RECAP – 2022 Summer Camps

Another camp season behind us and what an impactful couple of weeks! Our numbers jumped up from last year, which was a great encouragement.

The end of July we had our youth camp, TIDAL WAVE: The Great Comeback, with Josiah Alipate as our guest speaker. He took us on a journey. The first night we covered Separation and how our sin is the reason why we were separated from God. This wasn’t a “feel good” night, rather a night to sit with the reality of why we need a Savior. The second night was Revelation and how God reveals himself through creation and the Holy Spirit, both are unique and special. The third night was the most powerful session and where we saw the tide change. It was about Salvation. Josiah had all the chairs removed from the chapel and told everyone to stand off to one side. He began to ask a series of questions and if you answered “yes”, you would cross over to the other side of the chapel. It started simple, like “if you own a dog” or “if you’re a middle child”. But it got really DEEP and raw with more personal questions. Students were able to see they are not alone in their pain and this was never God’s original plan for them. He desires to save them, and all He needs is their “yes” to Him.  There were waves of emotion that flooded the room and many came forward seeking freedom in Christ. We had 150 students invite Jesus into their hearts – two of them that arrived at camp openly practicing atheism.  But God!

The fourth night, as a follow up, Josiah talked about Sanctification and how we had a huge breakthrough night the night before, but when the students woke up that morning, they probably quickly realized their circumstances didn’t change. A lot of them will still go back to the same circumstances, so what happens now? Josiah talked about how God is on a mission to transform us to look like Jesus so that the same freedom we just experienced, we can share with others and they can experience it too. Lastly, Josiah talked about Glorification and how it is our responsibility to be missional with the good news. We accepted Christ but can’t experience the reward fully until we are in heaven, so let’s bring as many people with us as possible to bring God the most glory!

It was such a powerful time and testimonies kept coming in about how God impacted the youth at camp! As always, Skyler never disappoints with his games and fun! Lots of laughs, good food, friendships made, breakthrough and salvations. This is why we do what we do!!

A few days later, we arrived at kid’s camp, still rocking the back-to-back weeks of camp!

Our guest speaker was Brock Eastman, who was “Dr. Fizzlebop” a made-up character who loves faith and science. The week was FIZZTASTIC as each night included multiple science experiments with a paralleled story about God. It was vibrant, colorful, dynamic and kept the kid’s attention throughout the week as the gospel message was presented. We invited the Waverly Youth Band back again this year to lead worship. The kids were so engaged, worshipping their hearts out with motions and singing! There were approximately 90 students who gave their hearts to the Lord and/or recommitted theirlives to Him. Praise God!

We also had Jan Burnham accompany us as the kid’s camp nurse this year! We cannot wait to have her back again next year. The kid’s felt cared for and safe in her care and we were beyond grateful to have a designated nurse this year.

As always, God is still using camps to show Himself off and captivate the hearts of this next generation! He is in constant pursuit and we feel so honored to play a small part in creating the atmosphere for God to make himself known!  To everyone who served alongside us, THANK YOU! We can’t do it without you!  Here’s to 2022 Summer Camps!

Next Generation Leaders,

Ben & Lola Carlson