If you had told me all the treasure, all the blessings, all the growth that would come to me in the summer of 1993, I would not have walked but I would’ve SPRINTED into that summer.
It began with a single conversation with a friend, Jeff Howe. We are both from Michigan but the conversation took place in Columbia, South Carolina. And more specifically on a sidewalk at Columbia International University where we were both students.
He basically told me I was going to go with him to Camp Barakel in northern Michigan to be a counselor that summer. I was a sophomore in college and the previous summer had been spent working 3rd shift at a packaging company in Grand Rapids. It didn’t take a whole lot to convince me to give camp a try.
As far as decisions go, it felt like just a young guy trying to figure out to do with several weeks in the summer. But God works in and through our little choices.
That summer God met me at Camp Barakel. He introduced me to many friends. He introduced me to my wife. And he introduced me to a model of ministry that is centered on serving PEOPLE. Up to that point all of my ministry preparation had been theory. At Camp Barakel, I learned to put that theory into practice.
It is amazing what God can do in several ministry packed weeks in the life of a young person. It is amazing what God can do through even the smallest of choices.
It is possible that you know a young adult trying to figure out what to do with their summer. Camp Barakel needs a few more young adults to make a little choice THIS YEAR. I cannot guarantee the outcomes similar to what God worked in my life through that little choice. But I am confident that He is still using Camp Barakel to grow summer staff closer to Him in 2023, just like He did that summer 30 years ago!