A lot of prayer has gone into this Summer Camp season at Camp Wakonda. Beginning their third camp season, Youth Director Zack Payne and his wife Allison wanted to see more in the way of a spiritual atmosphere and decisions being made for Christ at camp.
In addition to prayer, a lot of key conversations preceded this summer as well. When visiting Union College, Payne had a chance to visit with one of the Summer Camp staff, Bekah, who said she really would like to see more kids making decisions for baptisms at camp. Payne, too, had been feeling that Summer Camp ministry should feel more like mission work or evangelism, and he told her that he resonated with her idea.
Payne also talked with some seasoned Summer Camp directors who told him what they did to set more of a spiritual tone and how it was yielding more decisions for Christ at camp. Particularly, he remembers talking with Pastor Brandon Westgate about the schedule they have at Glacier View Ranch and how they intentionally set aside times expecting baptisms each week. Payne says, “We decided we wanted to move forward, likewise, in faith to see more decisions like this at camp.”
Finally, during camp meeting, he remembers talking with a friend who said that she had a dream that the Latter Rain was going to be falling soon, or maybe even had begun to fall at this very time. He says, “I thought it sounded exciting, but I didn’t really give it much more thought after that.”
Fast forward to today, Payne is looking back on a summer that has been absolutely blessed. Summer Camp at Camp Wakonda didn’t just survive, it thrived! At Cub Camp, where campers are a little on the young side, Pastor Bill Dudgeon didn’t make calls for baptism but, he asked our campers if they wanted to follow Jesus. They all came forward! At Tween Camp, Pastor Drew Weaver made the call for baptism and thirty three campers made decisions ranging from those wanting to know more about what baptism means to those actually getting baptized at Camp Wakonda before they left the camp. That Friday eight campers were baptized and two staff were re-baptized. At Teen Camp, Pastor Myoung Kwon made the call for baptism and thirteen more made decisions for baptism, and that Friday five campers and one staff were baptized, and one camper was re-baptized. The final week of camp, Family Camp, Pastor Jonathan Fetrick made the call for baptism and two more staff came forward to be baptized for the first time.
Clare Castleberg, a returning camp staff and part of the team of Summer Camp Directors is one of the staff who made the decision to be baptized. Claire wrote an article about her experience at camp and the following is an excerpt from her writing:
“I have felt closer to God this summer than any summer I’ve been here so far. Thursday night of Tween Camp, I felt compelled to make the choice for baptism. Pastor Drew, my home church pastor, was there for the week, and he was proud of my decision. Because I’m a bit older, and have been through studies before, he and Pastor Zack told me if I wanted to, I could be baptized the next day. I said, “no…that’s too soon.” Fast forward to Teen Camp, and I felt again compelled to come up when Pastor Myoung called for decisions for baptism. I wasn’t quite sure until the next morning, when I heard Pastor Drew was coming back, just to baptize my brother. I told Pastor Zack then and there I wanted to be baptized that day. It all worked out perfectly and I was baptized Friday of Teen Camp. It is the best decision I have ever made, and I continue to choose Jesus in my life each day.”
READ the full article here: https://bit.ly/3Q8G1zW
It has truly been a blessed summer at Camp Wakonda. Summer Camp being done evangelistically, and young people making decisions to follow Jesus, and in many cases to be baptized. Payne says, “It’s exciting to have seen the Spirit move this summer, and we can’t wait to see what He will do in future summers. Perhaps even my friend was right: maybe this is what the Latter Rain looks like.”
Zack Payne, Youth Director and Laurella Case, Communication Coordinator