were also four pre-camp training meetings so that different times each day, there could be no set schedule. Bible study might range from one-half to two hours, depending on the leading of the Holy Spirit and interest of the kids. This was important to the leaders because it gave the campers an op portunity to think over each thing tha t was dis cussed without being rushed off to “recreation time” or something else. Dr. Richard McNeely, professor a t Biola Col lege who traveled along with the group as the camp speaker, feels tha t “this is the key, to give people enough time to think over what has been presented and to talk it over.” Having Bible studies out-of-doors, the kids weren’t aware of a schedule. Everything was fresh, very personal, specific, and geared to small groups for Bible study and dis cussions. The camp had no set schedule or method for witnessing either. Charles Bradshaw says, “This is what we emphasized, the inner, the inner quality before you try to express what you really have.” However, as the campers got into the Word of God, they were encouraged through the Bible study to witness, and many opportunities arose for shar ing all that they were experiencing in their lives. One evening camp was set up beside a group from a Boys’ Camp in South Dakota. Charles relates: “I t was thrilling to go to bed that night and hear your kids outside leading someone to the Lord.” By the end of camp, there had been time to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ to many people from Boy Scout to hippie. The campers themselves felt that one of the most valuable things in the camp set-up was the fact that they were often confined to rather small areas. For eleven days, 40 teenagers lived together, worked together, ate together, cleaned up together, and had problems together. John Coulombe says, “You couldn’t be a phony on a trip like this. We had to be ‘real’ which was difficult for some, but they were accepted for what they were.” Gary Oliver explains, “It was a give-and-take situation. They had to learn how to love each other and give in.” Although the kids knew exactly why they were going to Travel Camp, the one unsaved boy did go along. “Bill became a focal point for the group,” Dr. McNeely says. “I felt tha t when we started out there were still really three groups. Everyone talked to everyone else, but there were three dis tinct groups. But everyone became interested in Bill, and it drew the whole camp together in prayer for him and it also worked to unify the camp. Bill made no bones about his rebellion. If it hadn’t been for the unified effect of travel camp and other factors, he probably wouldn’t have made his com mitment. In a traditional camp, he may not have
Travel Camp Bible teacher, Richard I. McNeely.
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