Every year, the biggest event on our youth calendar is summer camp. We had a pastor slip into our Sunday night services a couple of weeks ago whom I had not seen since the early ’90s, when I was a junior camper at Ironwood, and he did ventriloquism and illusions. I mean, this was about thirty years ago, and I still remember the impact he made on my life. That is the kind of power summer camp has, and that is why we emphasize it so much. I surrendered my life to the Lord at summer camp. I started faithfully reading my Bible and praying because of decisions I made at summer camp. I was called to preach at summer camp. I am literally living the dream right now because so many people invested a week of their lives into my life, and God used that to change my direction. So we love summer camp, and we want to invite you to set aside time to make summer camp happen this year. With some recent staff changes, I am the new camp coordinator for several churches in the Southern California region, and even a few churches from the Bay Area are coming down to join us this year, so if you have any questions, be sure to let me know.
The Preaching of God’s Word
The main purpose of summer camp is the preaching of God’s Word. That is the overarching goal. There are no cell phones, no computers, no distractions, just this immersion in a Christian environment, where a lot of youth groups come together in one place to play games and have some competitions, but most importantly to sit under the preaching of the Word of God. We pray together as youth groups, we sing together as we worship the Lord, we study God’s Word in personal devotions, and we challenge one another through spiritual conversations. This year our camp preacher is going to be Pastor Jonathan Pyle. He preaches several camps every single year, but he is new to us, new to our group. He is a good friend of mine, passionate about Bible preaching, and he is raising several teenagers of his own, so he understands what teens are going through and the kinds of things they need. But he also knows that most of all what they need is the Word of God, and so he is going to be preaching the Word of God to our teens in a context they will understand and appreciate.
A Typical Day at Camp
A typical camp schedule for the day might be breakfast in the morning, and it is good food at Camp Ironwood. There are three good meals a day. Then there is the morning chapel after breakfast, and after that we break into church groups to talk about what God is doing in the teens’ hearts. Then there is a quiet time of personal devotions in the cabins, and there might be a camp game in the morning, and then some competitions throughout the week that just give us a good dose of fun. They are not centered around any one sport, so the competition time means anybody can jump in and have a good time. Then there are morning activities, and these are just a broad variety: canoeing, archery, shotguns, laser tag, hatchets, crafts if you like an air-conditioned room in the middle of the desert, and many, many other options. After lunch there is a little bit of a rest time that breaks up the day. Some of them take a nap. Some of them learn memory verses and say them to their counselor. Then there is another time for split activities. The guys will go to activities and the girls will go swimming, or vice versa, and then they will switch. That lake time, that swimming time, is a great time to cool off in the middle of the desert. They get to enjoy a seven-story water slide, a high dive, a rope swing, or a wrestling mat. It is just a wonderful lake and a good time for those afternoon activities. After dinner there are some other activities, and there is a preaching service in the evening, and then after the preaching service, again, a time to break out into church groups and talk about what God has been doing in their hearts through the preaching of the Word of God. We pretty much go Monday through Friday with that kind of schedule. There are variations every day, but all of it is designed to help our campers hear from God. That is the main goal. It is purposely fun. It is purposely packed with activities and chances to build friendships, and yet all of it is for the spiritual impact. That is what it is all about.
Cost, Dates, and Visiting
The camp website is ironwood.org, and it has many of the details about the activities. Our cost is $361 per camper, plus whatever each church is charging in addition, for things like fuel for the buses or camp T-shirts or whatever each church decides on top of that. The dates are July 21 through 25, and we will have camper registration days coming up so we can lock in that price and lock in who is going. This is for anyone going into seventh grade, all the way up to 2025 graduates. Our church often has several church members come, either as sponsors who stay for the whole week, or some church members will come up and just stay for a night. They will stay in one of the Western cottages, which is kind of a hotel-room-style setup, and that is available for a set price per person visiting. So we would love to have you join us. I am happy to answer any questions you might have, but we are looking forward to summer camp this year. God bless you, and we will see you this summer.
