Georgia Baptist youth camps saw significant spiritual response this summer as more than 1,400 students gathered for Impact and SuperWow, two camps designed to help churches disciple teenagers and mobilize them to advance the gospel.
Across Impact and two weeks of SuperWow, 1,412 students attended camp. Those weeks resulted in 87 reported professions of faith and 48 students indicating a call to ministry.
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Impact, Georgia Baptists’ discipleship-focused camp, hosted 575 students from 29 churches. During the week, 38 students made professions of faith and 23 indicated a call to ministry. SuperWow, Georgia Baptists’ beach camp, hosted 837 students from 26 churches across two weeks. At SuperWow, 49 students made professions of faith and 25 indicated a call to ministry.
For Georgia Baptist leaders and volunteers, the numbers reflect more than a strong summer camp season. They point to the need for strong youth groups in local churches as Georgia Baptists seek to reach the next generation.
Catalyst
SuperWow exists to be a catalyst for strengthening youth groups, while Impact serves as a discipleship camp that invests deeply in students for a week with the goal of creating an inflection point in their lives. Though the camps have different formats and emphases, both are aimed at helping students know Christ, grow in Christ, and return home ready to make Christ known.
David Williams, a youth ministry volunteer at The Church at Godley Station in Savannah, said Impact gives students an opportunity to practice discipleship in ways that stretch them.
“Leaders are encouraged to facilitate conversations and model what it means to be a disciple,” Williams said. “Impact is often the first time they’re truly challenged to step up as leaders and live out discipleship among their peers by asking questions and talking about personal struggles.”
Williams said he has seen students grow in openness and maturity through the camp’s discipleship environment.
“Each year I’ve seen some of the quietest students start to open up to students their age for the first time and be honest about struggles and questions they have about faith and what it looks like in a practical way,” Williams said. “It’s my goal for Impact to be a launching point into the real world so they can replicate the model they’ve seen lived out at camp in their daily lives.”
That kind of discipleship, Williams said, often continues after students return home.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Matthew Haak and originally published by the Christian Index.
