If You Have a Family Camp

An excerpt from...

If You Have a Family Camp

You Can Organize a Fantastic Missionary Day!
By Rachel Elwood, Support Staff
April-June 2013

David Grissom had a problem. He had been attending his beloved Camp Sychar, a family camp located in Mount Vernon, Ohio, since he was 10 years old. After David had gone on his first missions trip to Haiti in 2003, God gave him a passion for missions. But as he looked at the Missionary Day events at Camp Sychar, it was obvious that something was missing.

“It was a total snoozer,” David said, who self-admittedly calls things out for what they truly are. He knew that God had given him an interest in missions and he wanted to transfer that love to others. Overall, Camp Sychar was amazing—filled with godly evangelists, Spirit-filled worship, and great fellowship. But that Missionary Day needed a serious upgrade.

David was invited to join the Camp Sychar board and served as secretary of missions. David realized that the key to getting people excited about missions was through relationships—actually having time to meet and interact with missionaries in a low-key environment.

So he took over the cafeteria, the one building in the camp with air conditioning (this is Ohio in August, after all) and had missionaries set up their display tables, bring along some fun foods from their areas of service, and have an open house. People came for the Nutella fry bread and a respite from the heat and stayed for the conversations with real people doing real missionary service.

Earlier in the day, the teens—over 100 of them—went into the nearby town and handed out fliers advertising a Missions Festival for later that afternoon. After the open house ended, the action moved outside to the dunk tank, games, throw-a-pie-in-someone’s-face, food vendors, handicrafts, and much more. All proceeds, of course, went to missions. The crowning glory of last year’s Missions Festival was when one man who had come after being invited by the teens was so affected by the love he experienced at Camp Sychar that he gave his life to Jesus Christ that day. 

With over 1,000 attendees, Camp Sychar celebrated its 142nd anniversary last year. Over 60 missionaries and ministries are supported by the camp, including many from WGM.

Are you a part of a family camp like Camp Sychar? Is your Missionary Day a “snoozer”? Think about ways you can make this day impactful for all generations. Check out www.campsychar.org to see how one camp makes Missionary Day something special.

Not part of a family camp but have other missions events that you are a part of, such as at church, school, etc.? The Camp Sychar missions day model can be duplicated various places. Take the lead for your event and keep missions day from being a “snoozer.”