Jasmine Miller – Ward, Colorado … Rocky Mountain Conference President Mic Thurber visited Glacier View Ranch on July 11. He was shown several camp activities and took photos out by the lake. Mic said he had been trying to make it out to camp all summer but had been busy with the six regional camp meetings in the Conference this summer.

This brought about the conversation of how summer camp is important to the Rocky Mountain Conference. He said, “Most people need to get away from their normal busy lives to be able to reconnect with God and themselves. You can see all the beautiful nature and unwind and get a sense of what God has in mind for you.”

Thurber also talked about how the Adventist Church creates partnerships with education and summer camps because “it takes different things to reach different people.”

One School that works closely with GVR is Campion Adventist Academy. Jessica Rios, a recruiter from Campion, said many of the kids that come to camp are students from Campion and many staff are graduates from the school. She said it is always nice visiting GVR and getting to see “leadership skills that they were taught at Campion become practical in life where they can contribute to other ministries in the church. It is cool to see them grow up to mentor other kids.”

Rios feels as though GVR can be an “extension” of Campion in the way that “camp is like boarding school but without homework, and also parallels a lot of the leadership opportunities that come from working at camp.” She comes to promote Campion and “pique the interest of other young people” to choose Adventist education and for kids who may be seeking a more spiritual experience for school.

Reagan Garman, Campion Academy alumni and assistant girls’ director at GVR, said that being class president for four years helped her “learn leadership skills and foster a community where I felt safe to talk about God and rely on him for strength in tough situations.” She also commented that it was helpful in choosing her career pathway, confirming that she wanted to work with kids in education. Currently, she is pursuing an education degree at Union College in Nebraska.

President Thurber said, “[he is] grateful for our youth staff and pastors and the passion that they have for working in this area of ministry. People in years past often looked at young people as the future, but I think they are the present.”

There are many limitations in our normal lives, and it is crucial for lots of different people from different backgrounds and ages to minister to the church and its people, because you never know who or what will impact someone’s life for the better.

—Text and photos by Jasmine Miller, marketing and communications consultant at GVR.