More than 600 students and staff participated in the two Southern District Conference summer camps. “Resilient” was the theme for junior high camp and Kids’ Camp, and speakers focused on the book of Daniel.
Junior high camp
More than 375 students and youth workers gathered June 1-5 at Sky Ranch Cave Springs near Quapaw, Okla., for the Southern District Conference junior high camp.
Camp speaker Kyle Goings, student ministries pastor from Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kan., talked about having a resilient faith, using Scripture from the book of Daniel and the Gospels.
In addition to sessions, activities included team games, a zipline and fellowship with others from the district, says camp director Dustin Dick, youth pastor at Buhler (Kan.) MB Church.
“Camp went well and it was awesome to see how God was at work through it,” Dick says. “Multiple students made a first time commitment to Christ, (and) others strengthened their faith during that time.”
Kids’ Camp
Nearly 250 people, including 167 campers having completed third through fifth grades, gathered at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., for the Southern District Conference Kids’ Camp June 28-July 1.
District youth minister Russ Claassen served as speaker.
“We started camp talking about how much God loves each of us with a love bigger than anything, a love that never runs out,” Claassen says. “Then we jumped into the book of Daniel to look at what a resilient faith looks like. I really had fun with the campers and am grateful for how the Lord led and directed us in his word. At the beginning of each session campers were invited up to share their memory verses or give us a recap of what they heard in previous sessions. The counselors did an amazing job of taking what we talked about and interacting with their campers during mod times.”
The schedule included two chapel sessions, activities—each camper chose three, time together as mods, games and all-camp activities. Interim director Cynthia Young, who serves as kids ministry director at Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kan., stepped in while J.L. Martin was on sabbatical. Young says popular activities were swimming, spa day, dodgeball and crafts.
During Thursday’s water night, the Hillsboro fire department sprayed water on a 50-foot water slide and campers played with water balloons.
“Kids’ camp was a great week,” Young says. “The campers learned how they can be resilient and stand up for their faith in everyday life. Counselors connected with their kids and helped them in their faith journey.”
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
