Is Summer Camp Worth It?
From Director Philip Drake
Camp News #004
“It’s long. It’s hard. It’s exhausting. But is it worth it? I answer with a resounding, “YES!””
Summer 2022 at Mt. Lou San has come to an end and we, as a staff, are rejoicing in what God has done in and through us. This was the most impactful summer I can ever remember here at Mt. Lou San as far as numbers of kids making decisions to follow Christ and to live rightly in a broken world. At the close of camp we were recounting over 130 salvation decisions that resulted from one-on-one conversations with counselors and full time staff, and many others committing to follow Him in specific areas of Christian living. Praise be to God for His active presence in the lives of kids and teens. I’m convinced that the gospel is attractive and these young people are seeing the inability of the current world system to bring joy into their lives.
One particularly impactful activity was called “The Road to the Cross” which took place every Thursday night. Cabins moved across the property to 10 stations depicting events that happened to Jesus leading up to His death on the cross. These stations included Jesus’ trial, His arrest, and the brutal crown of thorns which pierced his head. One station allowed campers to reflect on the forgiveness of Jesus towards His abusers, while another encouraged students to write down a specific sin that was “sticky” in their life that they haven’t been able to shake on their own. The final station gave campers an opportunity to seek forgiveness for the sin they wrote down, and to nail it to the cross, symbolizing Christ’s payment for those sins through His death. Even though this activity was directly followed by a chapel in which the gospel was shared, nearly every week at least 1 young person approached their counselor directly after the activity asking how they could be saved from their sins. We praise God for the impact of this activity as we know God used it in powerful ways.
God is good to allow us to use the avenue of summer camp to show kids and teens the power of the gospel in a person’s life. And we praise Him that many young people were changed and many were made new after encountering Jesus here at camp.
It's long. It’s hard. It’s exhausting. But is it worth it? I answer with a resounding, “YES!” And we’d do it all over again…in fact…we plan to very soon!
