Matt calls himself “the church camp menace.” He was the loud kid. The troublemaker. The camper who nearly got sent home more than once. Still, he kept coming back to camp.
At age 12, Matt expected one more night of camp fun. Instead, Nick, his counselor, led the boys to the waterfront after campfire. One by one, Nick washed each camper’s feet. When Matt stepped forward, Nick said words he has never forgotten: “Matt, I know you want to help people. I know you want to lead people. It’s not your time yet, but someday it will be.”
For a boy used to hearing correction, this moment was different. Someone saw potential. Someone believed in him before he believed in himself. That moment became a foundation.
Years later, during another week at camp, Matt found himself asking big questions about God, life, and his future. The foundation camp had built began to grow into a faith he could call his own.
Today, Matt is a Division I football player, a young ministry leader preparing for church licensing, and a former camp counselor who returned to mentor younger campers.
The boy who once nearly got sent home became the counselor helping children experience Jesus through camp. “Without camp,” Matt says, “I honestly don’t know if I’d be following Christ today.”
That’s the power of camp. A moment of belonging can become a lifetime of faith.
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