When I was a kid my friends and I’d turn our bikes over and stand them on their seat and handle bars. Then we’d spin the back tire via the pedals as we oiled the chain.

Invariably this act of maintenance turned into some type of competition.

We’d see who could get their tire spinning the fastest or the longest. We knew we hit top speed and the chain oiled just right when the momentum of the spinning tire would take the pedals right out of our hands.

But I also remember how hard we had to crank the pedals to start the tire spinning. The first 4 or 5 cranks were killers. But once we got it moving the tire would just spin on and on with much less effort.

Oiling the chain and those first cranks describe April, May and June at SpringHill. We are cranking the pedals to get the tire of summer camp spinning. We’re hiring our last staff, shoehorning in the final campers, finishing our curriculum and lessons, preparing and training staff and making sure the facilities, partners, and administrative components are all planned and ready to go.

People often believe that summer’s our busiest time of the year. And its true summer is extremely busy but it’s the oiling the chain and cranking of the pedals of spring which takes the most effort and energy. By the time summer hits the tire is spinning fast and our effort is on guiding and directing its spin.

So as our staff come off their spring breaks the race of getting the summer tire spinning is on. Please pray for us over the next few months that we have the wisdom, energy, strength and time to finish oiling the chain and cranking the pedals so the 2011 summer camp tire will spin fast, straight and smooth.

As my final summer 2010 “snapshot” I’d like to provide an overview of the summer at SpringHill.  In my posts I’ve told stories in an effort to provide a glimpse into all that God was doing through SpringHill as well as giving insight into this ministry.  Now I want to share some numbers that will provide context for these stories.

I’m asked every fall by friends of SpringHill, “How was the summer?” And I always answer, “It’s been the best summer ever at SpringHill.” This year is no different. I can answer with integrity that this summer – in many ways – was the best.

Here are some reasons why:

• We broke our own record for number of campers in our summer camp program: 14,056. These numbers include our two overnight camps in Michigan and Indiana as well as our Day Camp ministry.

• All three (Michigan, Indiana and Day Camps) grew in the number of “camper days” compared to last year, which means 2010 is the largest summer-camp program in SpringHill’s history. A “camper day” represents one day of summer camp.

• Our Indiana camp, compared to much of the youth-camp industry, saw significant growth both in number of campers (10% more than last year) and camper days (23%).

• Our Day Camps ministry saw explosive growth in both campers served and locations. We served more than 4,800 campers (compared to 1,450 campers in 2009) in 25 locations in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio (compared to 12 locations in 2009).

• We, by God’s grace, had an extremely spiritually fruitful summer. In our preliminary count, 48% of this summer’s campers indicated a first-time or renewed commitment to follow Christ in their daily lives.

As you know from my posts this summer these numbers represent individual kids. Each of these kids had the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ, see Him in the lives of our staff, and experience Him in the context of intimate communities and shared experiences with the result being life transformation. This is why we count numbers and why having the largest SpringHill summer ever is important to us. It’s not the record books that truly matter, it’s the life change that we have the privilege of witnessing and being a part of.

Please thank God, as we have, for the work He has done – and is still doing – in the lives of our 14,000-plus campers and the 700 staff who served them.

One of the reasons campers will tell us they love coming to SpringHill is because they can “leave the box they are in at home and really be themselves.”  This is particularly true for teenagers, whether middle school or high school. They can feel trapped in a box at home or at school don’t know how to get out of it.

Boxes are expectations others have for a person whether they are good or bad. Such as “you are a star athlete” or “you are a partyer” or “you are a scholar”. It’s when these expectations no longer seem to fit who a young person believes they truly are that they feel “trapped in a box.”  They don’t know how to shake it off.  It’s especially painful when the box is negative and they’ve come to realize it and desperately want out.

When they come to SpringHill many register by themselves because it is a chance to start over.  They meet new friends who don’t have them in any box. With an emphasis on “embracing all kids” regardless of who they are, loving them as people created in the image of God, our staff reinforce this freedom that kids feel in being themselves.

One of our staff shared how she had such a girl on her TST team.  Early in the week this young woman left her group crying and her counselor went to see what was wrong.  The counselor learned that this camper had felt put into a box at home that no longer fit but couldn’t find her way out of it.

Her counselor said to her “I’m going to stay with you until and help you through this.” Then she told her the great news “You do not have to be the woman the world says you are – you can be the woman God created you to be.”

This message began to sink in and the young woman returned to her team ready to experience camp.  Later in the week this young woman put her faith in Christ, trusting Him to help her become all that He intended and created her to be. This is her first step in getting out of the box she desperately wanted out of and stepping into a new life, a life God intended for her to have and allowing her to become all He created her to be.

Urban areas all around the world are full of kids challenged from the moment they’re born. For many the obstacles start even before they arrive into the world.

This is why we’ve continued to partner with other ministries who serve these kids and their families in urban areas around the midwest.

During the last week of Day Camp for our Indiana team we provided a camp experience for nearly 200 kids from inner city Indianapolis.  We partnered with Shepard Community Center – http://www.shepherdcommunity.org/ – and Oasis of Hope Church to create this SpringHill experience for kids in their neighborhood.

Tony Schmid, our Indiana Day Camp Director, shared with me the following story that, for him and his team, was a great example an incredible week of ministry.

On the first day one of our staff had a girl in her small group who was on a mission. During their first small group time this camper asked her counselor if she could speak to the group.  And of course the counselor gave her permission to share what was on her heart.

This girl then proceeded to tell her story about her relationship with Jesus Christ and finished by asking if all the other campers wanted the same relationship she had. Now mind you this is Monday morning not Wednesday afternoon when we are very intentional to ask campers this question.

But this girl was on a mission and her mission, as it turns out, was quite successful. Almost all the campers in her group raised their hands in an affirmative response to her question. So she led them all in a prayer to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Quite a way to start out our first inner city Indianapolis Day Camp.  It was a preview of all that God would do during this incredible week of camp.

During our final Sunday morning summer worship service we asked staff to share a “snapshot” (a brief story) of how they saw Christ work in the lives of campers.  This is something we do throughout the summer at all our locations. They provide encouragement, inspiration and another reason to worship our God.

One of our staff shared about a middle school camper who was extremely upset during lunch. He began to swear very loudly and became a bit out of control.  No one knew what was bothering him. One of our staff stepped in, took him outside and began to ask him questions.

He asked about his family and discovered that he’d been abandoned by his father when he was young.  As a result his mother was not around much because she had to work to provide for the family.

As the story of this young man’s life was unfolding, our staff began to share with him the story of another Father, one who never abandons His children.  Then our staff asked “Do you want a different life?”  When he said “Yes”, our staff answered “You can have a different life and a new Father by putting your faith in His Son Jesus.”

At that moment this young man accepted Christ into his life and became an adopted child of the King.  For the rest of the week this camper was a different person.  He was full of joy and had no anger.  He called his Mom at the end of the week and told her that he was “coming home a changed person.  I’m not going to be angry any more or am I going to do drugs anymore because I’ve given my life to Jesus.”

Our staff called home over the next couple of weeks to encourage this young man in his new commitments and to hear from his mom how he was doing.  She said “he is a changed person.”  When you meet your Heavenly Father for the first time, even if you are an angry young man, it’s hard to hide the transformation.

Mark Olson, our former President, used to say “that our best ministry was not to the campers but to the summer staff who served the campers.” This maybe the best kept secret about our summer camp programs, except if you are a past summer staffer or parent of a summer staffer.

Here is what one parent communicated to us after our summer staff family weekend about her son’s staff experience this summer:

“Thank you for the opportunity to visit Spring Hill as a ‘parent camper’ during Family Camp!  We both totally enjoyed our experience. Especially the zip-line ~ woo – hoo !!!!

What an awesome opportunity our son has had to be a part of this community of young people. He has grown in the Lord this summer….serving Him, searching His word and interacting with the counselors and staff.  During our visit we were able to get a glimpse of his day-to-day routine as well as a better understanding to what goes on during any given day.

We sent you a young believer in Christ and you have given us a young ‘man of God’…thank you and may God continue to bless the efforts of Spring Hill Camps.”

Why does this intense, transforming experience happen for our summer staff?  There are a hand full of reasons that I will cover over the next week or so as I share some of our staff’s stories with you.

But it is safe to say that the foundation of these life transforming experiences are people who have committed themselves to serving a single mission, been trained and prepared to fulfill this mission, work together as a team – a community of people to see the mission achieved and then trust and rely on Christ to do the ultimate mission work.

Ask any former summer staffer and you will most likely hear that their time on staff at SpringHill was the most transformative experience of their lives. It’s the ministry behind the ministry.

It’s the last day of SpringHill’s 2010 summer camp program (although not the summer season). It began in May with the arrival of our summer resident staff (professionals who work for SpringHill for the summer) and it will end today with the closing ceremonies of two of our Day Camp teams and our Michigan overnight camp. In between we’ve had the privilege of serving over 14,000 campers with a team of 750 staff.    

 I have to admit this summer has flown by, it has been as busy as any of I’ve been a part of at SpringHill.  Yet, for many reasons, it has been one of the best.  That is why I’m a bit sad as I write this post. I’m wishing it wasn’t over yet.    

I’ve always said that when we are doing our summer camp ministry we are doing the work God created us to do. We are in our “sweet spot”.  It’s been hard at times, busy for sure, draining, stressful but even more it has been full of joy and wonder as we served with people we love and we’ve seen Christ work in and through our efforts to transform young lives for His Kingdom.    

 Now for a another 9 months we will have no more Sunday morning staff worship and staff meetings. No more Opening Days greeting excited campers and nervous moms. No more campfires or polar bear blobbing.  No more camp songs in the rain or small groups of sharing and praying. No more closing rallies where we hear the stories of how Christ has impacted the lives of campers.  And no more summer staff and the energy they bring to their work.  We have to wait for another 9 months to do it all again.   

Yet we can step back and thank God for what He has done and the lives He has allowed us to be a part of.  And in a few weeks we will begin planning, praying and working on another great summer, the summer of 2011.   

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing stories from some of our staff and campers’ experiences so you will be able to have a glimpse into the life change that happened this summer (and for me stretch the summer out a bit longer).