Dear Pastors and Friends,
As you might already know, Christian summer camps are typically one of BIEM’s largest outreaches every year. For many kids, camp provides their initial exposure to Christians and God’s Word. For these kids, camp is where they learn who God is, how to talk to Him in prayer, what sin is, and the importance of coming to God by grace through faith in Christ. Of course, many kids who attend the camps come from Christian homes, or else they come from non-Christian homes but attended camp in the past and come back, which allows them to grow in faith or to learn more.
By August, the third and final month of summer, most BIEM-sponsored camps in Eastern Europe have already ended. Leaders of those camps have shared news and sometimes photos of kids whose hearts opened to the Lord and embraced Christ as Savior. However, a few camps are still being held in various areas. We pray for God to bless the leaders with continued enthusiasm and physical strength and to open the hearts and minds of the young people who come.
In some cases, camps take place on land that churches purchased and developed specifically to establish a Christian campground. Other camps take place on church property or even public property. As an illustration of this last category, BIEM missionaries Sergei and Vika Skripnik put together a video that provides glimpses of a camp held at a public building called the House of Culture in the town of Glybochok. During Soviet times, Houses of Culture were sometimes used as places to put Christians on trial. Praise God, believers now sometimes use them to glorify Him and to teach His Word to the next generation! We hope you will enjoy the video:
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/villagecamp
Blessings to you!
Sam & Amy Slobodian