Here we are at the end of the 2017 summer season!
 
We had 310 campers, 6 Ministry & Leadership Training campers, and 54 Family Camp participants! We also had 81 groups stay on grounds during the course of the summer camp season. It was a busy summer of ministry!
 
11 campers gave their lives to Christ for the first time this summer! About 35 campers recommitted their lives to the Lord. Here are some of the other commitments campers wrote on their evaluations:
 

• Be nicer to brothers.  
• To read my Bible more often.
• I promised God that I would try not to stay mad.
• Shut off electronics.
• I’m going to focus on serving others and putting God first.
• To speak to the Lord more – specifically not only in times of need, but also in times of joy. I want others to see God when they see me and I want to open my heart to the change God is bringing into my life.
• I commit to sharing as well as receiving the grace of God.

Our theme this year was “The Journey.” Through the camp speakers and cabin devotions, campers learned about how they can follow God along His path in the journey of life. Here are some of the answers to the question “What was the most important thing you learned?”
 

• That life has many obstacles, but through Jesus Christ I will be fine.
• The Holy Spirit is here to strengthen us.
• Jesus is always with us in the ups and downs. 
• That God has a plan for your life.
• Don’t judge bullies, they may have a hard life.
• That God looks on the inside, not the outside.
• Everybody makes mistakes (even Josh Brown.)
• That God invited us to walk with Him on a journey.
• How important sharing the gospel is.
• That we all sin and that separates us from God, but when you ask for forgiveness your gap is filled.
• That God will never walk away.
• Not to worry and to let God have complete control over your life.
• To confess and ask for forgiveness.
• That you are never alone because the Holy Spirit is in you.

​We also asked the campers for any prayer requests before they left. Here are some of the things campers mentioned:

• That we will find a church.
• My dad’s job.
• I miss my grandma.
• The first day of middle school.
• My dad and his girlfriend to stop fighting.
• Pray for mom who is going to the hospital.
• My friends who are non-Christians.
• Knowing what to say when people ask questions about my faith.
• My grandparents.
• A stronger passion for God’s truth and avoiding temptations.
• My uncle is agnostic and having a hard time.
• My friend with an addiction.
• A close family member who is struggling with cancer.
• Humility, the power to listen to God’s will for my life and submit to His authority.
• I pray for a better understanding of the Holy Spirit.

Please be in prayer for these requests and all our campers, their families and our staff as they head into a new school year. Pray that as they face challenges and come down off the ‘spiritual high’ they may have experienced at camp, they would know that God is with them all the time and He will give them the strength to live their lives for Him!

Read Luke 12:22-34 to read this verse in context. How can you apply these truths to your life? 

This is our monthly camper newsletter from June. Click here to subscribe.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

This summer, our camp theme is "The Journey: Walking with Christ." We're exploring what it means to walk through life with Christ, following his path for you. 

As our verse today says, living life apart from Jesus is a life of darkness, a path to destruction. But those who walk with God will have the light of life! We want all our campers to be walking alongside Jesus on the light path of life. 

Can you please pray for all our campers this summer? Pray that they would learn about how they can walk with Jesus. 

If you're coming to camp later this summer, take some time before arriving to think about where God has brought you thus far on your life journey. What challenges has he carried you through? What joys has he brought your way? 

Jared Teeter completed an Eagle Project here over the winter installing benches to create a prayer trail along some of our existing trails. There is a guide booklet in the office which will guide you through some Psalms and prayer prompts at each station on the trail.
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We had a new ropes element installed for summer camp using grant money from the Mission Endowment Fund. It’s called “Leap of Faith.” Harnessed participants climb to a platform and jump off attempting to catch hold of a trapeze. We’re excited to have our staff trained and begin using this activity this summer! View pictures of staff trying it out here!

Thanks to donor support (predominantly through our Golf Classic Tournament), Larry McLaughlin and his team of helpers (Milton Janzen, Leon Brunk, Dan Smoker, Jim Strafalace, Micah Briscoe, Ken Wermuth, David Lehman, Jim Thornton, Max Blosser and David Fox) We have replaced several roofs. Our volunteers completed the roofs for the pool house and campground pavilion, while we brought in a company to complete Laurel Cottage, Holly Cottage and the campground bathhouse. Thanks to everyone who helped out! 

Thank you everyone who came out to a banquet to attend the Annual Meeting!

We hope you enjoyed the time of fellowship together. Members, if you missed the meeting, but would like a copy of the annual report please let us know.

We have two new board members who were approved: Leon Brunk and Bill Eberly. We’re glad to have them.
Our new vision and mission statements were approved as well! The vision statement reads:  Every Life changed by Jesus, welcomed into His family, and serving Him. and the new mission statement is: WCRC provides a place for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of kids and adults through camping and retreats. Thank you for your support as we seek to guide our activities with this vision! 

Sara Grace Miller shared the following with us:
 
At the annual WCRC meeting in Harrisonburg, my mind  went back a ways to the beginning of WCRC. Merlin and I were there to become charter members. I remember it all with fond memories. At first, the office was in a house trailer and we, as volunteers, would sleep in a trailer in the trailer park. We watched and helped WCRC grow from a grassy field to the lovely place it is today. Merlin and I enjoyed many hours of volunteering while watching each new building arise. Merlin built cabinets in Magnolia and bunk beds for Laurel cottage. We worked in the kitchen and dining room many weekends. It was all joy.
 
Merlin cut bricks for Sammy Brunk who made the fancy brick work on Oakwood. He came home happy even though covered in red brick dust.
 
I thank God for giving certain ones the vision for a retreat center. I pray it will continue to grow, prosper and be a blessing to many, helping many more to find Christ as their Savior.

This is our monthly camper newsletter from May. Click here to subscribe.

How often do you read your Bible? 

Sometimes I think we can get too caught up in what to read next, or picking a devotional book or Bible study guide and we forget that the important part is that we just read God's Word. 

Sure devotions are a helpful tool for understanding scripture and learning, but the Bible is the part that matters. 

Recently, I opened a daily devotion email and saw the long scripture reading and short devotion at the end. I thought, "I don't have much time. I'll just read the devotion cause I won't be able to finish the whole Bible reading today." But that is the opposite of what I should have thought. If I don't have much time, I should at least read a few verses of scripture each day. 

Make it a goal for the month of June (or any month) to read at least one or two verses of scripture a day. Even if you don't have a devotional to read or a Bible reading plan, or can't make it through a whole chapter. Don't get hung up on those other things: just read your Bible!

We have been set apart as holy because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do by sacrificing his body once and for all. Hebrews 10:10

As a Christian, you are set apart. Not because you have done anything special, but because of what Jesus has done for you! Are you living your life as though you are set apart by grace? 

Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

While Jesus' sacrifice justifies us in an instant, we don't stop sinning or struggling with temptation overnight. It takes time, sacrifice and effort to live for the Lord daily. We can't do it through our own determination or strength: we must continually seek the Lord's strength to live for Him. 

This is our monthly camper newsletter from March. Click here to subscribe.

Back in the day, (think: Little House on the Prairie times), kids played with their siblings and the kids who lived right within the same town or one farm over. You might not even know someone who lived even one state away. Even not too long ago when your parents were young, kids played with the other kids who lived within walking distance. Now with technology like phones, computers and the internet, you can easily communicate with friends all over the world daily. 

Sometimes, we can be so busy playing games with or talking to far away friends, that we forget to be a neighbor to our neighbors who actually live right near us. How well do you know the people who live on your street or in your building? In Mark 12:31, Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It's kind of hard to love someone when you don't even know them isn't it?  

Take some time to think about how the world might be different if everyone took more time to get to know and love their neighbors who live right near them. 

Talk to your parents about some ways your family can get to know some of your neighbors. What can you do to love them? Maybe bring someone homemade cookies, help with yard work or offer to babysit.