Celebrating Summer Camp Stories
High School Summer Camp
“I didn't think much was going to happen at camp because I have been attending camp for so long and at that time I was feeling far from God. On Wednesday night of camp I was given the opportunity to stand up as a maturing believer and dedicate my life to serving the Lord in the way that He wants me to. As I stood up God showed me all the ways that He had been present in my life leading up to camp; in FCA at my school, serving at Eastside in the Nursery, JHM, and HSM, and sharing God with my family by inviting my brother to camp. At camp God showed me that I wasn't far from Him, I just didn't realize that He was there. It was like all the pieces to the puzzle connected and I saw all the work He was doing through me, something I wouldn't have realized without camp.”
“At first I wasn’t even thinking about going to church camp, being that I play club soccer and have tournaments and Playoffs every year at the same time as camp. But randomly my team had to be disqualified due to not having enough players. So I talked to Nathan and told him my situation, he said, “I feel like God’s calling you to be there, so if you want to go we will get you there!” This inspired me to talk to my small group friends Dylan, Josh, and Caleb to see if they’d want to go and they adjusted their schedules and made it happen. During one of our chapels I stood up as a returning believer and maturing believer. This is because I've always been a believer, but at points I noticed I have drifted away. At camp I felt as connected as ever and I wanted to do more with my faith. I want to encourage people to go to church and help spread the word. I don’t want camp to be a one time feeling. I took all the things that I learned from the mountain down with me. And I hope those who went do too. I encourage everyone to go to a church camp if they haven’t. It’s a life changing experience. I would 100% recommend it!”’
"Three years ago I chose to accept Jesus at Thousand Pines Summer Camp. Returning as a High School student, I'm excited to chose to pursue Him through a life in ministry!"
Jr. High Summer Camp
"It was my first year of summer camp and it was the best experience ever! I grew more closely to God and got to really experience his presence during worship, chapel, and cabin connect!"
"This year was my first year and I didn’t even want to come at first but I quickly regretted that. This was the best experience that I’ve ever had. It was so fun playing games and hanging out with my friends. Especially, I think my faith with God has gotten stronger. My favorite part was definitely worship where we could all shake our energy out and praise god. I even told my parents I wanted to stay another week. This was really the best camp I’ve ever been to."
Kidside Summer Camp
"Kidside Summer Camp was incredible this year! 8 kids made first time decisions to follow Jesus! Kids were asking real questions and having real conversations about what it means to follow Jesus out loud and our 5th graders couldn't stop talking about getting baptized! Kids conquered ziplines, survived their first nights away from home, and made brand new friends. God showed up in the big moments and the quiet ones too. Just an awesome weekend, and we're so thankful for it!"