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BCM Camping—More Than Jumping in the Creek

by Dan Schmidt

For four summers, David Niblack flew from California to Pennsylvania to serve at Camp Streamside. “Each year was unique—a fast-paced community life filled with both high demands and high rewards,” he says. “Serving together with other young people, working (and playing!) outside, and experiencing ministry with kids from the inner-city always made camp a time of growth and adventure.” This fall, David will attend seminary—but camp has already given him a strong start in ministry.

Katelyn Morgan spent 14 summers at Camp Sankanac, as a camper and on staff. Before returning to Houghton College in the fall, she will work again at Sankanac this season. “Camp is so much more than jumping in the creek, playing Mission Impossible, and enjoying free time in the pool. It is a place where the Spirit of God moves and is one of the most loving atmospheres (outside of my home) that I have ever been in. I go to camp for all of the fun activities but also because I remember how much camp meant to me. I hope to be able to impart some of that to the current campers.” 

Once again this year, many students like David and Katelyn will pour their lives into people who attend BCM camps. They gladly forego travel, leisure or making big bucks in favor of an opportunity to counsel kids. As Rachel Ashbaugh, another multi-year veteran, says, “Camp gets in your heart and becomes part of you even when you aren't there. Most important is seeing God at work in the camp's ministry and being able to be a part of that great work.”

The Christian Camp and Conference Association surveyed its 1000-plus members in 2004 and found that they serve millions of people each year. In 2004, over 250,000 of these people made decisions to follow Jesus at a camp. CCCA estimates that more than 420,000 people are in Christian service today as a result of camp influence.

BCM understands the impact camping can have on campers and staff, as well as their siblings, parents, relatives and friends. That's why we made a commitment to camping many years ago. In 1941, Camp Sankanac, near Philadelphia, became the first of several camps that would soon be part of the mission. Interest spread, and now BCM has camps in Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. Modest investments have paid rich dividends as facilities and programs have expanded, and as more and more families have benefited. Now, in addition to active summer seasons, many of BCM's camps host retreats for church groups and others looking for a comfortable setting where they can enjoy a beautiful environment, good food and activities like water slides, tubing and hiking. BCM camps also offer sessions for people with disabilities, which is a welcome change of pace for these people and their care-givers.

Each summer, BCM camps host thousands of children. These kids develop confidence, learn new skills, and enjoy a variety of experiences. Some trek into forests, build a campfire, use a compass, race a go-kart, shoot an arrow or learn to swim for the first time of their lives. At Christian camps like those led and staffed by BCM missionaries, these kids also attend chapel, study the Bible and interact with people who love the Lord.

These days, camps face new challenges. Kids have developed sophisticated interests, and spiraling education costs affect potential staff members (since serving as a maintenance worker or cabin staff member usually involves a financial sacrifice!). So directors are responding with varied programming and more off-site specials—like a week-long canoe trip in northern NY, or “backpacking the Bob” (the Bob Marshall wilderness, that is, near Glacier National Park in MT). Camps are also seeking donors who want to support quality summer staff at reasonable levels so that students can offset college expenses.  

Of course, camp is not only for the young. Each of BCM’s camps benefit from the loving care and long experience of seasoned saints who come for all or part of the summer season. Some, like Bob and Char Sherman, park their fifth wheel on a pad at Camp Mandaville in Upper State New York and then spend their days teaching about God’s glorious creation, or repairing the many things that run down or break. Other camps welcome and incorporate people like this who gladly give time in their later years.

But mostly when we think of camp, kids come to mind—and this is a big part of why BCM got involved and stays involved with camps. When kids attend camp, they meet counselors and staff members whose lives radiate the love of Jesus. They hear the Bible read and taught; they sing, pray and give praise. Many meet Jesus for the first time, while others are encouraged to keep developing their relationship with the Lord. As these kids grow, they often return to camp for a summer ‘boost’—but they also weave into the Church as people who worship and serve. Listen to Darren Banek, who recently joined the staff at Big Sky Bible Camp in Montana. Darren says his job shift came after “watching God working in the hearts of kids AND having that kind of an experience here when I was in third grade. I had been working for a large finance company and doing really well in the corporate world but felt unfulfilled and knew that God wanted more out of my life then just to be ‘successful’ at work.”

Maybe you’ve been part of camp and know how it changed your life; maybe you’ve made it possible for someone to attend a week of summer camp. Perhaps you’ve served on staff, or you’re interested in helping out somehow. Is it possible that this year, you’ll get involved in some way once again?