Stories of Grace

This page is dedicated to God our Father. It is a celebration of what He did in 2020 as we offered to Him summer camp to do His work of transformation and renewal. We knew that summer camp was needed. We knew the shut down and pandemic would have adverse affects on the campers and their families and that a week of camp would go far to bring joy, peace and a sense of normalness to their lives. We knew that some families would need our Day Camp so that they could get back to work. We knew the challenges and took each step in faith as we moved to keep camp open.

This page is called “Stories of Grace” and reflect what God did through the power of camp. We share these stories to honor God and praise Him for His amazing grace.

From our Staff:

• “This summer was impactful in so many ways, I got to see God work firsthand in the lives of the campers and I was able to share the hope of Christ in so many cool ways. One aspect of this summer that stuck out to me was the truth that we have been adopted as sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God. This took on a whole new and real meaning to me as I went throughout the summer, as every week three or four kids in my cabin said they had been adopted and shared their experiences and hurts, as well as the comfort they found in being adopted with me and the rest of the cabin. At first, I chalked it up to coincidence that I kept having this happen to me, but after the third week in a row of the same thing happening, I realized that it was not a coincidence at all. The stories of these kids made me realize what it means that God has chosen us to be adopted into the Kingdom, the identity we have as sons and daughters of God, and the redemption that comes with that.”  ~ Cordell
• “A camper had forgotten his swimsuit at home, so when it came time for pool, he had to sit out. I wanted to go in so I told him to just sit at the side and wait during pool time. God had different plans, and I ended up misplacing my own swimsuit and not being able to go in the pool. This gave me a chance to talk about the Gospel with my camper. That day the boy without the swimsuit came to Christ.”
• “I came into this summer super nervous and had no clue what to expect as a first year counselor. My relationship with God was very lukewarm at best, and I struggled with a lot of different things at the start of the summer. However, I can confidently say that this summer has changed my life and also allowed me to grow and learn so so much. The ways I’ve seen God work in my campers’ lives as well as my own has allowed my trust and overall relationship with God to grow past points that it has never been.”  ~ Faith
• “I had a camper rededicate her life at Fireside one night. She left but then came back crying and said the speaker really touched her heart. It was so cool to be able to pray with her.”
• “This summer at Woodcrest I have learned to step out of my shell and be comfortable in the awkward. I am so much more comfortable when talking about my faith and am now able to bring it up in casual conversation. For example, once I had two campers arguing, so I pulled them each aside separately. I was able to explain to them what grace means and how God shows it to us. Before this summer I don’t think I ever would have been able to do that.” -Kailey
• “I got to sit down with a camper who couldn’t read so I read the devotional to him. We talked about knowing Jesus in a dark world as standing in a dark barn with a solid stream of light. When you know Jesus, you can only pay attention to the light. God did that, not me.”  ~ Matthew

From Parents:

• My daughter was stressed this whole entire year, and she has been so full of joy when picking her up at camp. She was so happy to be with kids, too! She loved everything. Thank you Woodcrest!
• I wanted to say thank you to all the staff for giving my son a great week. He doesn’t do well socializing and has a hard time with his impulses. But this past week helped him learn and grow and takes risks.
• [My child] has such a beautiful understanding of Jesus just after two short weeks. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity.
• One of the nights after camp, we heard our daughters talking for some time after they were in bed. When my husband checked in on them, they were taking turns reading to each other from the Bible! They both enjoyed the skits and mimes and retained a lot of the Bible teaching/memory work.
• I want to send my thanks for the amazing experience my son had at camp this week. We was part of the wilderness camp and I am just so blessed he got come this week. Each and every night he couldn’t wait to share all the amazing things he got to experience each day.
• You all run such a wonderful camp and the staff is awesome. I know my sons life was touched this week and as a parent I can’t say thank you enough. God is blessing your camp!!! You are all in turn blessing children and families. Keep up the great work.
• My son has grown spiritually, socially and emotionally. He loves the Bible stories, loves his counselors and seems to be getting along well with the other kids. After a year of isolation it is so good to see.
• I love the fact that he comes home singing the camp songs, sharing conversations with the group that are very deep IMPORTANT questions, and always exciting for the next day. I can tell that the counselor had been trained in a Bible manner. Love Wood Crest Camp

From Campers:

We love to hear from the campers themselves because they have a unique perspective as they are the immediate recipients of God’s grace.

• I went from being agnostic to a Christian about a year and a half ago. I became a Christian because one year at Woodcrest, one of my counselors managed to reach me in a different way and I felt like I wanted to start pursuing a relationship with Christ. To me, my faith is very important because I feel it is very comforting to know that God is always by my side and I am forever in His debt.
• This is my sixth year, and I haven’t grown as much any other place as I have here. I was baptized in this pool. Because of Woodcrest, I am a Christian. Woodcrest is one of the most important places in the world to me!! I’m so, so grateful for this incredible environment and I want to keep coming here forever.”
• Fireside time was really impactful; camp really changed how I think about things and I learned to have a positive outlook
• Fireside and Bible time with our cabin was very impactful for me because it felt like a safe place to ask questions and learn about the Lord
• I liked being surrounded by Christians, it was a nice break from normal life
• It was a needed reminder that I’m worth something and not alone in my hurt