Love and Sacrifice Y O UTH O N THE GROW


by JEREMY WISSINK, YOUTH PASTOR Peanut butter and jelly.


Batman and Robin. Adam and Eve. Camp and youth


ministry. All are famous pairs that everyone recognizes go together and are rarely mentioned apart from each other.


But when COVID-19 changed plans for virtually


everyone in 2020, the relationship between youth ministry and camp was mostly put on hold. While a few camps did happen in some form, most either cancelled entirely or greatly altered what and how they operated. This left a lot of disappointed youth and frustrated youth workers.


For teenagers, camps provide a unique blend of


fun and excitement with learning and spiritual growth. Almost all youth would look forward to leaving home to spend a few days overnight at a place that was focused on helping them have fun and being a source of encourage- ment. The best Christian camps do this in a way that truly challenges youth in their faith and encourages them to love and live for Jesus when they get back home.


well. And they do the spiritual challenge and encourage- ment part even better — with Christ-centered teaching and worship and counselors and staff that truly care about the spiritual growth of students.


While summer youth camps were cancelled at Forest


Springs, the staff there did all they could to make the nec- essary changes and adjustments to make Wintertainment happen. So for several days between Christmas and New Year’s, 16 of our high school students were able to experi- ence the fun and growth of Wintertainment.


Many things stand out from our time at Forest


Springs. There were of course a lot of fun activities and games. The worship and speaker directed our hearts and minds to love and follow Jesus and continue to impact us now that we’re home. The food was even very good!


But I think what stands out the most was the staff


that made camp happen. From the camp director to the game leaders to the counselors to the dish washers to the maintenance crew and everyone else who worked those days — they all served with loving and sacrificial hearts and were willing to do whatever it took to host and run the event. And with all the necessary plans and changes to ensure health and safety that wasn’t an easy task.


We have all in some way expe-


rienced the difficulty, stress, and un- certainty of making decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in leadership making decisions for their organizations have felt the weight and pressure of knowing that whatever decision they make some people will be unhappy or even angry at them. Clear, easy, and right answers for questions have been hard to come by.


That is why I was so thankful for The youth at our church have been going to a camp


like this for many years — Forest Springs Camp and Conference Center in Wisconsin. Every winter they host a camp for high school students called Wintertainment. The camp includes tubing, skiing, and many other outdoor and indoor activities — they do the fun part of camp really


the staff at Forest Springs. I know that they spent time in prayer for wisdom


on if they should have camp and how they should run it. I know they had lots of meetings to plan and execute the needed changes. I know they all made sacrifices and worked harder than previous years to implement those changes. I know that they did things they would probably


FELLOWSHIP FOCUS, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 6


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