Our church is reminded on a regular basis of the opportunity we have to encourage young people from Stillman Valley, Byron, Davis Junction, Oregon, Rockford, Rochelle, and other surrounding communities.

I was not able to go to Camp Forest Springs this week. But I was able to pray with a group of teenagers before they left for camp. And I noticed that our young people hadn’t been at Camp Forest Springs for more than 24 hours when some of them were already on the cover page for the Camp Forest Springs web site.

Each year our church gives scholarships to all our young people who attend camp. If necessary, we will cover all the cost. We never want money to prohibit one of our young people from participating. There is great value for teens being removed for a week from all the distractions of the Internet age for a time when they can enjoy one another in a safe, supervised atmosphere, and where they hear quality preaching and Christ-centered music.

Experience validates our decision to put an emphasis on camp. Not only do our young people look forward to camp each year. But if you were to poll a group of adults from any given church and ask them what some of the most formative times for them were spiritually, many of them would point back to an experience at a Christian camp. Both Jamie and I have wonderful memories of going to camp near Clear Lake, IA. In fact, the year that Jamie and I were married was the first year that Jamie was not at camp. I have always felt a little bit guilty about that . . .

If you watch the below video from Camp Forest Springs Junior High 2012, you can see some of the activities are teens get to enjoy, and you will probably spot some of our young people participating.