Have you heard the story of the eagle that was raised by prairie chickens? The eagle spent its entire life scratching the dirt and eating insects. It would gaze up into the sky, wishing it could soar like the eagles, but it never once tried because it believed it was a prairie chicken. Summer camp has a way of helping kids find their wings. I witnessed this repeatedly this year. When Scott came to camp, his schoolteacher warned me that he got into trouble almost every day of

Have you ever seen a bullet break through a thick wall of ice? We saw it happen here last month as we neared the end of our summer camp program. The wall of ice was a protective barrier the girls in cabin four had built up around their hearts, and the bullet that broke through was the personal testimony of their cabin director. For most of the week, this group was bombarded with a combination of personal issues and incompatibility. Arguments were constantly breaking out, and

Sometimes my vision exceeds my reality. For example, there is a beautiful section of Camp property with a thick pine forest that was practically begging me to establish a hiking trail through it. The location was perfect to make a great addition to our 5k trail race, and it would have easy access from our picnic area, disc golf course, and pumpkin patch. I eagerly scouted out the path the trail would take, only to discover that the task was too great. The pines were so thick

It just so happened that he got a flat tire at the exact moment he was driving by South Mountain Christian Camp. Carlos was hauling his wood chipper behind his truck when the sickening sound of loose rubber slapping against the metal framework of the chipper alerted him that there was a problem. He pulled into the camp driveway to survey the damage. It was a total blowout. He would need to leave the chipper while he took the wheel in for repair. Carlos entered our office mome

When I knelt down at the front of the church to pray on a Wednesday night in the Spring of 1992, I had no idea that the entire course of my life was about to change. As I prayed, I was suddenly interrupted by God. It wasn’t an audible voice, but in my soul it was just as clear: “Go to Uplift Mountain.” Two years earlier, at the age of fifteen, I’d spent my summer at this camp in Colorado. Now, on the verge of finishing high school, my parents had taught me to discern the voic

Tragedy struck twice in one day last summer for South Gastonia Church of God. Two members of their youth group were killed in two separate accidents which occurred on the same day. When I saw the story on the news, I was heartbroken. I knew this church. I knew these kids. This youth group has been coming to South Mountain every fall for the past 18 years. I immediately reached out to offer my condolences and prayers. I knew this camp was special to them, but until this fall,

I thought I was walking into a room full of strangers, but instead I found myself in a room full of friends. Last month we hosted our 4th annual Dale Sollars Autumn Classic disc golf tournament, and, as I looked around at all the players registering for the event, it struck me how much God has accomplished here through this sport. When the Lord gave me a desire to install a disc golf course several years ago, I never realized how many lives would be impacted through it, but n

Summer has ended, but the ministry hasn’t stopped. Just as the seasons shift, so does the ministry of South Mountain Christian Camp. Thousands of people will be here over the next few months through our various Fall programs, and we look forward to seeing how God moves in these lives. We received a beautiful reminder of this last month in an email from a dear friend, Jennifer Floyd. She wrote: I will never forget the day that Steve handed me a flyer as I finished the Hilltop

Leah was the sweetest girl you could imagine. She was kind and considerate to everyone around her, but deep inside she was carrying some heavy burdens that no seven-year-old should have to bear. She told her cabin director, Annie, that her parents had split up, she had moved across the country, and she and her mom had moved in with a new man—all within the past seven months. Disillusioned, Leah was searching for hope and stability. Mid-way through the camp week, Annie told Le

I love it when a story comes full circle. Last month we shared Eve-Liina’s testimony in a large mailing throughout Rutherford County (You can view it here). As a young child, her parents were going through a divorce, she had lost most of her friends, and she was being bullied at school. It was during this time that she came to camp and fell in love with Jesus. God brought healing to Eve-Liina and her family, and this year she is serving as one of our cabin directors, hoping t

I love to write, but last month I found myself dreading it. With a heavy heart, I stared at blank sheet of paper trying to pen my own father’s obituary. Eventually, I came up with this: “After 20 years of pastoral ministry, a career as a carpenter, and raising a family devoted to the Lord, Charles E. Collins has officially retired to his eternal benefit package. The retirement plan went into full effect on May 11, 2015 and was fully funded by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have to admit, I was a little frustrated. After doing a summer camp presentation at a local church, my wife and I had rushed back to camp because a potential cabin director was scheduled for an interview at 2:00 pm. When she didn’t show up, we began to wonder why we were wasting our time sitting in the camp office on a Sunday afternoon. Then the answer walked in the door. A father and son had come to do some fishing. Normally they would just pay their $2 fee through the dro

You never know what God is going to do next. For example, when we hosted a church youth retreat last month, I expected to use our new Upward Tower to teach these teens how a relationship with God is an adventure that continually calls us upward into a closer relationship with Him. And that’s just what we did. They spent hours climbing, pulling, and scrambling their way up to the top of the 50-foot tower and zip-lining to the ground, cementing the lesson in their minds through