The Atmosphere of Church Camp All Year Long

After a week away, I am back to blogging. Last week, I had the joy and privilege of spending the week at Valley View Camp with our great young people from Lebanon Road. While I am still exhausted (it takes me a little longer to recover than it used to), I am reflecting on a great week of spiritual growth.

As I was leaving camp last Friday evening, I got in my car and had an interesting experience. It reminded me of one of the major reasons why I love church camp.

One of my strange character traits is that, when I have been around a lot of noise, I do not like to go to total silence right away. It drives me crazy. I like to go to something a little quieter, then to silence. At camp, there is constant noise. It is good noise, but it is noise nonetheless.

So, I got in my car, and to “step down” a bit, I turned on the radio. It was on a station that I listen to quite often, and I turned down the volume quite a ways to help my mind start to slow down. However, before I even left the camp property, I had to turn the radio off because the song that was playing spoke of sin.

Right then, thanks enter my mind.

Of course, I was not thankful for the sin that was being sung about in that song. We should never be thankful for the influence of Satan.

Instead, I was thankful for the atmosphere I had been privileged to enjoy for the previous week. A place like camp is so wonderful because sin, while present, is rare. When someone does something that is against the ways of God, it is not celebrated or promoted, it is corrected or even punished. Righteousness is the common way, and doing what is right is the pressure of peers.

Now that we are well into July, most church camps are over. You may not find one to attend this summer. But a lot of people, especially young people, find so much help in the type of setting provided by camp. That saturation of holiness is so rare in our regular day-to-day lives that we yearn for it when away from a camp or retreat or Vacation Bible School.

But I would suggest to you that we can have that same atmosphere all year long. If you yearn for that same spirit that is found at church camp, let me give you a simple suggestion: go to worship and be an active worshiper!

You see, that same atmosphere is found when God’s people meet before His throne and praise Him. There is encouragement and teaching. Satan is opposed and God is exalted. The “pressure” is to do right, and we are reminded that we are all in this together. While sin is still present, it does not hold sway. The cross does. Hearts are bonded together in unity, and joy abounds among God’s children.

It may not last a full week as does church camp, and the conditions are certainly more comfortable, but worship is a glorious way to shut out the world for a few moments and be recharged. It is a fantastic way to build lasting relationships, and to be sure that God comes first.

QUESTION: What are some of your favorite Church Camp memories? Share in the comments below.

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Photo credit: Jimmy MacDonald on Creative Commons

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