Following is a report from camp director Jeff Broadnax, concerning Generations Ministries’ New Heights Summer Camp held recently in Connecticut
First I want to thank our churches in Schenectady, NY; Loudon, NH; Stratford and Meriden, CT; Queens, Manhattan and Rochester, NY; and Newark and Hillsdale, NJ for their financial support. We could not serve these amazing young people without their help. I also want to thank the Chillicothe, OH and Hillsdale, NJ churches for spending 24 hours in prayer for us during camp week.
This year we had 68 campers and 68 staffers. The number of campers was down a bit this year due to the poor economy. But this allowed our staff more time to re-assess our calling to be a mission-oriented ministry. We were also able to spend more time on a leadership development and transition plan.
Our theme this year, “Living Loved,” caught on like wildfire as campers and staffers embraced the secure relationship we have with and in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The theme was unpacked in chapel messages from Pastors Dishon Mills, Anthony Rice and Lawrence Evans.
I can’t thank our staff enough for yielding to the Spirit of God, allowing Him to use them to continue our transformation into a mission-oriented camp. Staffers came from the Northeast and as far away as Alaska. Every single day, these dedicated Christians laid down their lives in prayer, conversation and hard work to expand the Christ-centered worldview of our campers.
This year we added new life-skills classes: “time to speak” (public speaking), “roadside assistance” (basic car care) and a class on “helping in a local church.” We also had Pastor David Botha of GenMin Grace Missions share his testimony and experience in the mission field to help ignite in our campers and staffers a desire to participate in outwardly focused mission. Pastor and Mrs. Joseph Franklin from Haiti also shared their journey in the mission field. We are also working with the Franklins to bring Haitian children to our camp next year.
There were many highlights this year, but I’ll mention two. First, two of our staffers were baptized: Jasmine Broadnax and Sharon (Techiera) Ng. Second, we experienced a dramatic intervention from God. As we were readying for our final ceremony, we received a report that a line of very severe thunderstorms was headed toward the camp. We immediately gathered to pray and God diverted the storms. The moving closing ceremony went ahead as planned. We believe that God calmed the massive storm to remind our campers just how much he loves us and to assure them that he will be with them in the storms of their lives.
