By Stefani Leeper
Snakes? Mosquitos? Mud? Sunburns? No, thanks.
I’m one of the few Adventists who never went to summer camp. I can imagine the collective gasps. No, I’m not a convert. I just wasn’t for all that summer camp stuff. Anyone who knows me can testify to that. Based on what I heard from friends who grew up attending and leading those camps, I was satisfied with my absence. However, a recent visit to Glacier View Ranch (GVR), a summer camp located in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado, had me second guessing my prejudice.
Glacier View Ranch didn’t look like a camp at all—it looked like a mountain retreat with the simple lodging you might expect for a summer away from home. As it turns out, that’s exactly what it is; I guess I should have read the welcome sign. All the same, the campers who spend their summers there are blessed with abundant access to natural beauty. They have a lake, biking trails, horses, a nature center filled with cool critters, and other nature-based activities right at their fingertips. There is even a country store.
A quick visit only a mere five days later to Wyoming’s summer camp venue, Mills Spring Ranch (MSR), quickly disproved my developing theory that all Adventist summer camps look alike and offer amenities as simple and comfort- able as GVR’s. Here, colorful tents and motor homes dot the forest, scattered around several random camper cabins. Compared with the 100+ campers GVR hosts every summer, MSR is much smaller, hosting only about 50. It has a more genuine “campout” feel.
In hindsight, the stark contrast between the camps is really not all that surprising. Rocky Mountain Conference youth ministries director Steve Hamilton explained that MSR is a “traditional” Adventist camp, whereas GVR caters to campers who might not be a part of the Adventist faith. “Less than 43 percent of campers at GVR attend any church,” he shared, “and Wyoming is different in that almost all 50 campers are constituent members.” Many of these kids are sponsored through a partnership with Centura Health.
Of course, this means there is an opportunity for GVR’s Christian campers to act as mentors, or, as Hamilton puts it, “those who transfer information.” Staff and counselors pro- vide most of the mentoring.
Second-year camper Cecilia supported this claim, saying GVR counselors are extremely helpful, and are a good influence, helping campers to better know our Creator. She summed up her sentiments simply: “GVR is where you can experience God.”
In fact, noted Tyler Morrison, who served as GVR’s camp pastor for teen week this summer, counselors are a major asset during the camp itself and campers respond to them with interest. “Campers are initially more interested in the human aspect—getting to know the counselors and building trust with them.” Morrison, the current enrollment coordinator at Union College and a former camp counselor at North Star Camp, added that only after these bonds are formed do campers begin to voice spiritual questions, show- ing concern for their eternal life.
Audrey Hatfield, in her third year as the nature center director and fourth year as a GVR staff member, has made similar observations. “They see things, feel things, and they don’t know if it is angels or demons. They want to know what it is, and what it means,” the Union College nursing major shared.
But doesn’t that concern the parents? I wondered.
“Parents know they’re bringing kids to a Christian camp, even if they are not Christian,” Hamilton replied. He explained that kids who have not been exposed to a church context find themselves in an accelerated, question-rich environment. The Christian context saturates every aspect of their summer camp experience.
Despite the camper demographic differences between the two summer camps, one aspect is the same. At MSR and GVR, the campers have the opportunity to fellowship with other young people to whom they can relate. “A lot of our kids [and campers] don’t get a chance to go to our schools, and it’s an opportunity for them to spend a week learning about Jesus,” shared Rocky Mountain Conference president Ed Barnett. “I think it’s a fabulous program.”
Morrison noted that the summer camp staff’s work is effective because they put their best efforts forward, enabled to do so by God so as to minister to the campers. They are being intentional in helping the kids. And sometimes it’s just one person who can make a difference.
I haven’t been persuaded yet that skipping out on summer camp was a mistake, but the benefits of it are a little clearer now. I can’t explain the science of it, but it just makes sense. It’s not a mystery—it’s a ministry.
–Stefani Leeper was the 2016 summer communication intern for the Rocky Mountain Conference, and is starting her senior year at Union College.