Because Christian camps and conference centers tend to be in remote areas, it seems a strange place for urban renewal and revival to take place. I have found over the years, though, that leaving the urban noises, the love, and the complexities of the city to retreat to the quieter wilderness of a camp setting can be a great location for a renewed heart for city transformation.
When I was in high school, I left my urban neighborhood in Minneapolis and went to camp. There I re-committed my life to Christ and began the journey of realizing a call into urban ministry and leadership. I've taken multiple church youth groups to camp and witnessed lives set ablaze to extend the love, justice, and truth of God in an upside-down and broken world. I have read about times during the Civil Rights Movement when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders would go away to a camp site for prayer, vision-casting, and strategy development around issues of reconciliation and equality for all. The late urban evangelist, Tom Skinner saw camps as place to raise-up indigenous urban leaders as change agents in cities all over the country. In this same spirit, at World Impact we believe that our camps and conference centers are places to equip and empower urban children, men, women, and whole families to become church planters, evangelists, missionaries, and business leaders. Sometimes you have to retreat away from the city in order to gain a clear vision for how God has called you to go back and advance the Kingdom of God.
In the Bible we read of incredible things happening in wilderness experiences. In a remote area, God called Moses to serve as a liberating servant for an oppressed people. In the wilderness, God made a Covenant with those people on the other side of their deliverance. In a remote place, God spoke to King David and gave His words to Prophets. There are those among the unreached urban poor as well as those struggling in ministry within under-resourced settings that need to hear from the Lord. They need to experience the fellowship, teaching, hospitality, and love that our World Impact camps and conference centers provide. I'm fortunate to speak at family camps, weekend retreats, and pastor retreats. I'm also blessed to lead a ministry that has understood for years the importance of camping and retreats as a vehicle for life transformation and leadership development. If you aren't already, please consider supporting this important part of our ministry.
Check out our two camp and conference centers: The Oaks and Morning Star Ranch.