HEN YOU THINK OF SUMMER CAMP, WHAT COMES to your mind? For many people the word "camp" evokes images of kids swimming, horseback riding, sleeping in sleeping bags, and sitting around the campfire. While those mental pictures capture a slice of the camp experience, the real picture of Adventist camping is much more. It is as Pastor Bernie Anderson of Arlington, Texas, Super Day Camp describes it: it is where God spends the summer!

The thrill of spending a week at camp begins as the camper opens the brochure or looks at the web site and sees the pictures of the various activities offered. Activities common to most of our church's camps are swimming, waterskiing, nature, crafts, horseback riding, and archery. High-adventure activities such as high ropes courses, climbing walls, jeeping, and more are offered at many camps. These activities capture the attention of the camper as they imagine themselves enjoying a week of fun and adventure.

When the campers arrive, they are filled with emotions-excitement, as they think about the activities to come; nervousness, as they wonder how they'll fit in with their cabinmates; maybe a touch of homesickness, as they think about spending their first week away from Mom and Dad, little sister, and Rover, their pet hamster.

The campers find as the week goes by that there is much more to camp than just the great activities. Each morning the counselor prays with the campers in their cabin, and the camp pastor shares a lesson from God's word. Throughout the day the activ-ity directors draw spiritual lessons from the activities they lead, and the singing of dynamic songs of praise and worship is heard throughout the camp. At the evening campfire program another lesson is given, often in the form of a skit or a story. Everything the campers experience is done for one reason: to help the campers grow in their relationship with the Lord Jesus.

During the Sabbath hours the staff present the gospel of Jesus Christ, often portraying His death and resurrection through drama or music. Each camper is given the opportunity to give their life to Christ by responding to a call. For the camp staff, this is the highlight of the week. Often campers respond who we thought weren't being reached throughout the week. Their interest in the worship and songs seemed to be nonexistent. But as the pastor invites decisions, our hearts thrill when that camper stands up to announce their decision to follow Jesus.

A large percentage of the campers attending our camps each week are not Adventists. They come because they were invited by a friend, or maybe they ran across our web site while surfing the internet. They may have seen that our camps offer a better value for the dollar than most other camps in our communities and decided to give it a try. Many weeks as many as 40-50 percent of our campers are not from Adventist churches. These campers are being exposed to the love of Jesus Christ and to the beautiful truths of the Adventist message for the first time. They are falling in love with the Lord Jesus and giving their lives to Him. They are celebrating their first Sabbath at camp. They are then going home and telling their families what they experienced. The evangelistic possibilities of Adventist summer camps are mind-boggling.

The campers from our own churches are growing in their relationship with Jesus as well. Their love for Him grows stronger as they see college students who love God act as role models. In this world heroes offer many messages, most of which are opposed to the principles of God's Word. Our campers have the opportunity to see that some of the people they look up to the most have found joy in a relationship with Jesus. These campers often look forward to the day they will become staff members and will have a chance to share Jesus with younger campers.

The staff themselves leave camp changed. Throughout the six- to 10-week season they are forced to rely on God as they never have before. The campers will ask them questions about their faith that they had never thought of before. They will give of themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and learn that they will be refreshed only by time spent in God's Word and in prayer. Our churches are filled with leaders, pastors, and administrators who trace their decision to serve God to a summer spent working at summer camp.

If your view of summer camp has been limited, I hope you will begin to see how vital the camp ministry is to the work of the Adventist church. Camp staff members play with kids so they can pray with kids. Lives are changed. Our young people and their churches are never the same. I ask that you would pray for your local summer camp this summer. Lift up the staff in prayer, as well as the director and fam-ily. Pray for the youth who are attending. Send a letter of encouragement to the staff. Let them know how important they are to God's church-because summer camp truly is "where God spends the summer."

To discover more about Adventist summer camps in the North American Division, you can access the Association of Adventist Camp Professionals web site at: www.sdacamping.com.

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Jerry Mahn is youth director of the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference and director of Indian Creek Youth Camp. He has been involved with summer camps for 16 summers.