Summertime and Camp Meeting. The two really do go together.

I have so many fond memories of waking up on cool (sometimes a bit warm) summer mornings at NAC, whether on the campground or in a dorm, and looking outside to see the familiar summer characteristics. Seeing the rays of sun coming through the giant trees on the Anderson University campus signaled to me that it was almost time for breakfast.

My family and I went to breakfast with my cousins on the campground occasionally. Other times, we went to breakfast at the Olt Student Center, where we were sure to get our fill of the all-you-can-eat hot buffet.

Depending on my age at that point, my sister and our cousins prepared to go to Kid's Place. Kid's Place was a blast. Especially the "world's fair" or "market" area (pictured above, 1992). It was fun to walk around what was similar to a trade show or a carnival, but for kids. And we didn't have to walk around with the parents. To top it all off, we were on VACATION! We were far away from home and we all had a good time every day. Part of that excitment was rooted in the unfamiliarity of everything--the sights, the smells, the people, the restaurants, the thunderstorms!

When I was too old for Kid's Place, I discovered the giant red-and-white tent. I'd frequently heard music in that tent and thought it sounded good but hadn't really paid attention to it until later. Then one year, I stumbled by and heard southern gospel music. I love southern gospel music, and this was a quartet (Vision of Hope) singing! Then I heard everybody in the tent sing (with joy!) "A Child of God." Wow! I can't believe I missed it all those years. For many years in a row, I made sure to get a spot close to the front in the LIVE tent. I even got to help out on the piano a few years. And, oh, the preaching. We heard pillars of the faith in that tent that I thought could only be heard in the evening services: Gerald Marvel, Lori Salierno, Jeanette Flynn, Richard Mansfield, Mitchell Burch, and so on. Wow!

Sometimes, we kids would walk around the Dome (Warner Auditorium) after Kid's Place and listen to the conclusion of the adult morning service. We kids could really be kids at Camp Meeting. There was nothing like it. Running around the campground, running around campus, running around the Dome...great fun!

And then it was lunchtime. Ahhhh, summer mornings at Camp Meeting. Incomparable.

I've been working on an article about a mission trip that Spread the Word is planning for mid-October. Several members of the Youth Ministry Team and the Youth Network for the Church of God will be traveling to Paraguay. Paraguay has been a recipient of some of the funds generated by Spread the Word, an world-evangelism tool which started in 2002 at the Denver IYC. Spread the Word was begun to make IYC more than an event--something that would be a lifestyle, or in the words of Pastor Mark Shaner (of East Side Church of God in Anderson, Indiana), "a part of our DNA" of ministry. While youth ministry in the Church of God may have been focussed around the event that is IYC, youth leadership in the Church of God seeks to make national youth ministry lasting and continuous.

So, I got to thinking. If IYC can become more than an event, can NAC? If IYC is the epitomy of youth ministry in the Church of God (and it clearly is), then couldn't we assume that NAC is the epitomy of adult ministry in the Church of God? After all, NAC (Camp Meeting) seems to be the one, annual uniting symbol of the Church of God in North America. IYC wants to be more than just "event-oriented" and instead a lifestyle or part of our DNA. Couldn't NAC do the same thing? Couldn't the unity and the spiritual rejuvenation and the challenge to go and make disciples that we experience each year at NAC last throughout the year? Can we take it back to our local churches? Can we bring it into our communities and take it around the world?

While Church of God Ministries serves as the primary "ministry arm" for the General Assembly, could NAC--the people of the Church of God who attend this annual event--make a lasting impact on from the local level on up? Could NAC be a "brand," not in the negative sense, but as a symbol of unity within the Church of God and an organization that could keep encouraging the saints year-round?

Kid's Place is making an attempt at just this. Kid's Place director, Michelle Parker, and other Kid's Place national assistants, are attempting to bring Kid's Place programming to the local church. Why keep such a great thing at NAC? That's their big question, and it has already driven them to implement Kid's Place programming methods at one Vacation Bible School at the First Church of God in Meridian, Mississippi. Not only is Kid's Place of NAC goint out to where the people are, but also these ministers are touching the lives of at-risk youth.

So, why keep NAC at the event that is NAC in Anderson? Let's bring it back home with us each year. It may not be the complete answer to a declining NAC, but perhaps it would be a start in the positive direction!

The picture above shows Kid's Place away from Anderson--in Mississippi.