SILOAM SPRINGS — The camp’s official name is the Arkansas Baptist Assembly, but to generations of campers, it’s simply Siloam.
Built in 1925 in a shady Ozark valley in Siloam Springs, the camp has inspired countless children and teens with its gospel message, pastoral beauty and group-based programming.
“It’s amazing how many people have had a conversion experience here, or a life change,” said Jason Wilkie, executive director of the camp.
“It’s a wonderful combination - the gospel, outdoors, in a large group - that speaks to people.
“Jesus retreated to the outdoors for his alone time.
You can’t help, in the mountains or on the beach, looking at all that beauty and knowing something did this, somebody did this.”
The experience continues for a new generation of campers.
This summer, some 3,350 children and youth from five states have felt the magic of Siloam in seven week-long sessions.
They’ve worshipped beneath the soaring timbers of the airconditioned worship center, funded by Bernice Jones in 1991. They’ve had Bible study with the church group they came with. They’ve swum in the spacious pool and sipped signature Hawaiian juleps from the Snack Shack.
They’ve chosen from an array of activities such as watercolor worship, poetry and composition, drumming and singing, a ropes course, nature walks, softball and volleyball.
Team-oriented games involve campers in friendly competition. The theme this year is Search & Rescue, based on Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Campers in threesquadrons have competed for the highest points in a variety of outdoor games and activities. These include a simulated water rescue involving the spring-fed creek and a soapy slip-and-slide, a simulated fire rescue with more water-logged fun and a simulated mountainrescue scavenger hunt.
“It’s fun,” said Stoner Moore, 18, who took part in the mountain rescue Tuesday with fellow church members from Shannon Road Baptist Church in Pine Bluff.
“It’s the most fun most people could have without a TV,” he continued. “It shows you a different way to live. You don’t see God much in the real world. You get focused on video games, TV, work. You lose track of what’s really important. To get away from that, and everything that might get in your way, is so awesome. To cut out the TV and focus on what’s important in your life.”
“It’s one week of pure God,” agreed Talor Cox, 17, who has attended the camp since she was in grade school. Her favorite part is the twice daily worship, she said. “You feel God there.”
Challenged To Grow
The camp’s mission remains the same as it has for many years - “that everyone who enters the gates would have an encounter with God.”
Youngsters come in church groups with their pastor, youth pastor or adult volunteer. The group experience strengthens bonds and helps young people grow as Christians, leaders agree.
“They get a true camp experience,” said Matt Neyman, youth pastor at First Baptist Church in West Memphis. “Bringing the youth group together builds unity and rapport. The speakers are Biblical ... the recreation is fun. Some of our kids have been saved here. They look forward to coming back.”
Most camp sessions are for children in the fourth through 12th grades. They split into two groups - one for fourth- through sixthgraders and one for junior and senior high students - for activities. Most campers come from smaller, rural churches, and it’s easier for those churches to bring all ages together, Wilkie explained.
One week each summer is reserved for youth only and another for the younger age group. This week was the teenagers’ turn. Some 720 youth converged beneath a 35-foot cardboard cross in the high-ceilinged worship center to sing to up-tempo Christian music and hear a high-powered speaker.
Different speakers are brought in for youth and children each week, Wilkie said. This week, Jon Randles, an evangelist from Frisco, Texas, challenged teens to live as disciples of Christ.
Being a Christian is easy, Randles told the listening crowd. Scientists have discovered that human beings are hard-wired for religion, he said. Choosing Christianity in the U.S. today simply means going along with the dominantreligion. It’s what he calls “casual Christianity.”
Yet Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. He came to make disciples, to challenge people to follow his path - an intensely relational path, Randles said.
“Religion won’t carry you. There’s no power in it. There’s incredible power in relationship,” he said. That relationship must start at the heart, with a healthy relationship with God, he said. Then that ripples outward to self and others.
Randles didn’t fl inch from topics such as premarital sex or drug use or behavioral patterns such as selfishness, spinelessness or rage. His direct style stimulated thought and challenged teens where they live, several said afterward.
“He’s a straight talker,” agreed Ashley Thompson, a pastor’s wife from Dixsonville Baptist Church near Malvern. “That’s what this generation needs.” An Upgrade For New Times
Camp leaders have their eyes on the future as well as the past.
The camp, which operated as a subsidiary of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention for most of its existence, incorporated as a nonprofi t in 2006.
The convention continues to fund a third of the camp’s budget, which was $750,000 for 2010, Wilkie said. The remainder comes from camper fees and renting the camp to church groups during the off -season.
At $130 per camper per week, the camp remains a good deal for regional churches and families. Yet upgrades are needed. Wilkie’s challenge is to modernize the camp and its programming while keeping it aff ordable.
Conversations with youth leaders throughout the state reveal a need for ongoing support, Wilkie said.
“I’m hearing that they need events and materials to help kids stay victorious,” he said. “They have life-changing experiences here. But their families are not always supportive. ... The challenge is, how do we help kids go forward, take that life change and help them grow?”
Wilkie envisions a series of seasonal retreats toserve as “spiritual markers” throughout the year. That and camp-style events at home churches, along with ongoing discipleship materials, would help recharge kids’ batteries and help them stay on track.
Wilkie would also like to offer retreats for couples, families and adult church groups. The assembly rents its facilities to church groups now, but without a heated dining room and heated cabins, there’s no potential to develop that.
He plans to energize a capital campaign in the fall to raise funds for a new dining hall. That’s been estimated to cost $3 million, he said. Half the camp’s dormitory-style cabins have been equipped with heating and air conditioning in the past couple of years. He’d like to get the other 24 done, as well as build smaller cabins for couples and families. A gymnasium is also in the long-term plans.
Wilkie also hopes to garner pledge support from former campers to assist in ongoing operational costs. That would keep campers’ fees reasonable while allowing new generations to experience Siloam.
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Religion, Pages 6 on 07/24/2010