On my way back from a Sunday school class retreat in Hickman County, Tennessee, I usually make a detour to Camp Meribah, where I volunteered as a counselor when my church had their Summer camp there in 2002 and 2003.  On the reverse of the sign as you exit the camp says “Building Boys is Better than Mending Men.”

I reflect on this each time I visit.  I think about those camps I’ve volunteered at and how each year we have kids who are on the fringe.  It might be those in a single parent home; those who don’t attend church regularly or at all.  As counselors we have 1 week with these kids….a week to espouse God’s teachings upon them.  For me this equates to some sense of urgency to build relationships and to urge them to come back to camp next year…or better yet…come back to church the following Sunday.  I know each individual person is responsible for his own salvation, but there always is a sense of guilt when things don’t work out as best as we had hoped.

Years later I would happen upon the (now adult) camper’s Facebook profile.  When the profile turns negative toward God and His commandments, I remark to myself “We’ve lost them,” because now I know it will be 100 times much more difficult to win back an adult soul than to teach a child God’s love and will for them while at summer camp.