The Impact Blog

27 years of skits.....we have come a long way since those early days of total impromptu craziness. Just some notes....in 1995, 96, 97, and 98 the skits were a simple pantomime deal. I would describe a story and our actors would play it out. In 96 we videoed all the skits but finished them on stage. Jon Shoulders, Jonathan Tucker, and Mike Shepherd were main stays in those early days. These were really there just to create "family" share a fun story that would involve inside jokes for everyone at the camp. In 99 we returned to the video skits. This was also the first year Skidmore joined Jon and I in the skit, and the first year I did not serve as the narrator but a character. In 2000-2003 the skits were still silly stories of good vs evil which featured inside jokes from the week. However in 02 Rubio joined the team. Then in 04 "This Mystery"  we realized the skits could be something more. It was still silly stuff but we actually were going somewhere with th...

Impact 2018 “Olly Olly Oxen Free” TODD N. LOYD · SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018 We play hide and seek all our lives, the game never changes just the players. Too bad many of us don’t understand Olly Olly Oxen Free. Grace is a thing. So step out, step out wherever you are, everyone is free. Today we are facing an epidemic of fear in our culture. This year Impact chose to confront the culture of fear and stare down worry, anxiety, guilt, and shame. We challenged our campers and everyone there to step out into the light. To step out and talk to someone, to set yourself free from the dark. I loaded up my old truck and headed off campus today around 10:45. It just did not feel right to listen to some sports talk jockey, or classic rock jam. So I grabbed my phone and downloaded “Reckless Love”. I’ve never been a Contemporary Christian music guy, but that song, that one song just felt like the right thing to hear. “Perfect love casts out fear”. It was the end of my 27th I...

So I am not sure why "bloger" insists to put the date of my initial post here but rest assured I do not have time travel ability. This was updated after Impact 2023 Every year on the last day of Impact I am asked one question more often than any other. "How would you compare this year to last year?" Those of you who attend a yearly camp understand this question. People don't necessarily want to know how you would literally rank that specific year, but they are really asking "how do you think this year went?"  However, as a guy who loves Impact and loves ranking things, I inevitably respond, "I don't know, it will take a little while for it to sink in". And by that response I mean, I will wait and sit here at my computer and actually give it serious thought. As I said I love listing things, and I don't ever take my listings lightly. Before I start, I want t to make this clear, Impact means nothing if it has no impact on the teen...

Impact 2017 “Seek” TODD N. LOYD · MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017 I don’t know why. I have my suspicions but I am not certain. Fact is for the first time in 26 years, as the calendar flipped over to June I was not looking forward to Impact. It could have been I was nervous about one thing or another, or stressed about it all going how we had planned. I honestly thought this might be the year I summed up Impact by saying, we did not pull everything off. I was wrong. I have not quite sat down to evaluate it yet, but this one might actually rank up there amidst the best Impact’s ever. As soon as John Pyle opened our program with his challenge to the students, and hearing the teens cheer as Savannah and Easton belted out “How Far I’ll Go” I knew everything was going to be fine, and God would be using this week for His glory in spite of my foolish doubts. And then on that last night watching Rubio quote the Sermon on the Mount, well the words of Jesus permeated the...

Just thought this might be interesting..... 1992.."Impact".no spiritual theme, classes and speakers selected topics 1993..."Change Your World" evangelism 1994..."Give It Away" evangelism 1995..."Live To Tell" evangelism 1996..."Major League" faith development 1997..."Out Of This World" Christian living 1998..."Go West" sin 1999.."Unmasked" identity in Christ 2000.."The Journey" life in Christ 2001..."Ten" The covenant 2002..."Shield About Me" armor of God 2003..."Deep" going deeper in our faith 2004..."This Mystery" Colossians 2005..."Escape" being trapped by sin 2006..."The Story" wise choices 2007..."The Mighty" taking action 2008..."Day of Reckoning:" life is hard, heaven is coming 2009..."hIDDEN" be truthful 2010..."Buried Alive" pursuit of fame, wealth, glory 2011..."H...

Impact 2015- "Abandoned" June 30, 2015 at 12:15am Public Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Close Friends Columbia, Tennessee Area See all lists... David Lipscomb High School Lipscomb University Family Acquaintances Go Back It still has not sunk in yet. What it's over? I woke up on Sunday after Impact thinking... "I should be going to Impact Central right?" I think the fact that Senior Impact flew by so fast, I really for the first time in a long time rolled away from the campus on Saturday in total denial. It reminded me a lot of how I felt leaving in 2008 "Day Of Reckoning". Just kind of ready to get home but not realizing how two weeks of my life could pass so fast.  I mowed the lawn, ran my miles, took a nap, then took the boys out for ice cream. All the while believing I would probably wake up at Impact the next morning. But let's go back a few months to get the whole story. Not sure the exact date, no c...

Remove Impact 2016 “Hyde” TODD N. LOYD · MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2016 Explaining Impact to someone who was not there....So there were 1,200 junior high students screaming at a Leprechaun who was tackled by Dora while trying to put election results in a blender that would determine who won between Mr. T and Bob Ross..... Well maybe that’s not what I should lead with... Selfish desire, it can change us, transform us. Are we allowing our desire shape us into another person? Or are we following the example of Christ. For over 100 years the story of Jekyll and Hyde has delighted generations. And at its core the story has always been about the heart’s true desire, be it darkness or light. 1:30am Friday night, only a couple of our security guys are out and about. I am riding my California Chariot all over campus desperately hanging on to Impact 2016. It’s really hard to explain that feeling of loneliness. That deep pit in your stomach, day after Christmas kind...