Keeping ministry momentum
This summer I had a chance to visit Eagle Lake Bible Camp (run by Blumenort Community Church) and Longbow Lake Bible Camp (run by Ridgewood Church). It is exciting to see the flurry of activity when you arrive at a Bible camp. I was able to interview a couple of staff to understand why they thought camp was such an important part of their church ministry.
You can do years of ministry in a week of camp. There’s just something about being together 24/7—eating, playing, worshipping—that you can’t get at a youth group or drop-in.
Sam Pauls (Rosenort EMC): “I love to see kids growing in their faith and making it their own, because they’re not at home anymore, and they can grow in themselves, as well as watching them learn new skills and becoming competent and growing in their own confidence, and that’s just so rewarding.”
Jenna Sawatzky (Ridgewood Church): “I really believe in discipleship. A lot of our youth come to camp here, so I really appreciate continuing that relationship through the summer and being able to encourage them in their walk with Jesus. [Camp] is a big part of my testimony. So, I kind of want to pass that on to the next generation.”
Kyra Sawatzky (Blumenort Community Church): “Students that attend Bible camp often point to their weeks at camp as faith-shaping moments of their lives and that is reason enough for camps to exist. But camps also play another significant role in discipleship. It is often in a camp setting that young followers of Jesus are given the opportunity to lead for the first time. They are invited to serve as cabin leaders, teaching skills, leading games, or serving on worship teams. These are often skills that they haven’t done in the context of their weekly church life.”
Faith grows in the moments when we realize that we need God to accomplish ministry. Camp is filled with these moments, and this is what makes serving at camp a faith-building incubator.
By the time you read this article, most camps have wound down their summer activities. It would be easy to remember with fondness this past summer or look forward to next summer. However, this is a significant time for action, especially with the young leaders who served at camps. Find ways to invite them to grow their leadership and ministry skills. This may require making extra room for apprentices or leaders in training in your ministries. Failing to find creative ways for these young leaders to serve would be an error.
Camp is a fantastic leadership pipeline. It begins by inviting children and youth to follow Jesus more closely and continues by developing these students into young ministers who are given significant responsibility. Churches need to continue this development by being ready to mentor and give these young leaders opportunities for meaningful service.
If you spent time at a Bible camp this summer, thank you! You may never know which of our future church leaders you had a hand in encouraging and developing.
Audio is generated with AI voice technology.
Photo credit: Sunder Muthukumaran on Unsplash
Resource Corner
EMC church health assessment
Assess how your church is doing in key ministry areas such as discipleship, engagement, outreach, and more. What are your church’s next steps? An assessment is available from the EMC office by emailing info@emconference.ca.
