Have you ever been to summer camp and witnessed students be moved by the Lord in amazing ways? The summer ministry teams have! And they were given the opportunity to see it again this last weekend, October 28th through the 31st. Team members Mason Hadley, Jazmine Cooper, and Kylie Bostwick traveled to Cedar Springs Camp in Floyd, Iowa for their fall retreat. It was there that they were able to witness junior high and high school students learn about their identity and setting their minds on things above.  

The weekend included three speakers diving deep into Colossians 3:1-4, trying to help the students understand what it means to set their hearts and minds on things above. There was a large emphasis on mental health over the weekend. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about mental health during a panel that the speakers hosted, trying to help them through the struggles that come with the seasons that we are in right now.  

This opportunity to travel to a camp and share the Gospel with students is wonderful and is open to students now! Student Development is accepting applications for students who are interested in working summer camps all around the country this coming summer. With opportunities to travel to states like Oregon, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, and more, students would be working for OKWU to do life with students while letting them know about this awesome school where they can get a Christ-centered education with an awesome community.  

Senior Jazmine Cooper came to the OKWU campus because of camp teams. She attended Cedar Springs Camp in Floyd, Iowa from the time that she was in sixth grade until she graduated high school. Her senior year, she was able to counsel her junior high peers, and that opened up a space in her heart for this kind of ministry. 

 “I am so grateful for camp teams. It was the amazing community that came from meeting students and hearing their amazing stories about school that really brought me to understand how amazing OKWU really is,” she said.  

 Cooper participated in camp teams this last summer, acting as a counselor and helper at three camps that took place on campus. She found that she was able to see revival on the campus and through the students. “God is so powerful,” she states, “and he moved so much this summer. Through those students, through us as OKWU’s ministry team, and through this campus. It was seriously one of those experiences that I will never forget.”  

Sophomore Sean Rollins had a pretty amazing experience as well. Rollins accepted his call to ministry this summer through working summer teams. He also met OKWU students during summer camp, attending Cedar Canyon Camp in South Dakota. He changed his major from Digital Media Marketing to Youth Ministry after having a spiritual experience counseling students this summer.  

Applications are accepted through November 15th, with interviews taking place from the 15th to the 19th. If you are interested, apply at www.okwu.edu/summerteams/ or contact Aaron Bunker at abunker@okwu.edu.