October 2003


PLANTED, ROOTED, AND GROWING IN CHRIST

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. (Jeremiah 17:7,8)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. (Psalm 1:1,2)

PLANTED, ROOTED, AND GROWING IN CHRIST is the main purpose of the Bible Witness Camp. Sowing the good seed of the Gospel and all Scripture is what Bible Witness Camp is all about. Some time after the Williams' family received and answered God's call "for a family" to come and to minister God's Word in Pembroke in 1955, we had visitors. The gentleman of the group asked, "What do you do in the winter? Watch it snow?" We immediately assured him that that was the season when the greatest amount of "the good seed" was planted-during Bible clubs four days a week, plus Sunday School and church on Sundays.

GOD HAS BEEN SO FAITHFUL IN SUPPLYING ALL OUR NEED FOR HIS WORK!
First the children came to camp for clubs on the school buses. When the school said the children had to go home on their own bus instead of getting dropped off at camp, the Lord provided two new 60-passenger buses for the camp. We followed the school buses when they took the kids home. The children would get off the school bus and get on our buses. At the end of the route, we would park our bus, put up a flannel board behind the driver's seat, and teach the Bible lesson. In 1977 we heard of the Awana Clubs program with its high emphasis on Scripture memorization, and we began our Awana clubs. The Lord provided four 15-passenger vans for us to use to pick the children up for the clubs. We have boys' Awana club on Mondays: kindergarten through 8th grade, and the girls meet on Wednesdays. Teen Club for the high schoolers meets on Thursdays. Women's Bible study is held at the camp every other Saturday.

THE SEED AND THE SOIL AS JESUS RELATED IT (Matthew 18:3-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-20; Luke 8:4-15)
The seed of the Word was good, but some fell by the wayside and Satan came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground and found little earth. When affliction or persecution came because of the Word, they left. Some fell among thorns. Cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and lusts for other things choked the Word and it became unfruitful. But some fell on good soil and when they heard it, received it and brought forth fruit-some thirty fold, some sixty, and some one hundred. We have experienced each kind of soil with the same results for each one. Sometimes we have been discouraged for the lack of good soil. But then the Lord sends a former camper to visit, or raises someone up from out midst, who testifies that the Seed has fallen on good soil and is in the process of producing good fruit. We are encouraged to keep on keeping on planting the Seed.

OUR GREATEST ENCOURAGEMENT IS FROM THE LORD'S FAITHFUL PROMISE IN ISAIAH 55:10, 11
"As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower, and bread for the eater, … so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."


THE DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Some more thoughts while we're thinking of planting and reaping: I cannot make The Choice for anyone else. I must plant the seed of God's plan of salvation-clearly, convincingly, faithfully-and allow His Spirit and human conscience to take it from there.
We sometimes have the joy of watching a young plant grow-seeing a child accept the Lord's forgiveness and start to live up to God's standard, and we can be involved in his/her growth. Some of these now carry a vital role in our ongoing ministry. Other times we run into a tree, and discover we had something to do with its planting.
Mrs. Williams had that joy last week when a visitor (who is now pastoring) traced back through his troubled, wayward years to when he was a rowdy 10 year-old sitting on a bus, and she had planted the seed of God's truth in his heart. He didn't seem interested in how the camp facility had grown since then. He just wanted to see the one who had lovingly planted that seed. Please pray with us that our main focus will always be people-and let God's love do its work.

ANNUAL PRAISE BANQUET HELD SEPTEMBER 20, 2003
BWC campers presented a musical entitled "Acorns to Oaks: Planted, Rooted, and Growing in Christ." (Our photo pages have additional photos of the event.) Our board members and their wives and other volunteers provided and served the dinner to about 250 people. Serving currently on our board are: Paul Johnson, president; Bill Bacon, vice-president; Mary Williams, secretary; Mark Williams, treasurer; Fred Meyer, Raymond Johnson, Grant Goosby, Cecil Goosby, Harold Johnson, Ernest Jefferson, and Dave and Becky McMillan, directors.

During the program Sarah Canon gave her testimony and also interviewed Pleshette Wooten and Anthony Shaw. Sarah's testimony: "We moved to this area from Chicago when I was seven years old. A neighbor friend invited us to come to the camp. In 1980 I accepted Christ as my Savior and qualified for my first summer camp. When I entered high school I was a technician (assistant counselor) at summer camp and started helping with the Sparks at Awana during the school year. I gradually worked up to helping with the Chums, Guards, and JV. The experience helped me grow to become the person that I am today. Now I am a teacher's aide for special education in the Champaign-Urbana area. I come back to help in the summers, and some Wednesdays-to give back something of what I got from camp as a young girl. I want to help other young girls grow. In all, I've been attending Bible Witness Camp for 27 or 28 years, and I have helped at summer camp for 21 years in a row."

Pleshette Wooten is a junior at Donovan High School and first heard about the camp in fourth grade when her friend, Shakira Marshall, invited her to come. "I wasn't able to attend that year," Pleshette said, "but I came the next year-that was six years ago." Pleshette accepted Christ as her personal Savior during overnight camp one summer.

Anthony Shaw had heard about the camp from a lot of people, but it was his friend, Jamie Clay, who "told me to come," he said, "and I just never stopped coming!" Anthony is a sophomore at St. Anne Community High School. "Once we took a camp trip to see a play that talked about life after death for a Christian and an unbeliever-I was scared. I accepted Christ as my Savior that night," recalls Anthony. "Camp is a great experience-it's great being around other Christians."

Pleshette and Anthony attend Sunday School and Teen Club regularly. Like Sarah, they have also served as technicians at summer camp. All three expressed gratitude for the many who help support the camp through donations, time, prayer, etc. "I would like to say thank you," said Pleshette. "Coming to camp has changed my life a lot. If I hadn't come to camp, I probably wouldn't be a Christian now."

We are always encouraged by the working of God in the lives of you who are "workers together" with us-in prayer, in giving, and coming on the scene to do other things the Lord lays on your heart to help us with. GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS … and yours. We thank God for every remembrance of you. May the Lord give you a full reward.

Dave and Becky McMillan; Lizetta, Mary, Mark & Karen Williams; Judy Chesebro; Joji Barredo, Philippines; Trudie Hayon, Trinidad.

Return To Archived Page