Mountaintop Experiences

A few weeks ago, I finished my third year as a camp dean at Jumonville for the Mega-Adventure camp. It's a great experience and something I really cherish. Middle schoolers show up expecting a week of excitement and adventure: rock climbing (both indoor and on cliffs), caving, biking, rafting, and hiking. But my hope is that they come away challenged spiritually as well.

Growing up, I attended a number of camps... including swim camps, canoe camps, and rustic adventure camps. Jumonville was one of the many camps I attended and I believe very firmly that it had a major impact on my decision to follow Christ. When I was 15, I started volunteering as a counselor for a week each summer, then joined staff for the first three summers after high school.

My goal is simple... to help the kids that attend find that "mountaintop experience" that I always found at camp. Jumonville is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, atop a beautiful mountain overlooking Uniontown. The mountaintop experience describes the spiritual high you can get when you are surrounded by believers for a week, with constant exposure to God's Word. That emotional high can be a catalyst for dramatic life decisions concerning Christ.

My deepest hope is that kids will carry that experience with them long after the mountain becomes a distant memory. I remember the excitement I had for Jesus during my high school years when I returned from camp... but that excitement would slowly drift away. The emphasis needs to be on the spiritual disciplines that help us remember, retain and return again and again to God (prayer, reading, fellowship, accountability).

My favorite part of the week is the last night. I intentionally request the best campfire site (where these beautiful sunset pictures were taken). I give the kids my "last night of camp" talk, where I share with them how hard it was for me growing up to keep my faith longer than a few weeks after camp. I plead with them to get involved with youth group, read their Bibles, pray, and ask friends and family for help in living out their faith.

I hope I have an impact. I hope they walk away with something. God has really blessed me with great friends who come and share their gifts and time to serve these kids as counselors. I often refer to them as my "dream team" when I talk to my wife, because every year we have mature Christians with a great combination of gifts to make it easy to work with these kids (some are energetic and involved, others are nurturing and reserved, some are great at leading, while others are great encouragers...)

I'm blown away and humbled each year to be a part of this ministry