By Sarah Bohrer
“Will you send me my granddaughter’s decision card from JAM Camp? I want to frame it and give it to her when she is baptized in a few weeks!” This is an exciting text sent by a Grandma with a huge heart for her grandkids who have been bringing them to JAM (Jesus, Arts and Music Camp) and Super JAM since they were old enough to come. She has been praying for her family for a long time and is hopeful that the salvation and excitement of this little one will be what God uses to draw her entire family back to church. God uses camp in many ways to reach kids, counselors and even family and friends affected by those who return home after camp. This is why I love camp and continually encourage churches to take advantage of this amazing opportunity that God provides each summer for their kids and students.
The counselors, teachers and pastors that attend JAM never cease to amaze me. God brings us such amazing people to minister the kids and students at JAM and Super JAM. Many of our teachers are worship leaders, pastors, teachers and former campers. Our guitar teachers lead worship each Sunday, our percussion teacher is a professor at Butler, we have many accomplished pianists, a dance teacher who teaches dance at her church and our camp pastor is an animator who has created several children’s videos. One thing they all have in common is that they want to see kids and students know Jesus and grow in Him.
So many former campers are now leading worship and serving in their churches. You cannot learn an instrument in a week, but a passion for Christ and for new talent can lead to so much more. It is such a blessing to hear testimonies each year of how God is using the kids and students who have attended JAM and Super JAM. I am so thankful to God for the ways that he is using this camp, the students that attend and the leaders that commit time to making JAM great!