I’m writing this from camp.
Not metaphorically. Actually, from camp — where I’m spending a week this summer alongside youth from Emmanuel, and where, I’m happy to report, things are off to a great start. There’s bug spray in my bag, and a song stuck in my head, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Camp has been part of my whole life. As a kid, I spent a week every summer at Lutheridge, a Lutheran camp outside Asheville — the very place I’m writing from right now. Later, I gave three whole summers to it — working at Luther Springs in Florida and Agapé Kure Beach Ministries in eastern NC, trying to hand down the same experience that had shaped me. (I’ve included a picture of me as a camper. Be kind.)
People who love camp tend to say two things about it. The first: “It’s a place apart.” The second: “Camp changes lives.” Both are true. I’d stake my ministry on it.
Here’s what I mean. In just a couple of days, a small group of total strangers becomes something that can only be described as Spirit-filled. They swim and make crafts, sing silly songs and tackle team-building challenges, share their faith in devotions and Bible study, and build a mountain of inside jokes along the way. They become, almost without noticing, a Christ-centered community. It happens every week, all summer long, and it never stops being remarkable to watch.
And at the center of it are the counselors — young adults who have given their summer to be witnesses of God’s love. Each year, thousands of them are equipped and commissioned across 100+ ELCA-affiliated outdoor ministry programs, sent to serve the whole church’s children and youth, not just ours. They share their faith stories. They share their love for God and the world. And it changes lives — the campers’ and their own.
I know, because it changed mine.
I am completely certain that without camp, I would not be writing this as your pastor. Camp gave me a place to offer my God-given gifts. But more than that, camp showed me what real community looks like — a place where the unincluded are sought out and welcomed, where belonging isn’t earned but given. As a camper, I knew camp was a place I could belong and be loved. As a counselor, we were challenged to “seek out the one” — which, of course, is exactly what Jesus calls the whole church to do.
That’s the thing about camp. It’s a living reminder of what the church is meant to be: a loving community that welcomes, equips, and sends itself into the world to love as God loves.
So this summer, give thanks to God for camp. Pray for the children and youth who will experience it. And say a special prayer for the young adults who generously give their summers to help make it happen.
One more thing worth remembering: our outdoor ministries in the NC Synod are your camps. Your ministry. The offering you give to Emmanuel helps support the synod, and the synod helps make this life-changing work possible. So your faithfulness is part of this story, too.
Thank you for that. And — GO CAMP!