United Youth Camp: A Microcosm of God's Kingdom Where One Day All Will Fit In

Dinner at Camp Pinecrest was already under way when the last camper finally arrived. His mom drove him up close to the dining hall in order to unload his luggage and to begin his first year as a camper. The young man clearly did not want to be at camp. He was definitely a most reluctant camper.

His unhappiness with being at camp continued as he was introduced to his counselor and took a seat in the dining room. All around this young man, campers and staff were conversing, laughing, and enjoying the evening meal. The boy chose not to eat and sat slouched in his chair, talking to no one. By his body language it was clear that he felt himself to be the proverbial “fish out of water”.

As I looked at the boy slouching in his chair, he did not fit. He was new to the church and only knew one other person at camp. The question was, “Would he ever begin to fit in as a camper?”

To have a successful teen camp, staff come from many parts of the country. In 2017, staff came from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Camp volunteers not only come from different parts of the country, but they have different skills and personalities.

To make it more interesting the camp has the responsibility of serving campers from the same areas mentioned above plus Virginia and British Columbia.

So, camp begins with quite a diverse mix of people.

How does it all mesh together to produce an environment that is pleasing to God, an environment conducive to helping the outsider fit in? It is not achieved by human skill, might or intellect.

This question could be asked concerning the events that took place on Pentecost 31 A.D.

We are told in Acts 2 that God’s Holy Spirit was poured out upon those who followed Jesus’ instruction to be in Jerusalem at the Temple on Pentecost.

Note what we are told about this event, “Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?"” (Acts 2:7-12).

What this event meant was that God, through his Holy Spirit, was bringing together a diverse group of people: different cultures, different languages, and different personalities. But through the Spirit of God they were to be one and through yielding to that spiritual power they could be one (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

Acts 2 further tells us what happened with the thousands who became a part of the Church of God that day. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). They sought to follow the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, and to offer up prayers to God. This approach allowed them to be “of one accord” (Acts 2:46-47) and to begin to function effectively as the body of Christ.

Those who come to camp are a most diverse group, but as we seek to continue “steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” camp cannot help but be a success.

What about the young man that did not fit in? The staff recognized that this young man did not want to be at camp. He was struggling. Our job was to welcome him into the group. He was welcomed by his dorm and by other members of the staff. A concerted effort was made to help him become a part of the camp instead of an outsider.

As I observed him during the week, I saw him smiling, participating in activities, and slowly beginning to enjoy his first camp experience.

On the final morning, I spoke with the young man and he indicated he did enjoy camp. His experience had been more positive than he ever thought it would be. He told me that he
looked forward to coming back in 2018 and even gave me a hug.

On day one, I am certain that he would have left camp if offered the opportunity, but by the end he was happy he stayed.

Such a positive outcome is predictable when people yield to God’s Spirit in application of the truths of the Bible. Amazingly, such a positive result can be achieved in a week of summer camp. Imagine when God’s Kingdom begins the inclusion and transformation of all of the outsiders who don’t fit in as the Millennium gets underway.

A week of summer camp is a reminder that God’s way does work.

Gary Smith

Summer Camp: Guided By God’s Word

Camp Pinecrest is over for 2016, but the experience provides a lesson for this week’s Sabbath Thought.

This year, camp began on Thursday, June 23, with the arrival of 49 staff members and about 60 campers. It is a remarkable thing that over 100 people can get together and create something that is pleasing to God. It is not only an outcome that is pleasing to God, but is most encouraging as well.

When we go to camp, we are, first of all isolated. There is little traffic to contend with and no TV’s to be seen or heard. The teens turn in their electronics on Friday and, as a result, there is no distraction from what we are trying to achieve for the next week.

Outside of our little community at the camp, the world goes on as always. People continue to choose from the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil whether they know it or not. Sadly, man seems to be choosing from the tree of death more than the tree of life. What we are doing in Fredericktown, Missouri is of little import to the world at large. But from God’s perspective our week long gathering is of great significance.

Why is camp significant from God’s point of view? And why is it encouraging to the participants young and old?

Camp is significant to God because you have 49 adults from all over the Midwest. Volunteers from diverse backgrounds, points of view, temperaments, and various levels of spiritual maturity come to serve as staff. The overriding feature of those who give of their time at camp is their willingness to yield to God and one another so that the teens can be well served. More importantly, if the teens take the time to consider what is taking place they can see the atmosphere at camp is produced because of the application of God’s way of life.

Paul summarized what takes place at camp each year, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16).

Should we be surprised by this positive outcome? Absolutely not! God’s way, when applied, always works. It always has and it always will.

For Liz and I in our position of administrating the camp, it is easy to focus on the minutiae—the injuries and the human failings that inevitably happen when you run a summer camp. But to only see the negative is the miss the bigger picture which is most encouraging.

We are encouraged by camp because above all we can see the staff making sacrifices, willingly helping one another, and being willing to help even when it is not their job. To put the outcome in terms of this year’s camp theme, they are willing to be “Guided by God’s Word.” This willingness to submit to God and apply the truths of the Bible is an annual reminder that God’s way always works.

With that encouragement in mind, we look forward to Camp Pinecrest 2017.

Gary Smith