Point University students go to camp
Four Point University students dedicated their summers to working for Camp Marannook, a biblical training camp in La Fayette, Alabama.
“Marannook exists to train people to know Christ through the study of his word and to make him known to others in a camp setting,” said Keith Ray, discipleship director at Marannook.
To accomplish this mission, Marannook alternates seven weeks of intensive Bible training for the college students, who act as camp counselors, with five weeks of hosting campers from first to ninth grade.
“The camp focuses on the growth of the camp counselors, and that goes into the children,” said Trenton Sadler, Biblical studies major at Point. He said the structure of the camp creates community and accountability among the camp counselors.
According to Marannook’s Bible Study for Training Staff, “Marannook’s approach to Biblical study is teaching the student how to study and then giving the student both time to study and an opportunity for personal application, as well as application through working with children.”
Haley Shultz, a counseling and human services major at Point, said the training she received at Marannook enabled her to minister to campers effectively. “I can tell the children about what Jesus did for them, and they can understand that because we were taught how to share those things with them,” said Haley.
Christy Artica, a counseling and human services major at Point, said she came to Marannook to learn how to work with children and grow spiritually. Faced with socially anxiety, she said she uses her experiences of struggle and triumph to connect with her campers.
“I get really close to and attached to all of my campers. I think it is because I have gone through a lot, and I know what it feels like to be the outsider,” said Christy. “I want to be able to give them love and say, ‘Hey you are loved, and you are beautiful, and you are worthy, and I am here for you.”
Rachel Hamer, a child and youth development major at Point, said during one of the preparation weeks, the camp counselors spent 60 hours studying the book of 1 Peter, and this study has prepared her for the future.
“Knowing that wherever I am, if I am following and seeking after Him, that’s where he needs me to be, and he can use me wherever I am at. And having that mindset going into my last semester is peaceful,” said Rachel.
College students interested in experiencing a summer of spiritual growth and the application of that growth can visit Marannook’s website at http://marannook.org/ to learn more and apply.