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Church camp changes lives, and this year you can play a part without ever sleeping in a bunk. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to church camp, but it was one of my childhood highlights. Why?

I could say the fun activities like shaving cream wars, ziplining, goofy Bible skits, bellyflop contests, silly songs in the mess hall, and crazy youth minister games. (Did you ever play “chubby bunny”?)

I could say the camp romances between awkward braggy junior high boys (“I put the ‘stud’ in Bible study”) and infatuated girls (“He held my hand in prayer circle, so we’re getting pretty serious”).

I could say the new friends like carpetball king Robbie, Walter who loved playing pranks, Kelly who became a missionary, and Teresa who’s now OCC faculty and still my friend 40 years later.

I could say the distraction-free environment. Getting kids away from their screens and into God’s Word is transformational, and I memorized more Scripture at camp than anywhere else.

But after almost a hundred weeks of camp, I’ll tell you what makes it special: the camp staff. In the midst of hot days, hot dogs, hard bunks, and half-size hooligans, God works through these unsung heroes—preachers, youth ministers, volunteers, and college students running on 5 Red Bulls and 40 minutes’ sleep—to change kids’ lives. It’s only a week, but their ministry leaves a lifelong impression.

You might not serve on a camp staff this summer, but you can still play a part. I’ll show you how, but first let’s play a game. I’ll tell three brief stories—you see if you can spot the common denominator.

1. In 1947, a crew-cut 11-year-old boy attended junior week at Lake Region Christian Assembly in Indiana. The young boy met a Bible-college-kid-soon-to-be-missionary named Bernie and wondered, “Is God calling me to be a missionary?” The answer was yes, so that 11-year-old committed himself to missions that week. The boy’s name was Ziden Nutt, and the missions ministry he started—GNPI—has now shared the gospel with over 195 million people around the world.

2. In 1981, Matt Stafford attended high school week at Camp Sooner in Oklahoma, planning to be an engineer. There, Matt met a cool-Bible-college-kid-soon-to-be-youth-minister named Richard. ‘80’s “cool” probably included a neon headband or Ocean Pacific shorts, but it also included a boombox Richard carried all week, playing Keith Green tapes. Between the sermons, songs, and Richard’s words, Matt decided, “There will always be enough engineers, but there will never be enough harvest workers. I can be one.” Now an OCC professor, Matt has sent hundreds more into the harvest field.

3. In 2020, Kristen Whaley attended high school week in South Dakota’s NebWyoDak Camp. There she met a Bible-college-student-soon-to-be-preacher named Colton. The tall, cute Iowa boy didn’t catch Kristen’s eye (though other girls were crushing on him), but Colton’s talk about Bible college and the need for kingdom workers caught Kristen’s ear. In 2021, Kristen enrolled at Ozark, where she met a tall, cute Missouri boy named Carl Proctor. (Kristen is now my daughter-in-law.) This summer, Carl and Kristen will serve at a camp in Canada because they believe…church camp changes lives.

You noticed it, didn’t you? Three stories, three young people, three church camps, three lives changed. (And through those three, many more have been reached for Christ.) But did you notice the other common denominator?

In all three stories, a Bible college student at camp played a pivotal role. Here’s the sad news: there are fewer Bible college students serving on church camp staffs these days.

You can change that. Keep reading to find out how…

Twenty years ago, Bible colleges sent out “camp teams”—college students who traveled to nine weeks of summer camp where they learned kids’ names, taught classes, led worship, played games, led “family groups,” and challenged campers to consider the call to ministry. (I served two summers on OCC camp teams, which is how I met my wife Katie. Church camp changes lives!)

But we’ve now lost several Bible colleges. My brother Mike has served as a camp manager the last 20 years, and camp managers will tell you: there simply aren’t as many Bible college camp teams to staff weeks of church camp these days.

What if Ziden Nutt had never met Bible-college-kid Bernie—or Matt Stafford had never met Bible-college-kid Richard—and never made their commitments at church camp?

It saddens me to think of the missed opportunities: the campers who never meet young people preparing for ministry, the relationships never built, the conversations never had, the decisions never made, the ministries never started, the people around the world never reached.

You can change that. Here’s how…

Every summer, OCC sends out camp teams. This summer we’ve got seven teams going to over 60 weeks of camp in 16 different states. But we get more requests from camps than we can fill. We don’t like saying “no” to those requests, but I’ll let our Vice President of Enrollment—and guy in charge of camp teams—Bob Witte tell you why we have to.

“The biggest reason we can’t send more teams is vehicles. We don’t have enough vans. And because our fleet is getting old, we also can’t say ‘yes’ to some faraway camps—we just don’t trust our vans.”

Over the next few years, OCC plans to update and expand our van fleet. We’ll put hundreds of thousands of miles on these vehicles (with college students inside), so safe, high-quality new vans are important, but not cheap. The cost per van is approximately $50,000.

Would you help us purchase a $50,000 new van for summer 2025? 

Jesus once rode a donkey, the apostle Paul sailed in boats, Philip took a chariot ride, and the Lord’s servants have used oxcarts, horseback, bicycles, motorcycles, planes, trains, and automobiles to go do the Lord’s work.

This van for summer 2025 will take college students to do the Lord’s work at church camps. There OCC camp teams will meet young men and women (some named Matt and Kristen, though probably not named Ziden) who, because of our students’ influence, will answer God’s call to ministry.

You may not serve on a camp staff this summer. (Though I hope you do.) But even if you never sleep on a hard bunk, eat hot dogs, or wrangle rowdy kids, you can help send Bible college students who will.

By the way, it’s not just the campers whose lives are changed. When I was 19, I worked on a summer camp staff—washing dishes, chopping campfire wood, collecting trash, cleaning buildings—but I was in a Jonah season. I was running from God’s call to ministry and planned on returning to the University of Iowa when the summer was over.

But an OCC camp team spent two weeks at my camp that summer. I saw in those OCC students something I didn’t have—something I wanted—and one of the reasons I surrendered to God’s call by summer’s end was their influence. I transferred to Ozark, and my life’s never been the same.

Church camp really does change lives. So thanks for considering playing a part this summer.

Yours in Christ,

Matt Proctor
President

P.S. You made a huge difference! A few months ago, I sent a letter describing the wild temperature swings in our Multi-Purpose Building. Your gifts purchased new HVAC thermostats…which created a warm (but not too warm) and welcoming environment for our hundreds of Preaching-Teaching Convention guests last month. Thank you!

Your gift is a sacred trust. We promise to honor your generosity by using your gift in the most effective way to train men and women for Christian service. The project described here reflects OCC’s ministry needs at the time of writing. Your gift will go to the general fund to be used where it is needed most when received to prepare students to take the gospel to the world.