COGWA Youth Camps

Welcome Letter

Dear Parents, Campers and Staff,

It is only February, but preparation for this year’s summer camps has already begun! Outside of the Feast of Tabernacles, summer camp involves more people in more locations than any other activity of the Church. Since the Church has been conducting camps without a break for more than 40 years (beginning in the 1960s), it is a constant challenge not to become complacent, but always seeking to improve.

In its purest form, the phrase “raising the bar” can be traced to the high jump at a track-and-field event. Each time a participant clears the high jump bar, it is raised to a higher level. This higher level tests the ability of the jumper to improve. Today the term is used in more of a symbolic sense, rather than a literal one, and it usually means to raise the standards of a program or an activity. It is our desire to do just that every year.

I am excited to announce that we will once again be conducting 11 youth camps this year—five teen camps and six preteen camps. In addition, for our older teens and young adults, there will be a Challenger camp in Colorado. Funding and staffing 12 camps will be a challenge for our young organization, but we are deeply committed to doing so.

Even though I grew up in the Church, I never attended a Church summer camp until I was an adult. I lived on a farm as a teenager, which meant my summers were filled with work. The Church’s SEP (Summer Educational Program) in Big Sandy, Texas, and later Orr, Minnesota, were impossible for me as a teen. But that never stopped me from reading about the camps and daydreaming about attending one day.

I attended my first camp in 1990, when I was the softball instructor for the third session at Orr. That first camp hooked my family; and camp became a regular family excursion for the next several summers. All three of our daughters are veterans of the camp experience, attending as campers and workers off and on for the past 20 years. Each will tell you that camp does make a difference in the lives of our youth.

If you want to experience a youth summer camp with a spiritual focus, then make plans now to attend one of our camps!

We believe the Church bears a responsibility, as described in Malachi 4:6, to assist families in turning “the hearts of the children to their fathers.” To accomplish this goal, we must first reach the hearts of the young people. For the past many years, we have been doing just that through the camp program. This year our goal is to raise the bar. By doing so, we expect even greater results.

Come and check us out! See you at camp!

Sincerely,

Jim Franks