Our camps are designed to help various age groups experience urban ministry.  We have camps for high school, junior high, and for families. Each camp is between three and seven days long and include challenges that help us all learn about God's call for sharing the Gospel in an urban setting.  Below are a couple of stories from recent camps:

When one group arrived at the Food Stamp office the security guard said they’d already been there. (The other group had just left having gotten signatures they proceeded to the next stop).  The second group began talking to the people waiting in the office.  They found a family with a seven year old who was celebrating her birthday that very day (by waiting for her parents turn in a food stamp office).  They got everyone in the office to sing “happy birthday.”  And they were asked to leave.  The security guard politely but firmly instructed them that he had only been on the job three days and they were making his life difficult.  The team did a great job of leaving with grace.  Members of this team expressed surprise that the dread-locked, tattooed woman who shared much of their bus ride was so friendly and that her life had been so hard compared to theirs and yet she was so open. They didn’t necessarily expect that. 

For some of the adults from Crossover camp this is one of their vacations each year. They give up their vacation to come and do the work of the church and the church is honored and humbled by that kind of commitment.  And yet, some of these same giving and open adults were overwhelmed when people went out of their way to help the Crossover “newbies” on their bus rides.  The adults were consistently amazed at the kindness of people who would ride beyond their stop to make sure the Crossover participants knew how to make the next connection.  God helps us to both serve and be served and yet, for most of us (whether you come from middle class or generational poverty) it is much easier to serve than to be served. And the help on the buses was just one way that the community served the Crossover folks this week. Our young people showed up to help with construction and with the food challenge. Some of our young folks took pictures and worked with the tech team to make sure that there were good videos of our work each night at worship. On Friday morning some of the Crossover campers were brave enough to remove their shoes and have their feed washed by some members of our congregation. 

God is ultimately the giver of all gifts. God calls each of us to use our talents to the glory of God and in service to the Kingdom of God. God also calls us to rest and to rely on one another.  Together we make up the Body of Christ. We can’t be the body if we are operating as lone rangers.