An Impact Re:Created

Staff members share how a reimagined summer of missions left a lasting impact

Chelsea Brennan, first-time staffer

This was my first year on staff for Impact Mission Camps. I had been a camper at Impact for the past six years, so at the start of the summer I was thrilled to try something new at the camp that had shaped my past summer experiences for so long. Especially after missing out on a camp experience in 2020 due to Covid, I was excited to see how a whole summer at Impact could reinvigorate my relationship with God and help me to grow even closer to him.

The theme for Impact this year could not have been more perfect in regards to what we all experienced over the past year and a half. Following the verses from 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” the theme was titled “Re:Created”. Throughout the summer, all of the passages we studied and messages given focused on how God has been using this time at Impact as a chance for each of us to renew ourselves through his guidance and refresh his kingdom through mission work.

The theme of Re:Created and its corresponding passage really resonated with me specifically, because I truly felt that I had lost everything during Covid. As a member of the graduating class of 2020 and a college freshman from fall 2020 to spring 2021, I missed out on a lot of the things I had looked forward to, such as prom, graduation, freshman orientation, college football, and so much more. Along with all of these disappointments, I felt my faith slip into the background of my life. I couldn’t seem to understand what purpose God had for all of this suffering, until he led me to serving on staff.

This summer taught me that God has a reason and a purpose in everything we go through. I felt myself being recreated and renewed each day at camp, and I saw how my experiences during quarantine helped me in connecting with campers and making their experience at Impact even more personal. I was finally able to understand that even through this horrible experience, God was able to use a small portion of it for good. By all going through much of the same struggles during the past

year, we are able to support each other more than ever before, and that feeling made Impact’s work that much more powerful. I will forever cherish my time on Impact staff this summer and the influence it has had on my life, and I hope that I get the opportunity to work with Impact again in the future.

Samantha Richard, returner staffer

As I entered my second year on Impact staff, I could not help but feel excited and overjoyed that we would be able to experience some version of “normal camp.” My first staff experience was all virtual, so knowing that I would be able to meet campers and connect with them in person made me thrilled to be returning as a staff member.

Being that this year our theme was “Re:Created,” I felt a sense of hope that our world has been and is still slowly returning back to normal. During the pandemic, it was very difficult for me as a junior in college to grow more in my faith, due to my school being shut down for the spring semester. During this summer of Impact Re:Created, I was able to see how God was working through the pandemic by realizing how much I had grown in these past 18 months.

One specific instance this summer that was my turning point into diving deeper into my faith was a conversation I had with one of the owners of the homes that our campers were working on. I was able to sit and talk with her for about an hour, and hearing her speak so boldly about her faith in God really made me want to do that as well. She was so appreciative of the work that our campers were able to provide her and spoke with me about her entire faith journey. Seeing how the Lord worked in her life and how he gave her that same confidence he gave me to share His love with others made me feel that I definitely made the right decision by being on staff again this year. This particular conversation during camp opened the door for me to be able to share my love for God to nonbelievers or skeptics, which is something I have struggled with in the past. Over the course of the pandemic, God has been working in my heart to prepare me to be on staff by giving me the confidence to speak out about my faith proudly.

Impact taught me, along with the campers that attended, the value of hard work and what it looks like to share God’s love in a practical way. These campers volunteered all week to do something for an individual who could not do it themselves which exemplifies the love that Christ has for all of us. The work that these campers completed means so much to the homeowners and it gives them hope of a bright future in our world with these students leading the way.