75 Years of Youth Ministry

Youth and Children’s Ministries have always been a priority in the Evangelical Methodist Church. In these pages you’ll see articles from our 75-year history which highlight the importance and the investment the EMC has made in our youth. God has given parents the role of primary spiritual shepherds for their children, and churches are to come alongside parents and families to help solidify the truth of God’s Word they are teaching. For those who may not have parents who are believers, the church also provides spiritual mentors to shepherd and model a relationship with Christ.

Two primary ways the larger body of the EMC has come alongside church ministries and ministered to Youth and Children are Youth Camps and Quiz Team programs.

It’s likely that several reading this Connection issue were campers at a church youth camp – maybe a few times or maybe every year. For those who attended, many can point back to a major spiritual decision(s) made at a Youth Camp altar… salvation, sanctifi cation, a call to ministry… and the list goes on. Th e EMC has faithfully provided camp opportunities for children and youth to come away from their normal distractions and gather to witness the love of Christ. We hope you enjoy these historical pictures, articles, and camp and quiz team reports. ~ Judy Edwards

From “The Voice” | 1961

Camp Reports | 1962

Th e Big Bid for Youth - “Th e man that said, ‘Th e youth of today are the church of tomorrow’ spoke a fallacy. Th e truth is that the young people of today are, at this very moment, a part of the church of today. Woe be unto that church that looks like the ‘Old Timers Sunday School’ class. Th ere is no more lucrative or fruitful fi eld than that presented by the millions of American youth. Th ey come in all sizes, shapes, colors and dispositions. Th ey are everywhere – in, behind, on top of, around, over, in front and in back. Th e devil, that old opportunist, is making his biggest bid today for the youth of this nation. He is using every avenue of approach: appetites, glamour, sex, money, thrill, amusement, in fact the list is endless. He is off ering ‘everything in the book.’ He is making it hard for a youth not to submit to his wiles and ways. On the other hand, what is the church (your church) doing to put its bid in for the youth? Th ey are at our door; they are our opportunity; their future is, to a great extent, in our hands. What is your bid for youth?”

Southwest District Youth Camp:

Exactly 100 campers attended the Youth Camp at Camp-o-Wood near Tucson in August. Th e camp is located in Peppersauce Canyon on the slopes of 9,000 feet high Mount Lemmon.

Rev. James Perry was the camp director and Dick Lawrence was athletic director. Ministers of the district shared the preaching of the evangelistic services and most of the young people at the camp found help at the altar during the meetings. A number were saved and several testifi ed to having felt a call to the ministry or mission fi eld.

Th e campers were occasionally treated to the sight of bob-cats, coyotes and other desert animals lurking around the edges of the camp. Hikes were made to old mines and the campers became spelunkers on one trip to explore a large cave, which was complete with stalactites, stalagmites and a bottomless pool deep underground.

Th e Southern California SubDistrict Youth Camp was held at Camp Evangel, Aug. 20-27. Th ere were 104 registered campers about evenly divided between junior high and senior high age groups. Four ministers taught classes daily in two sessions in Missions and Bible, each camper being in two classes each morning. Rev. & Mrs. James Ogan, missionaries elect to Ecuador with OMS, assisted, teaching missions and Lois serving as camp nurse. Several ministers spoke during the evangelistic emphasis and morning 1962 Camp Evangel, Southern California chapels. Th ey included: Rev. Meredith Davis, Rev. Lee DeSaulnier, Rev. Roy Hotchkiss, Rev. Kunkle, Rev. Bill Moore, Rev. James Moore, Rev. Bob Moran, Rev. Robert Rogers, Rev. James Ogan, Rev Harold Brown, Rev. Glenn Streight and Rev. Gordon Johnson. A wonderful spirit prevailed throughout the camp. Th ere were many victories and decisions for Christ with a good response to the Missionary Day on the Friday of the camp.

Characteristic of the spiritual experiences these young people found was the testimony of a young man who came to one of the ministers after fully committing his life to Christ and with radiance on his face, explained “It’s great, it’s truly great!”

“Comments on Camp” from “ e Voice”

Donald Taylor, Pastor of Wesley Church, Memphis, Tennessee | 1967

For a number of years, I have been hearing about the strong Youth Camp of the Mid-South District but I never had the privilege to visit Shelby Forest until this summer. Upon my arrival in the district, I began to immediately promote the camp and make plans for my entire family to attend. We [attended, ready] to observe the camp program and results and compare them with other camps with which we are familiar. However, we soon found that our week would not be spent in observation and analyses, but in participation and fellowship; plus, a generous sprinkling of work and responsibility. 216 full-time campers and an undetermined number of part-time campers and visitors enjoyed a fi ne spiritual, social and recreational program that was well planned. We found a good balance between the planned activities and the informal activities, between the spiritual emphasis and the social opportunities and we were soon caught up in a very contagious and fi ne camp spirit. Th e Mid-South District Camp is truly one of the fi ne camps of the Eastern Annual Conference of the EMC. One young man who was saved at the camp joined [the church] the following Sunday.

So, after my fi rst time to attend, I conclude:

Numbered with the best, A heritage worth guarding; Owned of God and blessed, A future unlimited.

2007

Quizzing Programs Quiz Team programs were a big part of the EMC Youth Ministry over many years and were instrumental in hiding God’s Word in the hearts of our youth and helping solidify a biblical worldview.

Quizzing made a great impact in the lives of the students and the leaders involved. In these pages we share pictures, information and articles about Quiz Teams spanning 1962 through 2017.

Pictured Right: A Wichita, Kansas, quiz team wins the Western Annual Conference quiz competition in Azusa, California, Summer 1969. Rev. J. Vernon Connor, Conference Youth Chairman

Youth Quiz Champs!

Quiz Champs for the 1962 Texas District Youth Camp was the team from Shreveport, Louisiana. Rev. John C. Morris of Fort Worth, Texas served as the Quiz Master and the 1962 Bible Quiz was indeed a blessing and a source of inspiration to the youth camp this year. Th e group from the First EMC in Dallas, Texas was runner up in the event.

Children’s Quizzing Now

From “The Connection,” Fall 2017 | Leah Williamson (Excerpts)

Bible Quizzing started off as a program I was passionate about. I knew I wanted our children to know more of God’s Word, but I struggled with Bible Quizzing being memorization and nothing else. I was wrong! Our children have grown in their knowledge of God’s Word, and they have grown deeper in their understanding of the who and why of God’s Word. They have also learned they can’t just memorize the scripture and recall it - they have to understand the Word and answer questions that go beyond just a memory verse.

This past summer we had a world quiz for the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. There were 1800 quizzers, just like my group of seven, who achieved the honor of getting to attend. I have never been so proud as to stand in a group with so many little ones who can outthink a lot of adults on Scripture. They encourage one another, pray with one another, study the scripture together and build a lifetime of knowledge in their hearts. Covenant EMC’s team came away with 1 bronze, 2 silver and 4 gold medals! I tell my kids all the time, “I do not care how well you do in competition. We do Bible Quizzing so we can grow closer to God and to hide His words in our heart.”