“How would you describe a seedbed?” I asked.

Our session 1 camp for our third and fourth graders begins in a little over a week, and we have been busy preparing!

I’ve been meeting with our directors throughout the Spring in preparation for camp and want to give a shout out to our amazing summer directors, Daniel Bouligny and Riley Marchand, Micah Bell and Anna Kate Glath, and Asher Jones. I’m so impressed and inspired by these young adults that will be leading our charge this summer. They’ve given much time and prayer and intention since February to prepare their hearts for camp. Each of them is in school (some in graduate school); are leaders in their college ministries or churches; and some are also maintaining jobs. They are truly impressive! And all the while, they have willingly given their time to fasting and prayer with the Lord for King’s Camp and our campers, and to meet with me in preparation for camp. I tear up when I think about how much they love Jesus and how great their desire is to give our campers a taste of Jesus' immeasurable love for us. Truly!

As we’ve been meeting, I’ve been thinking about seeds and the parable that Jesus tells in Matthew about a farmer that went out to sow his seeds. My husband and executive director of King’s Camp is a farmer. He knows a lot about seeds and what they need to thrive in the dirt. One early spring morning sitting on our porch, I was looking over the fields as the corn had recently been planted when he asked me if I was watching the seedbed. In fact, I was sitting there with my Bible, reading and praying and watching the corn grow in the field before me. I was glad he asked the question because it reminded me that I had heard the term seedbed quite a lot but wasn't exactly sure what it meant. “How would you describe a seedbed?” I asked.  “It’s everything I do at my disposal to prepare the ground for the seed.” He went on to describe all the things that go into preparing the dirt: breaking up the beds, hipping and elevating the beds, preparing the beds with soil conditioners, fertilizing the soil, and then planting. It happens way in advance, even in the fall of the year before planting. Lastly, he said, “It’s the most important thing I do for the success of the crop in the planting of the seed… this preparation work that is rarely seen.”

This sounds a lot like what we’ve been doing to prepare for campers. Our staff has spent hours of intentional time to prepare not only the grounds and the camp but to prepare our hearts. And our prayer is that when children and youth come to King’s Camp, the seedbed of their hearts are being softened and cultivated—prepared to walk a lifelong, fruit-filled journey with Jesus.

We still have openings in a few of our sessions. Register at https://www.kingscamp.net 

or email us at kingscamp@gmail.com for assistance.

A beautiful example of the development of our campers into Jesus loving leaders is Riley Marchand who was kind enough to share pictures as a young camper and as a counselor. Last year she was our girls WorkStudy Director and this year is Program Director along with Daniel Bouligny. Thank you, Riley!

A few things we've been working on!