craving Him. From wanting His way over our way. From choosing His presence over quick relief.
So, ask yourself—what have you been reaching for when life feels dry or overwhelming? And what would it look like today to trade that temporary filler for the sustaining presence of Jesus? Maybe it starts with five quiet minutes and a prayer: “God, I want more of You.” That hunger? He promises to fill it.
Pray:
Pray that your student would return home with a renewed hunger—not just for more of the camp experience, but for God’s truth, God’s Word, and God’s ways.
Ask God to increase your own hunger for Him. That He would shift your desires away from quick comforts and toward lasting peace.
Thank God that He meets us in our need and satisfies every longing heart that turns toward Him.
Day 5 - Friday
This Doesn't Stay Here
Read:
Matthew 5:14 - 16“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Think:
You get to see your student today! The week has been full of fun, growth, quiet times with God, competitions, and everything in between. But now comes the moment every student eventually hits: “How do I take this home?”
Today’s devotional focused on identity and purpose. Jesus tells His followers, “You are the light of the world.” Not “try to be,” not “once you feel ready,” but a bold declaration of who they already are because of Him.
Your student was reminded that the light they’ve experienced—the worship moments, the breakthroughs in small group, the prayers on the deck—aren’t meant to stay behind at camp. That light is meant to go home with them. Into school hallways. Group chats. Classrooms. Living rooms.
They don’t have to be perfect or have all the answers. They just need to stay close to Jesus. Because when they do, their life will naturally shine in a way that points others to Him.
Your student is stepping out of an environment designed to encounter God and back into normal life—with all its distractions, demands, and pressures. And while they are leaving camp, the seed that’s been planted can grow into something lasting… especially with your encouragement.
So, here’s the question: How can you encourage what God planted in your student at camp?
Ask good questions. Share how God’s working in you too. Let them know that you see the light in them—and believe it can keep shining.
And maybe this is a reminder that this isn’t just a word for your student. Jesus called you to be the light of the world too.
You carry light into your workplace, your home, your community. Your steady example of living for Jesus in everyday life is one of the greatest gifts you can give your student. And a great way to keep the light burning in your family all year long is by being a part of the greatest thing Jesus ever built – the local church.
Pray:
Pray that your student would walk confidently in the truth that they are a light—and that their life would reflect Jesus wherever they go.
Ask God to help you continue to make the church a priority and encourage their walk with Christ at home.