3 minute read
It's Not Just About Sailing
CRUVIEW
AUTUMN 2019
As a child, Nate Gale thought he was a Christian. After all, he went to church on Sundays and his parents were missionaries. However, on his first CRU® Camp at Lake Mac, Sailing Adventure, he really understood for the first time that being a Christian was about a personal relationship with Christ.
Back in 2002, as a 13-year-old in Year 7, Nate absolutely loved camp and the sailing, but he recognises that what he took away from camp was even better. He recalls, “When I came on this camp 17 years ago, there were 20 to 25 kids and 6 leaders who served Christ amazingly. We went sailing every day and I developed friendships that lasted for life. But the most important thing for me was that I developed a fantastic relationship with Christ.”
The school years passed, but finishing high school didn’t mean Nate's Sailing Adventure days were over. He started leading and eventually started directing the camp, which is what he still does joyfully today. Although he loves the sailing, he is excited by the unique opportunity that comes with camp ministry. “The camp that I direct is a sailing camp, but the reason why we sail is so that we can form relationships with the kids and tell them about our faith in Christ,” shares Nate.
As a camp director, Nate has the privilege of seeing many campers visit Lake Mac, enjoy a week on the water and be transformed by the message of Jesus.
“For me, one of the most exciting kids we’ve ever had on camp was a kid named James*. In his first year, he was one of the toughest campers I’ve had in my life… he was so difficult, but he was great fun and had a real love for the people around him. As he was leaving camp that year I asked him, ‘If you were to walk away [from camp] with one thing, what would it be?' He replied with, 'Oh, I might try and read the Bible sometime this year.’”
Nate shares that James came back the next year, “Instead of mucking around, he actually sat in, participated in discussion groups and asked questions!”
By the third year, Nate was blown away by the work that God had done in James. He recalls, “On the very first night we sat down for dinner with one of the kids who was really nervous and wasn’t sure what to do. James just said, ‘I came on this camp three years ago, and I was an idiot, but I’m here now and I’m a Christian. I can tell you this camp is going to be the best camp you ever have, but the sailing doesn’t matter, it’s what happens in the mornings that matter, which is when we do our God times.’”
Pictured: Nate (second from left) with other campers and leaders on Sailing Adventure, 2004
Pictured: Nate (second from left) with other campers and leaders on Sailing Adventure, 2004
Nate can't wait for the Lake Mac site to be redeveloped and expanded. “There are so many people who are keen to come on camp. Every year we fill up. For the past 3 years we have gone past our maximum numbers… every year we have turned people away,” he shares emotionally. He continues, "There are so many kids that are keen to come on camp and the exciting thing is that stacks of them aren't Christians! It breaks my heart to turn kids away from hearing about Jesus."
Nate understands that Lake Mac’s facilities desperately need updating to make them more suitable for modern use, however, he sees a greater reason. He shares matter-of-factly, “For me the chance to improve this site is not just about putting bricks in the ground, it’s not just about a comfy bed to sleep on, it’s not about a warm shower, it's about each and every kid that comes... it’s about their relationship with Christ. Redeveloping this site gives an amazing opportunity for 20,000 extra kids to hear God's word each year. When you hear that, you would do anything you possibly could to help.”
