It's hard to believe I've been in fulltime Christian camping ministry for 10 years now. That's 25% of my entire life! Scary thought...some of the 6th grade students I may have taught in 1999 are now finishing their undergraduate degrees, some possibly with children of their own! Yikes!
How did I get here? As a senior at Elim Bible Institute, I thought I had it all figured out, and it didn't include camps. Sure, I got hooked on backpacking & rock climbing while a student there, but I had a plan. My friends were envious as we approached the end of our last year together. I had taken quite some time writing down in detail my plan for the 3-5 years following graduation. Yup, had it all worked out...
Until I sat in the "hot seat"...
Each spring, Elim has visiting ministers with proven prophetic ministries come to the school, a kind of "sending out" or commissioning of that year's senior class. As I sat with my back to them, facing my friends & the rest of the student body, I'll never forget the first words out of Stanley Hammond's mouth...
"Plans, plans, plans...this young man is drowning in plans. It's no fun to be drowning. I have a clear word of direction from the Lord for you. SCRAP whatever it is you have written down, and learn to float in the sea of My Spirit."
There went my plans!
Over the next couple of years following graduation, God continued to prepare and guide me, teaching me to "float", knowing that His current would carry me in the direction He intended for me. Bobbing around in that seemingly endless "sea" with no sign of a destination, God would sometimes drop a clue or an encouragement, especially when I started focussing on the waves instead of keeping my eyes on the horizon. On a trip to New York, just before Timber-lee entered the picture, a pastor I had lunch with shared a word God had given him concerning me. "I can't shake it," he said, "but I keep seeing a picture of a slingshot in my mind, and I believe God wants you to know that He's preparing to launch you into the ministry He's called you to. Don't be discouraged, like you're not progressing, or even losing ground, because like a slingshot, it gets pulled back before it fires. Be ready!"
A year later I was at Timber-lee in a fulltime position! Borrowing from the Peace Corps' slogan, it's the toughest job I'll ever love. I have to restrain my laughter when I'm asked what I do for a living & I tell 'em I work at a camp. "What do you do for the rest of the year?" is not an uncommon response. Timber-lee serves around 60,000 people a year on our grounds, and the ropes course program I oversee serves almost 30,000 participants annually. I'm a pastor with a climbing harness on, an adventure minister who gets to see lives impacted through the tools of adventure programming. It's a fulltime, year-round job that is very hard work, but I absolutely love it. Watching a sunset from atop our 40' climbing tower after a full day of classes, or Nordic skiing with school students when the air is calm & those huge snowflakes are falling...you get the picture. It's such a gift to have a career built around a blessing!
Thank you, God.