Why I Love Camp

I had the privilege this past week to be a teacher at the Teen Week of West Kentucky Youth Camp. While it was the first time that I had ever set foot on the campus of WKYC, I’ll have to say that it brings back some old memories.

I grew up going to Bible camp during the summer. I first attended Backwoods Christian Camp near Linville, AL (I still have a t-shirt that says “I survived Backwoods Christian Camp!”). When I turned 13 I had the opportunity to go to Fall Creek Falls Bible Camp. I attended there every year until I graduated from high school. I even got the chance to go back there as a counselor a few years ago.

As I reflect on my camp experiences, I want to share a few reasons why I cherish those memories:

• I made friends at Bible camp who I still know and love today. Actually, as I look back on it, I think that there are several of us who met at camp who are now preachers! I can’t help but wonder if the fellowship that we had together, and continue to have at various events throughout the brotherhood, had something to do with that.


• Camp was a time to re-charge. We often talked about it as being a “bubble.” I was always upset when I had to go back out into the world. Despite what a teenager might think, it only takes a few hours in that kind of environment to start forgetting about the problems and temptations you experience where you come from. I always came back home with a passion to keep going until the next year! (Note: That’s why I love PTP as an adult – It’s like camp for grown-ups!).


• The singing. ‘Nuf said.


• Time on the waterfront. I can’t count the number of new births I saw there. The walk from the common area to the creek was a long one, but from the one from the creek back to the camp was a lot shorter.

I could probably ramble on for a while about camp, but I mention these few things for this reason: I hope you see the need to encourage your kids to go to a GOOD Bible camp if they aren’t! My memories of those weeks continue to encourage me, even today! Two words really sum it up: Life altering. In a good way.

-Daniel Howell