Nearly 900 youth from Adventist, public, and home schools attended junior high and high school youth camps in Oregon
Published on: 12-31-2024
Nearly 900 students, pastors, teachers, and parents focused on the theme ENGAGED and leaned into engaging with God, each other and church at Junior High Bible Camp and High School Bible Camp. The camps were organized by the Oregon Conference Youth Ministries Department and held in September 2024 at Washington Family Ranch in central Oregon.
The Bible camps strategically helped students start the 2024–2025 school year focused on Jesus and their personal relationships with Him, leaders said.
The Bible camps began September 12-15 with the conference’s second annual Junior High Bible Camp for all seventh- and eighth-graders—homeschool, public school, and private school students—to leave behind the routine chaos of life and focus on prayer, spiritual discussions, worship, learning about God, and listening to His voice.
When Junior High Bible Camp launched in 2023, 212 attended. In 2024, nearly 270 youth worshipped, participated in small-group discussions, laughed, played, and prayed together. Approximately 40 students chose to give their lives to Jesus during the event.
Then on September 19, more than 600 students arrived for the four-day High School Bible Camp. Eight Adventist academies together with several church youth groups came together to connect with one another and with Christ. They participated in corporate worship, morning devotions, various activities, and student-led small-group discussions.
“Bible camp is always the spiritual highlight of the year,” said Mechelle Peinado, Portland Adventist Academy principal.
Three students were baptized during the Bible camp event, while another 25 made the decision to be baptized after they returned home. Forty chose to connect with a local church and pastor for the first time, and 30 indicated their desire to take Bible studies.
Leaders said that while many people lament the number of youth leaving the church, they believe that God is at work and moving on the hearts of young people in the Oregon Conference, as nearly 900 Oregon youth showed love for Jesus by choosing to intentionally engage with God, their community, and their churches as a result of attending the Bible camps.
As of June 30, 2024, almost 37,000 members worship in 139 Adventist churches in Oregon. Oregon has a population of 4,713,453.
The original version of this story was posted on the Northwest Adventist website
Jason Calvert, Oregon Conference
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