We often talk during staff training—and again after camp—about how camp is a temporary community, intentionally designed to end and serve the permanent communities we’re each a part of. That’s part of what makes the camp experience so powerful: it’s meant to be temporary. Its short season creates a sense of urgency and allows for accelerated growth in those who open themselves to the experience.
And now, here we are—the end of another summer. Our temporary community has dispersed, and we take with us memories, bug bites, and the growth that comes from a summer well spent at camp. While many may wish camp would never end, I believe its impact comes precisely because it does end. That’s what keeps it a place set apart—a space for deep spiritual and personal growth.
This summer, our spiritual theme was Jesus as our Living Water from John 4:13–14. I spoke so often about the woman at the well, I feel like I know her—maybe I am her! How often we try to fill our jars with things that never satisfy, things that keep us coming back empty. My prayer is that every girl heard the true message: only Jesus satisfies, and His living water is offered freely—without guilt, without shame.
I’m praying for every camper and staff member who experienced a mountaintop moment this summer—whether literally on a mountain or in the sacred space of camp. I hope they’ll take the growth they experienced and carry it home with them. I pray they’ll continue the habits they started at camp—daily Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and time in God’s creation.
We know the Christian life is a “long obedience in the same direction.” Camp may be a temporary season, but may Camp Cedarbrook always be a place where Christ is glorified and girls are shown the Truth.
