As we look back on the summer camp season of 2013, we rejoice in all that God did in and through our 17 US Generations Ministries camps. We are particularly grateful for the generosity and excellent ministry of about 800 teen and adult volunteer staffers.
Much fruit
Kingdom fruit resulted as campers and staffers experienced a profound encounter with Christ in our camps. Many were baptized, dozens of new young leaders emerged and new camps were started. Stephen Webb, director of The Rock camp, commented: “We have learned the value of multiplication—starting new camps out of existing ones by raising up and sending new leaders.”
GenMin camps are powerful “incubators” of young leaders who not only serve at camp—many are integrated into leadership roles in their home churches. At SEP SoCal, older teen campers participated in ministry training—choosing from multiple training tracks including worship, drama, photography, public speaking and audio/visual/tech. Arrangements have been made for teachers to mentor their students following camp.
Several camps partnered with various churches and community groups to sponsor camps and to reach out to communities near and far. SEP Montana brought together 41 organizations, including ten denominations. SEP SoCal reached out by gathering “gently-used” T-shirts to distribute overseas.
Standard curriculum
This year’s GenMin camp curriculum, titled It’s Time, helped campers embrace God’s “kairos time” on a six-step journey: behold, believe, belong, become, behave and begin. The curriculum, posted at http://genmin.gci.org/Web%20Documents/Curriculum%202013.pdf, may be used by churches (for a series of sermons or studies) and by other camps.
Camp reports
Following are brief reports from several of this year’s GenMin camps. A full list of camps and additional videos and pictures are posted at at http://genmin.gci.org/campministries.htm.
2013 was SEP So Cal’s 12th year. They had 174 campers and 100 staffers, age 2 to 82. This intergenerational group was also multi-ethnic and interracial with Filipinos, African-Americans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners and Caucasians. 31% of the campers were first-timers and 26% of the staffers formerly were campers. About 70% of the campers received some sort of scholarship to help them attend this year. Thanks to the generous donors!
Here is a video showing SEP Rockies in session in the mountains of Colorado (view it on YouTube at http://youtu.be/R0J6m0C6s1A):
Pathways, held in Southern Ohio, had 104 campers and 67 staffers this summer (an increase of 14 staffers over last year). They have begun a junior staff mentoring program to enhance the camper-to-staffer development journey. Senior campers participated in life-equipping tracks including photography, drama, worship, American Sign Language (ASL) and leadership. Campers reached out to 20 disadvantaged children from the local community who were made campers for one day.
After two years of praying, dreaming, planning, sweating and sometimes weeping, this new camp was born in the Sauratown Mountains of central North Carolina. 90 campers and 55 staffers shared the many facets of camp life. After daily chapel services, campers participated in paintball, field sports, zip line, arts and crafts (including blacksmithing), archery, swimming and high ropes.
The final day of camp featured a formal banquet with white linen, fresh wildflowers and candles. Pastor Howard Blakeney spoke about the campers’ royal identity in Jesus. The evening ended with a dance.
One of The Rock’s staffers, who had no previous exposure to GCI, was recruited from a local university. She noted feeling “overwhelmed” in being made to feel “a part of the camp family” from the moment she arrived. She is planning to volunteer again next year. Camp director Stephen Webb commented: “Watching the staff’s love for one another and their unity in service was perhaps my greatest joy.”
Numerous GCI pastors served on The Rock’s staff as counselors, chaplains and dining hall managers. For a slideshow of the camp on FaceBook, see https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=637113198554&set=o.567982006575966&type=2&theater.
After operating locally for six years, SEP Montana became a GenMin camp this year. Held at Holter Lake near Helena, the camp had 107 campers and 47 staffers representing ten area churches.
Activities included tubing, jet skiing, Christian living, arts/crafts, paintball, sapphire mining, team building, wilderness skills, service projects and Montana animals in the wild sponsored by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. At a formal church service on Thursday night during camp, the campers were invited to Christ, invited to be prayed for and invited to write down their struggles and nail those to a 6-foot cross nearby. That service was followed the next day with a baptism service with parents present. Some of the campers will be baptized back home in their local churches. 24 kids and adults were baptized at the camp this year.
YES camp, held in Lousiana has two sessions—one for pre-teens and one for teens. There were 60 campers in each session—the highest attendance to date, served by 40 staffers each session. Three of the campers were baptized. You can see these camp sessions on YouTube (teen session at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtW388IVRMI and pre-teen session at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqM9C4xuKoE).
It brings me great joy to see the growth in both the quantity and quality of our GenMin camps. For this I thank God, and I applaud the many adults and older teens who selflessly and consistently give of their time, talent and treasure to bring about this kingdom growth. The lives of thousands are being changed as, through these camps, they are helped to have a profound encounter with the living Jesus Christ. Well done faithful servants!!
Great reading about this array of camps and campers and to know there were eleven more accomplishing much of the same edification of leaders both today and for tomorrow.