Community Organization #2: Camp Calvary

Camp Calvary, an 11 week summer camp, of Wayne, New Jersey is a ministry of Calvary Temple International. While it is a ministry within the Children's Ministry of the church, it is open to the entire community. Before anything else, it is meant as an outreach program to love the children of the community and teach them of Christ's love for them. I have worked at Camp for the past six summers and I absolutely love it. Camp was established 20 years ago by the Children's Ministry pastors at the time, and is currently run by Children’s pastor, Rev. Matthew Battista. He and his wife, Holly, live and breathe this ministry, and their passion for it is evident. They work tirelessly preparing events and making sure that each day of Camp is special for its campers. "The past few years have been explosive," Pastor Matt said. "We have really begun to see fruit." You know that your Camp is gaining critical acclaim from the community when your attendance increases from 200 to 500 campers per summer in a few short years. "Families really appreciate what we are doing, and they are noticing the differences compared to other camps in the community . . . they have started to send their kids here because they know that the counselors care about their child's well-being." Every staff member is a born-again Christian and a regular attendee of either Calvary Temple or another local church. Each day at camp presents an opportunity for outreach. Starting each morning, counselors lead their classes in a time of devotion, allowing opportunity for each camper to understand who Christ is and respond to a call to salvation. This is not Sunday school or kid’s church, however, considering most campers are not from Christian backgrounds. “We’ve started to get Muslim children, Hindu children, children from non-religious households . . . these families are willing to send their children to a Christian Camp because they know that their kids will be loved and taken care of.” Through this ministry, children and their families have had their lives changed, and to me, that makes it all worth it. Having a camp of only Christians defeats the purpose of the program, and I sincerely hope that it continues to grow and gain notoriety in the community. With God’s hand over this organization, there is no telling what might become of it!