G EO R G I A C U MB ER L AN D C O M M U N I C AT I O N D E PA RT M E NT
N A D F E AT U R E
A Cohutta Springs camper learns how to ride a horse during summer 2016.
connects people to a saving relationship with His Son, Jesus,” says Rob Lang, camp director at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp (CSYC) in Georgia. “And God is using summer camp ministry all around the North American Division to bring about decisions for Christ and baptism into the church.” Lang shares how God worked in the life of Elise Jones this past summer. Jones had been to camp before, but this summer she decided to sign up for two weeks. Her first week was Ultimate RAD Camp, a teen specialty camp that offers a different outdoor adventure every day. Some of the week is spent tent camping at various destinations. According to Lang, she tried mountain biking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting, just to name a few. For her second week Jones chose Teen Camp 2. During both weeks, the
teen grew close to her counselor, Lizzie Williams. Williams encouraged Jones in her spiritual journey, saying, “Nothing beats getting baptized at camp!” Williams helped Jones realize God changes the person when they commit their lives to Him. “Elise prayed about it and experienced such a feeling of peace,” says Lang. “She decided it was time to take her stand.” She was baptized at CSYC on July 16, 2016. “I love how camp is just a fresh start,” says Jones, who will be entering high school this fall. “Everyone at camp is there to support you and help you grow closer to God, because you are basically all family at camp.” Elise’s father, Matt Jones, principal of Atlanta Adventist Academy, is thrilled his daughter attended camp.
In Remembrance Three staffers passed away this past summer during time off and away from camp. “Our camps go the extra mile to do everything we can to make sure we run the safest camp possible by meeting nationally recognized standards,” says Bill Wood. “While these unfortunate accidents in no way reflect the overall safety of those camps, we continue to mourn the loss of these three dedicated young adults.” Brian Robak, 28, fell while returning from the summit of Mount Washington, Oregon, on June 30. Robak spent eight summers and two winters as a full-time staff member at Big Lake Youth Camp (more at http://ow.ly/H4F7303rW9p). On July 14 the Central California Conference of the Seventhday Adventist Church was notified that 21-year-old college
The proud father wrote to Lang: “Thank you for the incredible ministry of CSYC. Words serve as insufficient containers of meaning and emotion watching my youngest come up out of the water at her baptism last Sabbath. I appreciate your leadership . . . . Special thanks also to the counselors who played a vital role in our girls being spiritually nourished at camp.” The staff of 88 collegiate/young adults, mentored by Lang, minister to more than 1,800 campers each summer. Each year more than 1,100 decisions are made for Christ, and an average of 300 decisions for baptism. Lang, who has been a camp director for 25 years and at CSYC for 14, says, “I stayed in this work recognizing how important camp ministry is to the church. At Cohutta Springs, with God’s help and for His glory, we want to be a great camp that helps campers come face to face with Jesus while we develop young adult staff into topnotch spiritual leaders for the church.” Lang believes that summer camp is “one of the greatest educational environments ever created. The results are clear and undeniable. Every year staff make choices to become teachers and pastors. The outcomes far outweigh the challenges!”
student Kevin Canavan, a summer camp employee from Camp Wawona, drowned while he and several others were on an outing during their day off (more at http://ow.ly/jtSm303rW7m). George Jameson, a 19-year-old Seventh-day Adventist summer camp worker and recent high school graduate, drowned not far from Camp Au Sable while snorkeling in Michigan with friends during the weekend of July 23-24 (more at http://ow.ly/ c8Wm303rW0R). “The loss of these young people this summer has been devastating for those who have raised them, educated them, and mentored them in leadership and camp ministry,” says Tracy Wood, associate director of Young Adult Ministries for the NAD. “It has also been heartbreaking to the campers who they have inspired. We look forward all the more to the resurrection morning when Jesus comes and calls them back to life saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. . . . Enter into the joy of your Lord’ [Matt. 25:23].”
October 2016 | Adventist World - nad
37