
I laughed with surprise (and a little relief that I would still get my daughter’s pie). The cashier had attended camp years earlier as a child and still vividly remembered the impactful experiences she’d had here. After catching up with her briefly, we said goodbye and headed back out on the road.
As I drove, I marveled at how
I happened to run into a former camper so far away from camp, and how she was
able to recognize me after so much time had passed. It was yet another reminder
from the Lord of the powerful impact summer camp has on young lives.
In just
the sixteen years I’ve been at South
Mountain , we’ve
ministered to nearly ten thousand summer campers, and I’ve seen nearly two
thousand of them come to know the Lord at camp. That number grows much larger
when you consider the entire 40 years that SMCC has been in operation.
There’s no doubt that camp
changes lives, and those lives, in turn, can impact more lives. Brian Houston,
the pastor of Hillsong Church in Australia , has shared how his life
took a dramatic turn at a summer camp. Christian music artists Brandon Heath
and Toby Mac both came to know Christ at a camp. When you consider the millions
of lives that just these three have touched, the impact grows exponentially.
Even at South Mountain , we’ve had former campers go on
to become pastors, missionaries, and teachers, impacting the world for Christ. You never know whose life you’re going to touch
through camp ministry, and you never know how many more lives might be touched
as a result. We thank God for the opportunities that come our way every day.
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