The first year I signed up for church camp I had no clue what to expect. I had always believed in God, but I never felt I connected with Him. I am glad to say one part of that statement has changed. After four days of good company, no sleep, crazy sun burns and a feeling like no other, I can proudly say that church camp changed my life. I connected with God in a way that cannot be explained, and I gained some amazing God-loving best friends.
Church camp taught me a few things:
Sleep is for the weak.
When at church camp you can expect not to get your average night’s rest. Your schedule is booked from morning to night, and in the little time you have scheduled to sleep, you rather stay up talking about life with your newfound best friends.
Competitions get crazy.
You find yourself wrapped up in competitions that are unheard of. Blind volleyball, Quidditch, bubble soccer, Trashmaster…Whichever one of these you participate in or watch gets intense. Everyone wants to win, or have fun losing.
It’s okay to not be perfect.
No one is perfect. No one has their life completely figured out. No one person can say they truly wouldn’t change at least one thing about themselves. God made us that way, though. He created us through this vision of what He thought the perfect version of ourselves would be, and loves us because of who we are. We are the perfect versions of ourselves, and God wouldn’t change one thing about us.
You find your best friends.
There is no doubt in my mind that there was a reason for meeting every person I’ve met at church camp. God always works in mysterious ways, and I truly believe one of those mysterious ways was by uniting a bunch of high schoolers for four days of exhausting fun. Church camp is a place where you become family, and as cheesy as it sounds, I mean it. The people I’ve met at camps in the past are these amazing, loving humans who love on you in the way that God has taught them to. There is something so special about a friendship centered around God, and I feel so lucky to have so many of them.
You’re blessed with the best leaders.
To the small group leaders that have helped make me into the person I am today: Thank you. Church camp creates this bond that will never be broken between a student and their leaders. You gain a role model and a best friend all in one. They help you interpret Scripture and advise you to be the best version of yourself; The version God wants you to be. God gives these individuals the strength to push us in directions we didn’t think possible. He lets them be a guide through our journey to Him, and wow, we are blessed with the best leaders.
God loves all.
There is no mistake you can make that will make God love you less. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He laid down his life so that we could be forgiven one day, and people don’t realize that. They often times think the decisions they make in their lives define them. They sin and feel that they aren’t good enough, or don’t deserve God’s love, but that’s not true. God’s love is unfailing and un-describable. God loves all, and always will.
Three summer camps, and two winter camps later, I am changed. I love harder, I try to see the world through God’s eyes, and by no means am I the “perfect Christian", but I definitely try to be one. If you have the opportunity to go to a camp, my advice would be do it. Invite friends, share the gospel, and enjoy the best week of your life.
