Summer Camp Recap
Summer Camp Recap
The Four Areas of Focus express the vision and yearnings of the people of The United Methodist Church. Over this quadrennium, the church will seek to focus the work of making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world around these areas of ministry:
As I entered into our camp season this year, I was mindful of how camping connects directly with each of these Four Areas of Focus for the UMC.
Camping provides a unique place where students and adults get out of the norm and routine, which too often in the United States right now is spent sitting, in office chairs, classroom chairs, and in front of the TV/Computer/Video Game system. Without these other distractions, and some opportunities for new activities, and adventures - hiking, star gazing, archery, swimming and just getting from one end of camp to the other, the reality is we are increasing our exercise levels, and contributing to improving health for all involved. It may seem a little simplistic, but it does help.
When I think about camp, I see a very different demographic than most of our UMC congregations. Many of the children and youth who come to camp are sponsored by the local church. We also have offered camperships through the District, and offer other subsidies through our apportionments to provide a life-changing experience, and an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ, in our camps and retreats. We care for the poor, and engage in ministry.
Nowhere is this more obvious and abundant than through our Sierra Service Project program, whose story you will find elsewhere in this newsletter. By serving as a counselor this year in camp, I saw the poverty we are facing in “middle America”, and was overwhelmed by the loving provision of so many of our local churches in this District and others to ensure that all youth have a chance to experience nature, get away from home and meet Jesus Christ. As one Camp Director told me years ago - our goal in Camping is to offer them Christ. I would go one step farther, and say that we need to embody Christ, and teach the students who come to camp to do likewise.
I realize that when we talk about having camp in places that are over 100 years old, like Arroyo Grande Camp, and Colby, and Wrightwood, it may seem a little dubious to call this a new place for new people. But, I know that for many students in the UMC, this is the entry into the church, that allows them to find comfort and participation and a renewed vigor to be in the local church. For a few students each year, this is a new place, and they are new people. These students are invited by friends, or paid for by their grandparents or a neighbor to come to camp.
If we are sincere about revitalizing existing congregations, we need energy, and a focused drive to know Christ, and to be in relationship with one another. I know of no other way than camp to make this an intensive experience, and one that returns students and adult leaders back to the local church with a desire to see God moving mightily here as it did at camp. This revitalized energy can translate into ministry for the area, and for focusing our relationships through small groups, not unlike the “Family Groups” and “Work Groups” our students and adults experience during a week of Camp or Sierra Service Project.
20 years ago during Annual Conference one of our clergy asked the question about how many of the clergy had received their call to ministry while at camp. More than half of the clergy raised their hands. This past year, fewer than one-quarter of the 600 active clergy raised their hands when asked this question. We need to re-engage our youth and young adults in the life of ministry, and camp is a great place to do that. But, more than serving as a recruiting grounds for our clergy we need to be aware of the leadership we can grow in our own churches through camp.
This past year, as I went to Sr. High Camp, we were sharing Camp Wrightwood with the Jr. High Camp from the District as well. As we gathered for our first meal together, I had a startling realization, I had more than half of the Jr High counselors as campers when I was Dean of the camp less than 10 years ago. About one-quarter of the Sr. High Counselors had been folks I had trained, or again had as campers. I listened to the tales of what they are going on to do with their lives now that they are finishing up with college. One of the young ladies headed to Ghana on mission this year, while another was headed off to work on her Psychology degree to help those in need. A couple have since gone into ministry, either in the youth ranks, or looking more seriously at serving as an Ordained member of the clergy. Not only are these former campers of mine growing up, but they are leading the church.
I have to admit that when I think about what Camp is about, and what I want to do with our youth and adult leaders during a week of camp, I want to introduce them to Jesus Christ all over again, that they might have a living encounter with the Risen Christ. I want to expose them to a self-sufficiency they may not have realized about themselves, which in turn helps combat the desire to own and control as much as possible, making life about service to others, rather than living for self. I help to create an environment where each student and counselor knows love and compassion, that they may see one another as people, and not as defined by race or class, to ensure ministry with the poor will be one in which the relationship comes before the service provided. I want them to feel welcome, that they might welcome others. I strive to provide an arena in which each student and leader has a chance to lead, so that they may grow more self-assured, and self-aware, that they may be able to go home and lead the churches they are participants into a revitalized life. In short, I want them to go home, living the Four Focus Areas of the UMC. Thank you for helping me to work with our youth in such a way, and supporting our camp and retreat ministries in real and meaningful ways, with your participation, your financial support, and your compassion for me and others who go to give with our time. We grow stronger churches when we see the church extended beyond our own walls to reach all kinds of people.
Blessings,
David Camphouse
The Four Areas of Focus express the vision and yearnings of the people of The United Methodist Church. Over this quadrennium, the church will seek to focus the work of making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world around these areas of ministry:
- Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally.
- Engaging in ministry with the poor.
- Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations.
- Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.
As I entered into our camp season this year, I was mindful of how camping connects directly with each of these Four Areas of Focus for the UMC.
- Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally.
Camping provides a unique place where students and adults get out of the norm and routine, which too often in the United States right now is spent sitting, in office chairs, classroom chairs, and in front of the TV/Computer/Video Game system. Without these other distractions, and some opportunities for new activities, and adventures - hiking, star gazing, archery, swimming and just getting from one end of camp to the other, the reality is we are increasing our exercise levels, and contributing to improving health for all involved. It may seem a little simplistic, but it does help.
- Engaging in ministry with the poor.
When I think about camp, I see a very different demographic than most of our UMC congregations. Many of the children and youth who come to camp are sponsored by the local church. We also have offered camperships through the District, and offer other subsidies through our apportionments to provide a life-changing experience, and an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ, in our camps and retreats. We care for the poor, and engage in ministry.
Nowhere is this more obvious and abundant than through our Sierra Service Project program, whose story you will find elsewhere in this newsletter. By serving as a counselor this year in camp, I saw the poverty we are facing in “middle America”, and was overwhelmed by the loving provision of so many of our local churches in this District and others to ensure that all youth have a chance to experience nature, get away from home and meet Jesus Christ. As one Camp Director told me years ago - our goal in Camping is to offer them Christ. I would go one step farther, and say that we need to embody Christ, and teach the students who come to camp to do likewise.
- Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations.
I realize that when we talk about having camp in places that are over 100 years old, like Arroyo Grande Camp, and Colby, and Wrightwood, it may seem a little dubious to call this a new place for new people. But, I know that for many students in the UMC, this is the entry into the church, that allows them to find comfort and participation and a renewed vigor to be in the local church. For a few students each year, this is a new place, and they are new people. These students are invited by friends, or paid for by their grandparents or a neighbor to come to camp.
If we are sincere about revitalizing existing congregations, we need energy, and a focused drive to know Christ, and to be in relationship with one another. I know of no other way than camp to make this an intensive experience, and one that returns students and adult leaders back to the local church with a desire to see God moving mightily here as it did at camp. This revitalized energy can translate into ministry for the area, and for focusing our relationships through small groups, not unlike the “Family Groups” and “Work Groups” our students and adults experience during a week of Camp or Sierra Service Project.
- Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.
20 years ago during Annual Conference one of our clergy asked the question about how many of the clergy had received their call to ministry while at camp. More than half of the clergy raised their hands. This past year, fewer than one-quarter of the 600 active clergy raised their hands when asked this question. We need to re-engage our youth and young adults in the life of ministry, and camp is a great place to do that. But, more than serving as a recruiting grounds for our clergy we need to be aware of the leadership we can grow in our own churches through camp.
This past year, as I went to Sr. High Camp, we were sharing Camp Wrightwood with the Jr. High Camp from the District as well. As we gathered for our first meal together, I had a startling realization, I had more than half of the Jr High counselors as campers when I was Dean of the camp less than 10 years ago. About one-quarter of the Sr. High Counselors had been folks I had trained, or again had as campers. I listened to the tales of what they are going on to do with their lives now that they are finishing up with college. One of the young ladies headed to Ghana on mission this year, while another was headed off to work on her Psychology degree to help those in need. A couple have since gone into ministry, either in the youth ranks, or looking more seriously at serving as an Ordained member of the clergy. Not only are these former campers of mine growing up, but they are leading the church.
I have to admit that when I think about what Camp is about, and what I want to do with our youth and adult leaders during a week of camp, I want to introduce them to Jesus Christ all over again, that they might have a living encounter with the Risen Christ. I want to expose them to a self-sufficiency they may not have realized about themselves, which in turn helps combat the desire to own and control as much as possible, making life about service to others, rather than living for self. I help to create an environment where each student and counselor knows love and compassion, that they may see one another as people, and not as defined by race or class, to ensure ministry with the poor will be one in which the relationship comes before the service provided. I want them to feel welcome, that they might welcome others. I strive to provide an arena in which each student and leader has a chance to lead, so that they may grow more self-assured, and self-aware, that they may be able to go home and lead the churches they are participants into a revitalized life. In short, I want them to go home, living the Four Focus Areas of the UMC. Thank you for helping me to work with our youth in such a way, and supporting our camp and retreat ministries in real and meaningful ways, with your participation, your financial support, and your compassion for me and others who go to give with our time. We grow stronger churches when we see the church extended beyond our own walls to reach all kinds of people.
Blessings,
David Camphouse
posted by David @ 8/24/2010
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home