Scholarships were also used in some cases for leaders who were able to give their time to go to camp, but needed financial assistance. Read this story below from a leader who received a scholarship and attended camp to hear about how camp impacted him!

My first year being a leader at camp was wild!! I never could have expected what God was going to do. It wasn’t just guiding kids through activities. I got a front-row seat to watch God move in their hearts, as well as my own.

The first thing that got me was the authenticity. Kids walked into camp carrying the weight of everything: worries, stresses, the baggage of their everyday lives and by the end of the week they laid it ALL down. They were fully present, fully open with God. It made me question what I was still holding on to.

The depth of what some of them were carrying was heartbreaking. But what was even more staggering than their pain was their faith. They still asked Jesus to take every ounce of it and to be their Lord and Savior!  I’ve walked a lot of that same road, and I got to tell one young man he wasn’t alone and share my past with him.

I also listened as kids voiced the lies the enemy had fed them about their identity. That they were not enough. Worthless. Dumb. Unlovable. Some of those were lies I heard about myself at their age. And I got to witness the exact moment those lies broke as they handed them to Jesus.

They also came with so many raw questions. Who is Jesus? What does He want from me? Why would He die on the cross for me? A boy asking why Jesus would die for him is really asking whether he’s worth it.

Watching these kids finally grasp who Jesus is and that His greatest desire is simply to love us was the most beautiful way I could have experienced God at camp. He wasn’t just working in their lives. He was working with all of us leaders also.

This verse  became my anthem for the week:

“All praises belong to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he is the Father of tender mercy and the God of endless comfort. He always comes alongside us to comfort us in every suffering so that we can come alongside those who are in any painful trial. We can bring them this same comfort that God has poured out upon us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (TPT)

      • A Lead Who Experience God

Hear how God comforted and connected with a student walking through an unexpected family emergency during camp!

This year was my first year attending camp! I was super skeptical at first but, my small group leader, Katie Jordan, told me that it would change my life and it definitely did. A little background, I started coming to Elevate my junior year after God had miraculously healed my aleopica. At the time I had also made the decision to quit dancing on a competitive team. 

Anyways, I tried to give the Lord a second chance and come on Wednesdays. I would come and sing the songs and listen to the sermon but I felt as though there was a barrier between me and the Lord. I thought “Lord, I was obedient when you asked me to quit dance, why do you seem so distant now?” Quite frankly, I was upset with the Lord. When camp was first brought up I thought that there was no way I was going to go. Katie Jordan convinced me it would be amazing so I signed up. Leading up to it, I was a nervous wreck. When the time came I decided while I am here I need to try and hear the Lord again. 

On the first night, Thursday, my prayer was, “Lord if you are still here, let me experience you.” I went to bed that night experiencing nothing but the sound of crickets. The next day after lunch my small group leader pulled me aside. She told me that my Dad was being transferred to the ICU in Granbury and being on a breathing tube. The rest of the day I went through camp extremely anxious and scared for the future. That night, after worship Katie Jordan and Teal pulled me out of session and said that we had to go. In the car they explained to me that he was being Care-flighted to Plano because the machine they had him in wasn’t strong enough to keep his lungs working, and that it was a life or death decision.

 Before I got into the hospital room I felt a wave of peace come over me. Something I couldn’t really describe but I knew that I didn’t have to face this alone. I felt a weight being lifted in a moment where it could’ve felt like the weight of the world was on my back. I went into the hospital room and immediately asked to pray over my dad and family there. When he was care-flighted I was explained the next steps going forward. I felt calm and since then I knew I never had to fight anything alone and that I was fighting a battle Jesus already won. 

I made the decision to go back to camp that night and stay the rest of the time. I got back to a lovely group of girls comforting me and an army of prayer warriors for my father. I spent all of Saturday giving all my worries and anxieties to the Lord. I had people praying over me and for my Dad’s health all day and I just knew the Lord was working. When I got back from camp we didn’t get very good news. I was crushed. But then the next day, everything turned around. His health began increasing drastically. I then knew that the Lord had his healing hand over him. Him being able to recover is nothing short of a miracle. I am now on fire for the Lord and I no longer feel as though I’m holding up a barrier. I have seen first hand the miracles he can do and I am so excited to step into my new walk with the Lord. Thank you so much for reading!!!

      •  Student Who Was Comforted by God

Hear how invites turned into eternal impact below!

Three of my friends all came to camp for the first time this year. Before knowing they were coming I had been intensely praying for them months in advance (and never told anyone). The last night of camp, two of them gave their life to Christ and the third and I had a very intense talk about just how much God loves her. She has never looked much into the religion and does not have a relationship with God. When I got back from camp I got a very long text from her saying how she had never felt seen or cared for and I was the first person who showed her God’s love.

      • A Student Who Witness Life Change