Gliding past an old Girls Guide camp on my morning paddle, I'm prompted to pray for our local camp ministries.
Sweet camper memories rise to the surface. The chapel bell signalling the change in activity and the director singing rise and shine through the speakers. I remember cabin conversations about angels and miracles, soapy slip 'N slides down the hill, and the green algae of the rank creek below the ropes course.
Then there's the counsellor memories as a teenager. Burnt grilled cheese sandwiches, picking off wood ticks, soaked towels after a rain and calming kiddos during a thunderstorm. Prepping to teach bible lessons, rescuing campers fallen into said rank creek, and the campers who accepted Christ.
A few more strokes as the memories fade and I pray for "the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38). I remember the small table of support staff in the dining hall, but now as the camp has grown, it's not a single table anymore. The need for volunteers in the kitchen, as camp nurse, and maintenance continues to increase—ministry requires many willing hands and feet.
Then, considering the ministry of Christian camps to share biblical values and gospel truths, I pray for the program staff, the counsellors, the camp nurses, that they would be given words to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 6:19-20). As a young camp staff member, I remember feeling afraid of saying the right thing or being able to share the gospel clearly, then learning to trust the Holy Spirit's guidance and the faithfulness of God in my awkward, but courageous, efforts.
(Funny how it's still like that now too sometimes)
There's also something unique about working at camp, I remember feeling a sense of peace and spiritual protection. Our youth pastor would talk about it like living in a bubble, as we were surrounded with support and friends all with a similar passion to serve and teach kids. However, I'd see peers live faithfully at camp, but waver in September walking through the doors of high school and the temptations that came with it. Outside the camp bubble, we now had to face the world.
So I pray that just as Paul admonished the Philippian church to practice what he had taught them, that the young staff will persevere in living out the truths they've learned, heard and seen during their time in ministry (Phil. 4:9).
Camp ministry helped my faith take shape through my teenage years, and now I have the joy of watching the blessing it has been in the lives of my kids. We have young people from our church dedicating their summers to this good work and I'm so grateful for the Lord's work in and through them.
I invite you to pray along with me this summer for these local ministries.
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