Youth for Christ National Camps Gain Popularity
Only one summer after starting its first-ever national camp, Youth for Christ (YFC) this year added another national campsite and has seen an increase in attendance.
Only one summer after starting its first-ever national camp, Youth for Christ (YFC) this year added another national campsite and has seen an increase in attendance.
Last year, YFCamp, the camping outreach of YFC, held its first national camp at Crooked Creek Ranch in Winter Park, CO, through a partnership with Young Life.
This summer, from June 26 to July 1, the ministry presented a second national camp site, Rock Ridge Canyon, located in Canada's British Columbia district in addition to its national camp at Crooked Creek, July 31-August 6.
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Attendance at this year's camp at Crooked Creek Ranch rose, from 289 to 370 campers – a 28 percent compared with the previous summer. Meanwhile, Rock Ridge Canyon had a turnout of 184 campers. Of those who attended, 80 kids made decisions to trust in Christ.
But numbers don't tell the full story of what happens at YFCamps.
Molly Grezthinger, Director of YFCamp, said the camps allow time for the youth workers to "slowly and clearly unravel the story of the Gospel" to the kids.
"We want to see every kid have life-altering experience with Jesus," she told the Christian Post. "We're aiming for the furthest lost kid."
At Crooked Creek, the theme was hope. On Thursday night, after speakers talked about Jesus, they turned out the lights for 30 minutes and gave the kids "silent time."
"They try to listen to what God might want to say to them. That is time when a lot of kids make decisions," said Grezthinger. "That was a highlight for me because we work all week for kids to intimately and clearly hear from God."
“This week God taught me that He thinks I’m beautiful," wrote one camper to YFC.
One camp experience that touched Grezthinger the most was when one kid boldly proclaimed his decision to let Christ into his heart. While the staff was on a small hill singing a song, kids yelled “yes” from across the hill but one kid yelled, "I surrender Jesuuuuus!"
When they are not introspecting or having quiet time at the camp, kids do anything from horseback riding to mountain biking to being launched off an air "blob" into the lake.
By getting kids out of their normal everyday environment, they have a chance to evaluate their life, explained Grezthinger, who has eight years experience ministering to high school and middle school students and two years as camp director. She said Youth for Christ tries to operate on relational ministry and lead kids to Christ by building relationships with them.
Many kids today are "so hungry" for nurturing relationships with adults, said Grezthinger.
"They want someone to come alongside them, care for them, not tell them what to do, but love them," she explained.
After the camps, Youth for Christ try to connect the kids to local Christian ministries and groups where they can continue to develop their faith.
“I am blown away by the commitment to the Gospel that I have seen here," reflected one YFC staff member. "YFC is truly reaching lost kids here. From making them feel comfortable when they first arrived to the closing banquet, this camp has allowed Jesus to move in His way and in His timing."
