Local Sports Camps - Many Hands at Work

Camp Director, Brent

Brent Voight, East Metro MN FCA Area Director, directs four junior sports camps in the east metro. He spends hours (upon hours upon hours) planning camp, preparing the fine details, ordering supplies (yes, the t-shirts), recruiting volunteers, communicating with partner churches, preparing his daily talks on the annual camp theme, and more. Brent’s diligence and genuine love of camp makes an incredible mark. Without a camp director, there would be no camp (though Brent would argue that volunteers are the absolute essential, and he often tells them that)!

Church Partner, Shepherd

2022 marked the fourth year of partnership with Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Afton, Minnesota. Brent has found these partnerships to be a tremendous way to do camps. Churches can help mobilize volunteers from their congregation and plug the camp to its youth, providing a solid base for attendance.

Christian Huntley, Pastor of Discipleship and Care at Shepherd, says, “It’s good for Shepherd because it builds on our commitment to see Christ proclaimed in our community.” They see a mix of their own kids and community kids signing up for camp. It’s been a great way for their kids to invite their friends. It also meets a need for Shepherd because their VBS ends with third grade and seventh grade and up can serve at VBS, leaving a gap for 4th-6th graders. FCA camp perfectly fills that gap.

Christian sees God at work at camp. He said, “We had kids volunteer to pray the last day, and one of our interns was blown away by how deep into the discussions his group got every day. You get a group of fifth/sixth grade boys, and they could be all over the place, but they were really reading scripture and answering questions.” For Christian and others at Shepherd, partnering with FCA is a win-win.

Volunteers, like Jon

Volunteers work at registration, provide snacks, function as camp nurse, and serve as huddle leaders. Huddle leaders are an absolute essential part of sports camp. These high school, college, and adult volunteers lead a small group of students each day of camp, building relationships, modeling godly character, and guiding discussion times. 

Jon Huhn attends Shepherd and works for a technology company that gives their employees 80 hours a year to use toward volunteer service. This year Jon elected to use some of those hours to serve as a huddle leader for FCA Sports Camp. 

Jon worked to make connections with his huddle every day. He said, “For example, we talked about the best cereal of all time. I said, ‘It’s Peanut Butter Captain Crunch.’ They’re like, ‘No way!’” Just those conversations put kids at ease and built a bond among huddle members. He took on the challenge of making sure every kid was engaged, and by the end of the week, they were all willing to step in and pray, read the Bible, or share during discussions.

When reflecting on his experience as a huddle leader, Jon said, “You’re giving back to the kids, but you also grow yourself and get better yourself, not only personally but spiritually. I don’t have kids at home anymore and hadn’t dealt with fifth and sixth graders for years, so it’s a regrounding opportunity in a bunch of different ways spiritually, personally, professionally.” 

When asked if he would volunteer at camp again, Jon said, “Absolutely!"

Camper Impact, Archie

This was Archie’s last year to attend as a camper. After coming for years, he still loves camp. He said, “This year was just as fun. It was fun learning a new Bible story, and I always like the Bibles they hand out. Alien Football was really fun too. And Brent is really nice.” Archie loves the fun of camp but also how it provides an opportunity for him to grow in his faith. He said, “We learned more about God and how to fight off temptation.”

Archie’s mom, Gretchen, said, “Our priority it to raise up kids that love God and can go on to adulthood with a faith that will carry them through the ups and downs of life. We have so many things in today’s culture competing for our children’s attention, and FCA brings together athletics and faith to show campers that we can be in sports, but our faith is right there, which is so cool. It’s one thing to read about it in the Bible, but to see people doing that in real life, FCA shows that.”

Gretchen did say there was one thing about camp that Archie didn’t like. She said, “Archie’s only critique is that it didn’t go all day long and all summer long! He was so fired up about the program, and everyone was so kind, from the counselors up through Brent [who remembered his name from last year]. What an awesome example they are to kids to see their faith in action through camp.”

A Perfect Combination

Each element – FCA staff, church partners, volunteers, campers, and families – create space for a tremendous opportunity to share Christ’s love in a fun, engaging atmosphere. We are grateful for every person who plays a part in making these camps amazing and look forward to many years of local camps.