The Magic of Camp

When John Denver wrote Rocky Mountain High, it’s unlikely that his born again experience had anything to do with an encounter of the Holy Spirit.  However, the transcendent mountain top experience of sitting around a campfire in community echos the journey of anyone who’s childhood was defined by Youth Group retreats or summer camps. As a youth minister, camp remains a fundamental building block at the core of my program’s ministry. Sunday School class rooms filled with cliques, drama, sour relationships, and a toxic culture will return from camp united in community. It happens every summer without fail, kids come back from camp different. And no matter how hard I try, the transformational process that happens at camp is impossible to replicate on Sunday morning. There is no denying the magic of a camp. Whether it is the increased sense of community, the over saturated occurrence of worship in the schedule, or a true presence of the Holy Spirt, camp seems to have some undefined magic about it in youth ministry. But what happens at this sacred space that we call camp? What is it about this idea of retreat that creates life changing experiences and spiritual encounters? Why is it that so often we witness students return from these programs with testimonies claiming they were born in the summer of seventh grade year?

Camp can provide the platform for youth to come experience life changing adventures, belong in a community who values them as individuals, become who God created them to be, and believe that they have a purpose in this world. By removing the young people from the distraction, distortions, and demons of the world around them creates the place and the space for them to discover the Joy of the Gospel.

We hope you will join us in creating a camp that cultivates community among young people, provides them with a chance to hear Christ's call on their lives, and commissions them to go and be the change makers in our world!