{"id":264453,"date":"2024-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=264453"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:35:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T18:35:11","slug":"from-camper-to-camp-counselor-building-generations-one-summer-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/from-camper-to-camp-counselor-building-generations-one-summer-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"From Camper to Camp Counselor: Building Generations One Summer at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From day camps to week-long overnight camps in the mountains, Eagle Lake Camps<\/a> has had an impact on thousands of children over the years, sharing the gospel and leading children and teenagers to Christ. As a ministry of The Navigators, generational disciplemaking is the core of what Eagle Lake is and how they do ministry. And as the campers they\u2019ve served have grown older, they\u2019ve started adding links to their own chains of disciplemakers, passing on what they\u2019ve learned to others.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Nathan (left) leading games with another counselor at Eagle Lake Camps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Samuel Wood and Nathan Roewer are two such campers. Over the years, both young men have returned to Eagle Lake Camp to serve as counselors and program coaches, hoping to multiply the impact that they themselves experienced when they were campers. Through each role, they\u2019ve seen the Lord move in powerful ways \u2014 both in their lives and the campers they serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuel\u2019s story: Making a difference as a camp counselor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Samuel\u2019s first experience with Eagle Lake was when he came to Crew camp \u2014 a five-week service camp for high schoolers \u2014 when he was 15 years old. At Crew, Samuel met lifelong friends and fell in love with camp, and he returned as a camper for two more years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After he graduated high school, Samuel continued to come back to Eagle Lake as a counselor and as a program coach, where he discipled other counselors as a summer leader. \u201cI\u2019ve learned how to develop counselors, listening to their problems and trying to point them in the right direction,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From year to year, Samuel has seen his faith grow, whether through the influence of his counselors as a camper or by stepping into leadership roles to share God\u2019s Word with others. \u201cOver the summers, I\u2019ve been able to recognize God\u2019s love for me and His love for others,\u201d Samuel says. \u201cI used to fall into thinking that God doesn\u2019t interact with us all that much. But through camp, I\u2019ve definitely seen His impact in my own life and through campers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuel remembers the Lord working specifically in one camper\u2019s life. A young boy was struggling throughout the summer, bullying other kids and causing trouble. However, at the end of the summer, Samuel saw that the boy was upset. \u201cI asked him, \u2018Why are you so sad?\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cHe told me, \u2018I\u2019m going to miss you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuel wrote the camper a postcard after the summer ended, not expecting a response. However, the boy sent a letter back \u2026 and then continued sending letters. \u201cFor three years, we wrote back and forth,\u201d Samuel says. \u201cIt was cool to see him grow through those letters and as a person, seeing how he is doing and treating other kids after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Samuel reflects back over the years, he can see how God has intentionally worked through Eagle Lake to grow him spiritually. \u201cEagle Lake has impacted me, but it\u2019s definitely been God using Eagle Lake in my life,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s shaped my whole life \u2014 literally everything I do \u2014 from my spiritual life to my walk with God to my personal life, with my marriage and friendships. Eagle Lake has pretty much been my life for the past eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan\u2019s story: Passing forward what others taught him<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At 10 years old, Nathan went to Eagle Lake Camps for the first time as an overnight camper. \u201cI went up with a family friend who recommended camp, and I had no knowledge of it at the time,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I had the best week ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan has returned to Eagle Lake every summer since, making a total of six years at their overnight programs. During his time as a camper, his counselors poured into him and had a significant impact on his faith. \u201cI got to bond with these counselors, who to me were the coolest people in the world,\u201d he says. \u201cI really appreciated the things they taught me and the fun we had together. Getting one-on-one chances to talk to them \u2014 that\u2019s where my faith really became mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Nathan, becoming a counselor was a no-brainer. \u201cI always knew I wanted to be a counselor, to have the same impact on kids that my counselors had on me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, what he didn\u2019t expect was that his faith would grow all the more deeper during his summers as a counselor. \u201cI found myself falling more in love with God,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe conversations I had with my program coach really changed my perspective on a lot of things with my faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Nathan is serving his second summer as a program coach, helping other counselors grow in their relationship with the Lord as they lead campers to Christ. \u201cI love being able to tell counselors that the things they do really matter,\u201d he says, \u201cthat when they look at me, they are looking at proof of a camper who came to Christ because of the outpouring of a counselor\u2019s time and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us in praying for campers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nathan and Samuel are just two of the many campers who have gone on to share their faith and help others know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same\u00ae<\/em> \u2014 at camp and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can come alongside Eagle Lake Camps by praying that the Lord would continue to build generations of disciples, opening campers\u2019 eyes and giving them hearts for the Lord. Pray for those who are and will be counselors for upcoming summers, that the Lord gives them wisdom and works through their conversations to build impactful relationships with campers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen people ask me why I come back to Eagle Lake, I tell them that this is where I fell in love with Jesus,\u201d Nathan says. \u201cIt\u2019s been a huge blessing from God to come into the summer with the knowledge of the impact He can have through me, like my counselors once did for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJesus said, \u2018Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these\u2019\u201d <\/em>Matthew 19:14 (NIV)<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Discipleship Tip:<\/p>\nSamuel and Nathan have grown in confidence as disciplemakers because they have learned from the counselors that poured into them as campers. Think about some of the lessons you\u2019ve learned over the years \u2014 from someone who discipled you or encouraged you in your faith. How can you pass on those same lessons to others?<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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The Basics of Discipleship<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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At Eagle Lake, a camp counselor practices discipling campers every day. But how can you <\/em>get started in discipling those around you? Check out \u201cThe Basics of Discipleship\u201d to learn what discipleship is all about and how you can make an impact in another believer\u2019s faith journey!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Learn how Samuel and Nathan have used their Eagle Lake Camps experience to disciple campers and pass on what they\u2019ve learned over the summers as a camp counselor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[71],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-264453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-eagle-lake-camps","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/08624-Article-Web.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264495,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264453\/revisions\/264495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264453"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=264453"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=264453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}