When the young campers at SCC’s summer camp heard an invitation to give their hearts to Jesus in one of the twice-daily worship periods at Camp Cedar Falls, one seven-year-old boy responded immediately. Turning to his counselor, he said, “My life is a mess—I need this! How much does it cost? I have money in the camp store.” The counselor assured the young man that it was absolutely free and led him forward for a prayer of dedication.

Worship sessions in the campfire area were conducted by a rotation of six pastors. When children and youth respond to invitations to be baptized or to know more about Jesus as this boy did, Bob Wong, SCC junior youth ministries director and camp director, makes sure that they are referred to pastors near them, for followup.

“The goal of having summer camp,” said Wong, “is to introduce Jesus to young campers. It’s a time when kids can leave the city and spend time in nature, but the camp is also for the staff. One counselor had been awarded a full scholarship to a prestigious university and decided to spend her last summer as a first-time counselor before heading to the university. By summer’s end, however, as a result of fellowship with the camp counselors and others, she had decided to go to an Adventist college instead. She is the second counselor on full scholarship to make this decision in recent years.”

She and another counselor made another major decision neither had planned on when coming to camp. With the influence of the Holy Spirit, fellow counselors and others on staff, the two counselors decided to be baptized.

Selecting counselors for their specialized mission of helping campers have a spiritual experience as well as a fun time is a prayerful process. “We emphasize the importance of introducing Jesus to young campers," Wong noted. "Sometimes that means that some individuals may not be suited for the camp program. Discovering this may come during interviews or during camp sessions.” Forty counselors completed the summer.

Counselors help campers feel at home at the camp, but the spiritual direction of the camp program is a major asset in this as well. One young woman said, “Many times during the day I’d feel depressed or I’d have arguments with my cabin mate. In the evening, it would all disappear with the worships.”

The camp regularly draws capacity attendance; 2006 was no exception. Wong recalled, “One week the camp was so full, the 350 cafeteria chairs weren’t enough, so some of the staff ate outside!”

The camping experience changes lives. After camp, a parent of 12- and 13-year-old boys reported, “All the way home from Cedar Falls, my boys sang. When we got home, they didn’t want to watch TV. They just talked with us about camp, about the friends they made; about their counselors who took time with them and never yelled at them.” The camp had had a powerful effect on the boys, as it did on the many other campers who attended.