God Reaches Kids at Jenness Park
By Jennifer Lloyd
God is reaching kids at Jenness Park Christian Camp this summer. During the eight days of central California district camp held June 25-July 1 there were 128 students who asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of their lives. In a society where church attendance is not as highly valued as it once was, churches have had to be creative in their evangelistic strategies just to get children to attend camp.
Once students arrive at camp, they are involved in activities which assist them in establishing friendships and building relationships with people who will disciple them in their Christian walk. From crazy recreational activities to Christ-centered messages, the entire program at Jenness Park is geared toward helping people meet Jesus Christ.
Mark Mahaffie, worship and education pastor from Sequoia Heights Baptist Church brought 96 students from Manteca, CA. Approximately half of those students have not regularly attended Sequoia Heights. How does the church reach that many students? The church advertises in the community and allows all the students to attend camp for free. Mahaffie explained, “We raise $20,000 independent from our church budget to pay for kids to come to camp. The members of the congregation also sacrifice their time in order to come and be counselors for the week. This week we had thirty kids make first time commitments to Christ. On Sunday July 15th we will celebrate with baptism for all those students. We will meet with their families and invite them to the baptism service.”
Sonora Baptist Church also saw a dramatic rise in the number of students who came to camp. Last year three students came to Jenness Park. This year seventeen students came. Jeanine Ferris, wife of Pastor Skip Ferris said, “Our philosophy this year was, ‘Whatever you can pay.’ We didn’t want money to be a reason that a child could not attend camp.” Mrs. Ferris recounted the evening when Chance, a young man who had attended Sonora Baptist church only one time with his grandparents, went forward to accept Christ during the altar call on the first night of camp. “We know that kids will meet Christ here, so why wouldn’t we want to bring as many young people as we can?!!”
The staff members at Jenness Park look forward to the ways that God will work in the lives of campers during the next six weeks of Centrifuge youth camps. Rod Goodmon, director at Jenness Park stated, “We want to watch God work. We try to provide facilities and programs where people from varied life situations can meet Jesus.”
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