Thanksgiving

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving.

I love a holiday that invites us to reflect and give thanks. I believe it blesses the heart of God when we have a posture of gratitude and thanksgiving, hearts that cry out in worship in response to His goodness. I’m reminded of so many passages in Scripture that admonish us to be thankful, but two New Testament Scriptures immediately come to mind: Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful;” and Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”

God loves a grateful heart, and here at King’s Camp we are giving Him praise for every good gift He’s given this year. First and foremost, we praise Him for the good gift of Himself. At our recent Cross at the Oaks Amphitheater dedication ceremony, I talked about the heart of our ministry in which Jesus Christ is the center focus. We do call it the King’s camp after all. I attempted to summarize the work of our ministry in three words: Names, Cross, Seeds. If you’re interested in knowing how these words fit into a framework of ministry, you can find my full talk here:Dedication Welcome

During the ceremony we took the time to call out all the names of people who have been integral to making the amphitheater and its beautiful cross a reality. As I said in my talk, names are important. Scripture is filled with the names of individuals. These lists of names in Scripture remind me that God calls us, very ordinary people who often feel and usually are ill-equipped in and of ourselves, to join Him in the building of His kingdom. Names remind me of individuals that have shown up, that have listened to the call, that have stepped out in faith trusting in God’s goodness and faithfulness regardless of their lack, that have counted the cost and willingly followed.

Read a list of all who contributed to the building of the amphitheater: Special Thanks

Read some interesting facts Nolan shared about the amphitheater and cross: Interesting Facts

Read a list of our Oaks of Righteousness trees: Recognizing Oaks

Read our prayer of dedication led by Amy and Danny Ellender: Prayer of Dedication

Names also remind me of the people that continue to make camp a reality each summer. We give thanks for our staff who came from six different colleges in four different states. We’re grateful for our staff who continues to be phenomenal each year. These are college students that LOVE Jesus and love one another. Many are leaders in their college ministries; many are pursuing fulltime ministry; all are committed disciples of Jesus. We give thanks for these young people who come and serve and love on our campers! (Continue reading to the end to see a full list of our staff this past summer.)

I’m also reminded of the teachers and worship leaders and volunteers who willing gave up a week or several weeks to serve, to share Jesus, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. What a gift it is to see people come back to serve! This year as most years we were blessed to have former campers and staff come back to teach and lead worship at King’s Camp. We give thanks for our campers and our camper families, and it is pure joy to see how the fruit of camp continues in their lives, especially when they come back to share their giftings with us. This year several were campers and/or staff leaders before Nolan and I began our leadership roles. It was such a joy to see the fruit of those who labored before us, and it gave us hope for the seeds we are presently sowing, the fruit of which we personally may or may not see. We trust God’s good work, knowing that God is the faithful Gardener who tends the seeds, all for the splendor of His glory.

(Please continue to the end to see the names of these faithful servants of God.)

In sum, we are thankful!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

We have nothing and can do nothing without Him. God indeed is our prize, our gift, our life for which we give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving! Lord Bless you!

To see more of our dedication ceremony, click here: Cross at the Oaks Dedication

King's Camp Staff 2025 (listed alphabetically)

Sarah Albritton, Liza Barkley, Caleb Barras, James Burris, Janae Byram, Bethany Colvin, Oliver Gibbs, Brady Gilbreath, Camille Glath, Jacob Houpy, Eric Jenkins, Wyatt Joiner, Bankstyn Langley, Julia Marsala, Connor McVoy, Reagan Mitchell, Kanaan Mote, Evan Randolph, Addison Williams

Program Directors: Daniel Bouligny, Riley Marchand

WorkStudy Directors: Micah Bell, Anna Kate Glath

Activity Director: Asher Jones

Teachers and worship leaders listed alphabetically: John Morgan Bolding, Stephen Fife, Kristie Hodges, Ethan Hundley, Logan Hurtzler, Madeline Lockeby, Aaron Shamp, Mollie Yantis, and me (Jennifer Clark).

To read about the ripple effect of camp by Molly Glath, click on this link:Ripple Effect

Camp Cook: Donna Guice

Grounds Maintenance: Michael Alford

Our board (listed as seen in picture):

Molly Glath, Ben Thomason, Nolan Clark, Jennifer Clark, Amy Ellender.

Mollie Yantis, Lacey Hundley, and Ethan Hundley

To learn more about Lacey and Ethan Hundley and their ministry work in St Albans, Vermont, click here: https://www.redeemerchurchvt.com/copy-2-of-about-us

You can find the writings of Aaron Shamp on his substack Hold Fast: https://www.aaronshamp.com

Aaron Shamp at the Cross at the Oaks

We'd love for you to partner with us in ministry! https://secure.anedot.com/king-s-camp/give

See our future hopes and dreams here: Future Hopes