Houghton College is often a meeting place for Christian/Wesleyan organizations and events. This past week there was a pastors’ conference with over 180 clergy and spouses in attendance; over the summer months hundreds of students and adults flock to Houghton’s campus for sports and youth camps, family camp, conferences and retreats. Perhaps less known, however, is the college’s own efforts to minister to others outside of the campus.
For the past several years, Houghton has selected, funded, and sent out two teams of students to work as counselors at Christian summer camps. Headed by Director of Church Relations Steve Dunmire and Office Manager for Ministry Resources Betsy Sanford, this year’s teams included Naomi Prentice (’18), Brittany Hark (’16), Marshall Brady (’17), Dan Thompson (’16), Kadesha Glasgow (’16), Kirsten Brady (’18), Ryan O’Vell (’16), and Greg Wagner (’16).
These students were split into two teams, led by Marshall Brady and Brittany Hark.
Students apply for a position on the summer ministry team at the end of the spring semester. If hired, they work for roughly eight weeks at various summer camps from the first week of June through early August.
Prentice, a sophomore and member of the women’s volleyball team, said that her decision to apply was influenced by her own experiences at summer camp. The camp she attended as a child, Chambers Wesleyan Camp, “always had ministry teams” who she saw as “role models” and “bonded” with. “I always wanted to do that”, she said. A veteran member of the team, senior Dan Thompson, encouraged her to apply, Prentice added.
Kirsten Brady, also a sophomore, says she applied because she, “love[s] getting to know people’s stories. Her brother and teammate Marshall Brady said that for him, “It felt natural that [joining the ministry team] was the next step” after going to camps his whole life.
When asked if being a representative of Houghton helped, hindered, or had no effect on their ministry, Marshall Brady noted that in his case, it “was a tremendous help in our ministry. Houghton is widely known for its great people and strong community. Because of the college’s outstanding reputation, many doors were left open for our ministry.” Hark said that this aspect of the summer ministry team has developed during her time on the team. She said that during her first year with the team, “it was undetermined what the main purpose of [the summer ministry team] was going to be… [we hadn’t] struck a balance between representing Houghton and doing ministry.” Now, she added, the sole purpose is ministry. “If we do a good job ministering, we do a good job representing [Houghton],” she said.
Each team member faced unique challenges and triumphs throughout the summer. Prentice felt that she was given new insight into how much faith-potential teenagers have. “The teens I worked with broke stereotypes,” she said, adding that “they taught me to seek growth in my own faith.”
Marshall Brady said that for him, the most difficult part of traveling to the different camps this summer were the “hellos” and “goodbyes” but “The key… was to think about the impact we had, leaving them with the feeling that someone cared enough about their lives to help them make a difference.”
Going deeper into tough issues with the older campers proved to be a challenge for Hark. She said that some of her campers confided to her about their experiences with depression, suicide, and abuse. The difficult part for her was being with the campers for only a week, she reflected that in that time “you’re not able to promise to be a solution for them.” Her and both teams’ response to interactions like these was to try to work with camp directors to connect struggling kids with local churches, and so they are not “left in the dust” after camp is over.
Despite challenges, many of the team members stated that they felt that God had stretched them and helped them grow as people. Kirsten Brady certainly concurs, saying, “[Participating in] the ministry team was honestly one of the powerful and amazing experiences and encounters I have ever had with God. If you want to be tested, pushed, and gain a new sense of peace and direction while serving then this is the place to go.”
