Lets Go To Camp!

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And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. What is your most powerful camp experience? There you were, just a little guy or a little gal, and you roll up into the mountains. Mom and Dad unload you from the car. You might be, like, digging your fingers into the station wagon cushions because you don't want to go.

You may not know anybody. And there you are, deposited at this Christian camp, and something happened that week. Something happened through that skit, that song, that speaker, that hike, that Bible that came alive that changed your life.

Little did you know there was a bunch of folks back home praying for you. Little did you know that you would meet the Lord on that mountain. A mountaintop experience at camp. It's an all-camp hour. We're going to go to an amazing FCA camp. We have an all-MBA, all-ACC superstar about to walk in the house.

St. Nick, he towers over everybody, including me. He's listening right now because he got stuck in traffic. He's about to walk in, and he might hit the door. If we hear a loud thud, that's his head hitting that door wheel.

But it's good because it's not him dunking on my head, which would happen if we were on the court. Val Elliott, who has run camps, operated camps, he's been a camper, he's been a camp counselor. He has been someone that taught kids how to swim, taught kids how to oar and jump off the blob and climb the rock walls and hike and fight off spiders and fend off snakes, and he's led people to Jesus at camp.

Val Elliott, is this true? You're nodding your head. Talk to me, man. Have I embellished anything there?

You have not, Stu. That is right on target. You were talking a little bit earlier about that first camp experience. I think camp is an amazing place, and it's a safe place for children to overcome fear. As you were talking, one of the things that it made me think about was one of my first cabin groups as a camp counselor. I had a camper named Michael, who came to camp, and our sessions at the time were 26 days, and this was a camp out in Missouri, a camp called Kanakomo Camps. Joe White runs, and I was a camp counselor. I had 10 7-year-olds, this was back in 1989, had a kiddo named Michael who came into our cabin, and his mom told me before she left, she's like, I really would love for him to learn how to swim.

And so that was one of the things that I wanted to see happen that week at camp, or that month at camp, 26-day sessions. Well, so we took Michael out to the pool area, but we got within about 40 to 50 yards of the pool, and I mean, when she said he was a little bit afraid, it was a lot of bit afraid. I mean, he was so scared. He was just screaming and hollering. I mean, he was just so afraid of the water. And so that was one of the things we had to do in a very loving and very caring and a very trust-building environment. We got Michael to the pool deck. We eventually got one toe in, one foot in, one leg in, and by the end of the session, Michael actually swam in our Camp Olympics. Oh, my soul. So he went from being petrified of anything to all of a sudden, okay, there is a literal giant, a very large man just walked in the room. Pull that chair up, brother.

This is live national radio. Wayne Robinson, the legend himself, swatting balls, rebounding champion of the ACC, playing on the big top, dominating the boards, NBA, ACC, yes, sir, headsets on. I mean, Val, a legend just walked in.

Can you believe it? I felt it. I felt when he came in the room, you could tell a legend's here. The presence of this man. And, you know, Wayne, you jumped into a conversation where you were probably listening, coming in, about camp. And this guy has mentored and challenged and encouraged me for years, Val Elliott, one of my dear friends. You spoke this morning at the New Cane Society.

We started our day at 7 a.m. The introduction was off the charts. Some say the introduction was better than the message, Val. I'm just saying.

I mean, it was really, really good. Not that I introduced you or anything. Who did that introduction? We've got to find that guy.

Get him on the radio. Ah, he was good, man. And then I traveled with you, traversed through byways and highways up into, I know you've been there, brother.

If you haven't, we've got to get you up there, up in the hanging rock area to campaigns. Right, right. And this guy spoke and challenged all the counselors and just blew the dome off of that amphatorium outside. And the leaves were shaking in the trees, and he was saying, keep Jesus first, God first. And these kids were loving it. There were tears. Challenged them from Ephesians chapter 4 to be united in the Spirit.

Now, I'm going to post all that on my Instagram. But we're talking about the power of camp. A kid goes to an FCA camp. Everything changes, right, brother? Talk to us. Exactly, exactly. And thanks, Stu, so much for giving me a chance to come on. FCA camps are phenomenal.

We've been around 65 plus years. We've seen the lives of young people of all ages, all colors, all creeds, who are in experiences where they see how important it is to not only continue to improve in their sport, but also to understand what it means to be a Christian athlete. And there is a way to do that. And if you've noticed over time, you see young people who may want to gravitate that way, but they feel as though they may compromise their competitive nature.

And that's not the case. And FCA has been a strong catalyst to improve and just encourage them to be able to exercise their skill set that God-given talent, but at the same time, give God glory by the way you conduct yourself, whether it's on a ball field, whether it's on a basketball court, whether you're running track or what have you, because FCA is everywhere. It's a global ministry. And so many people have been changed as a result of what we do in changing the lives of coaches and student athletes.

I love it. How has your life been changed by camp? I want to hear from you. FCA camp, campaigns, the wildest Christian camp I went. Canicom, you were there leading at Canicom, Val, as a counselor and then as a leader. 86634 Truth is our toll-free number nationwide. 866-348-7884.

We're going to give you all the websites. You're going to want to connect with these men. You're going to want to pray for all those counselors. I sat there and listened to Bobby Bowden. I sat there and listened to Reggie White. Remember, we used to do all those voices and the machine guns and all that stuff, and he had these kids spellbound. And one moment we're laughing, the next one we're crying because he's calling these kids to repent. Quit fooling around.

Quit messing around. Follow Jesus. This big, large, giant man who is like the quarterback's worst nightmare in the NFL is calling people to repent at FCA camp. Black Mountain, North Carolina. Don't send your kids there. It'll change your life. Right, Wayne?

That is exactly right. Black Mountain has been historically the place where we've seen literally thousands of young people come from all over the country to Black Mountain where they can participate in many different sports and at the same time be able to look very closely at their lives as they change. How's your life Chase from camp 86634 Truth and All Camp Hour on Truth Talk Live right here, right now. Stay tuned.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Who are all these wild people in our studio right now? I've been talking camp.

I mean, you want to know who's behind this thing. What happens at camp? I heard a pastor say another—two pastor friends of mine now are saying that what we need more is we need more camp. That experience, you know, we grow up, we get too old. It's almost like, you know, Peter Pan in Wonderland. It's like, hey, get them back. And I go, no, that's a fairytale fantasy thing. But if you think about it, what's wrong with going back to going back to your first love and going back and say, wow, something happened there. And I'm not going to live on past grace, right?

I need to grow in grace and move forward, you know, windshield bigger in the rearview mirror. But what's wrong with going back to that moment Christ touched my life on that basketball court, you know, and that hike, that counselor took me aside. I was reunited with the counselors.

My counselor, like, 50 years ago, 40 years ago, Willard Lones, who pastors in Greenville, South Carolina—shout out to him—who was my counselor. He put up with this snotty-nosed brat who was doing things. One time I got in trouble. I blew all my money because I pulled the fire extinguisher button. I went in there.

Some guy dared me to do it. First day of camp, every bit of cash I had to pay. And the camp director brought me in. Man, I thought he was going to give me a whipping.

Dr. Hay at the Wilds, who was very gracious, I had to call my parents. I said, can y'all send me money? I got no money for snow cones and for, you know, but I pulled that pin. I didn't think, I thought you could pull it like a little squirt, put it back in. And when you pull that pin, it goes. And I mean, it filled the entire bathroom, showers, everything, this smoke. And we all ran for our lives. And they finally got it to stop. And I had to pay that whole thing. I wasn't planning to tell, hey, don't tell mom I did that.

Well, she actually found out about four years ago. But people like Willard Lones, they love me, they encouraged me, you know, and they blessed me. And I'm looking at two guys right now who've done a whole lot of that, a whole lot of that, in the lives of more contemporary my life. But, you know, there we were with Bobby Jones, Reggie White, Bobby Bowden at the FCA camp, Black Mountain, North Carolina. That's where I met Jonathan Lotz, who we'd kind of grown up knowing each other. We really connected in ministry, you know, the grandson of Billy Graham, right there, six foot nine. He's a big guy too, man.

Played ball at Baylor. But at FCA camp, we're leading, we're in the war together for Christ. And that's what you're about with FCA.

No doubt about it. I mean, the camps have evolved over the years to the point where Black Mountain, believe it or not, is just about at capacity, and it's difficult for us, because the demand has gotten so great from so many kids. For example, our leadership camp, which is featured in July, we try to bring in FCA leaders from as many huddles across multiple states, and really the capacity is around 550.

We've got a waiting list already and we hadn't gotten anywhere close to July. I mean, we've got kids that are chomping at the bits. I'm talking about from Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and not to mention North Carolina that want to be there, because we're trying to empower those leaders who will go back during the school year and really be able to pour what they've learned into their peers, both in middle school, high school, and even at the collegiate level. And so it gets to become even more exciting as that leader grows, so grows those huddles.

So then they come back more excited because they see that what we taught them changes their lives, helps them to become greater leaders, and all of a sudden now you've got momentum. And that's huge when you think about what we want to do in the coming years. Currently, right now in the triad, there are almost 350 schools, middle school, high school, as well as at the collegiate level.

FCA is in a little over half, so about 60%. We've got a presence. That's huge.

We're talking public and private schools. We want to get into more, but we've got to have some help. We've got to have more staff. We've got to have more volunteers.

It's huge. The Bible says what? The harvest is right, but the labor is a few.

Let's pray that we get more laborers in the field. That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. Val Elliott, you've been doing this forever with YMCA campaigns, Canna Cook camps. You've got a storied background on that. Now you're working with the YMCAs to get more churches, more kids mentored, keeping Jesus first, right?

Love first, serve first, right? That's right. That's right. You know, our YMCA, the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina, our footprint is the northwest corner of North Carolina. So we have branches all the way from Taylorsville and Alexander County to Davie to Yadkin to Forsyth to Stokes, and we have an overnight campaigns which began in 1927, and our mission is helping all people reach their God-given potential in spirit, mind, and body. And the way we do that is we have a motto of love all and serve all, and we are so blessed. We have a CEO that he is just, he lives that out, and he lives out putting God first and putting Christ first. And so that drives our organization.

Campaigns, you know, started in 1927. We're serving a little over 14,000 kids a year. I mean, you know, over 3,000 during the summer, and then we have school groups that come in. We have weekend groups that come in. We have day and overnight camp during the summer, and, you know, we have chapel in the morning. We do devotions at night, and we have a board. I mean, they're looking at ways to just make Christ known even more, and because that's what it's all about.

Yeah, that's what it's about. And you spoke to our new Canaan men this morning at the Rivers Lodge. You challenged us with your story, your testimony, praying.

You had a prayer warrior dad who, you know, you came home after getting, you know, punched in the face, and you wanted revenge and attack and venom, and your dad's on his knees praying for you and teaching you forgiveness as a young lad, and now you've passed that on to all these kids, countless kids. You told those stories. Wayne Robinson, well, we heard a little bit about Val in the first segment.

Who is Wayne Robinson? Tell us real quick, just give us a snapshot of your testimony. I mean, you were above the rim at Virginia Tech. I mean, this was big time.

Yes, sir. Born and bred, Greensboro, North Carolina, was very fortunate to go to Greensboro Day School. They did not have an athletic program at the time, but we were back in the early 70s, along with some of my friends who were really committed to not only becoming good athletes, but we wanted to become very, very good students in Greensboro Day School was that environment which was conducive for us to do that. Athletics began to really take on a life of its own.

We had a chance to really have some successful seasons. I was recruited by a number of schools in and throughout the country. High School All-American made my choice at Virginia Tech, turned down some outstanding schools to go there to fit into a culture that I really felt was best for me.

You know, had a chance to graduate on time, but the most important thing that really happened beyond graduation was the fact that I received the Lord as my personal savior, freshman year, man, 1976. You know, it was awesome, man. It was through FCA, man. FCA guys came to the dorm. I remember this story, Stu, where when those guys used to come every single Thursday because that was just before everybody went out partying, right?

You know, Thursday night is when all things broke loose at the college level, right? So then the guys would all call on the rotary phone back in the day. I'm dating myself now, rotary phones, and they're calling around everybody's room saying, hey, man, don't open up the door.

This is FCA guys. They're going to hold you in the room and we can't get downtown, you know? So I'm like, out of all the guys on my team, Stu, I'm the only one who opens my door, right? They come in my room and I've got a Bible that I received from graduation from my grandmother. It was a new international version. Still, it was a red Bible, still in the cell of fame. They came in the room and said, hey, what are you going to do with that Bible? Are you going to open it up?

I said, yeah, I think I will open it up. So they got the Bible opened up, man. Before I knew it, I'm crying on my knees, receive the Lord. They're laying hands on me, brother.

And life is changing at the nth degree. And I had no idea that God was going to put his hands on me and lead me on a path, on the path of righteousness like never before. Go on to college, have a chance to get drafted in the NBA. I was blessed to play for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons for a few seasons.

Spent the majority of my time over in Europe, played in Italy and Spain, traveled all over the world. Did not know that FCA was in God's plan for me until I got back. Got in the ministry and all of a sudden, through the ministry of working with young people, God opens the door for me to work with FCA. And you're hosting a huge camp in Greensboro, North Carolina.

When we come back, tell us all about that. Give your website real quick for folks to learn more about your ministry. God, just go to TryItFCA.org.

TryItFCA.org. More from him, from Val, more on Can't We Come Back? And listen to this whole podcast later.

We'll make it available shortly after the show. What's your best camp experience? Call us at 866-344-TRUTH. Maybe your life was changed at camp.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. All right, we're gathering around the campfire here in the Truth Talk Live World Headquarters. It's that time of year.

Kids are excited about camp. And by the way, honestly, it could be any time of year, because we all need to go back to camp, and that camp may be like a little retreat or advance with your church. It may be a little weekend getaway.

It may be in the middle. Hey, I love going to a lodge in the wintertime with a bunch of brothers and sisters in Christ or couples, and there's a fire, and there's a Bible study leader. We're praying. We're dealing with sin, and we're encouraging each other. There's something about getting away and getting with the Lord, even if it's just you and your bride going away, or you taking the family to a family camp. I've got a buddy in Greensboro, another friend of mine, David Belk, invites me all the time. You know David.

He's a great man of God. He says, Stu, you've got to take your kids to this intensive weekend camp out. Father, daughter, it's never worked on my schedule, and I'm trying to get to that. You go out west, there's local, but right here in North Carolina, if you live here in Ohio, there's all kinds of little places that could create a great environment for camp. And I feel like I've been at camp, because I was there this morning at campaigns, and they've often brought me to challenge, and FCA has two before, to speak to the athletes, to speak to the counselors, to challenge them to go deeper with Jesus, so when the kids come, they're prepared.

You got to have your tank full before you can fill theirs up. And so I just love the fact that Val, you poured into the counselors this morning, you and Jen. I love the fact that the Wilds, other Christian camps, have CIT counselor training programs to build the counselors up to prepare them to love and encourage the kids who may not have a relationship with God before they get there. The goal is that they would have a relationship with God when they leave. And I know, Wayne Robinson, you do that a lot.

You have people pouring to you. I mean, it's an important process. These camp counselors, they're really the tip of the spear. They may be talking to a kid who doesn't have a daddy, or whose parents are going through all kinds of mess, and they bring all kinds of baggage to camp, not just their little back sack and their little sleeping bag.

That's exactly right. And the more we're able to step into their lives and provide them with some stability, it certainly fills a void to a degree. Now, again, we're not God, we're not Jesus, but we're servants, and we're trying to shine a light so that they can see that light. And young people today are crying out in so many different ways, and we see it all the time. You think about kids in these schools, what they're facing. It's not like anything still we faced when we were coming along. I mean, yeah, we got temptations.

Temptations were all over the place, but with social media and all the peer pressure that these young people are facing, and you think about the decisions that they have to make every single day, it is unbelievable, unimaginable what they have to face on an ongoing basis. And so FCA is really a part of that resource that God has put out there. You know, one of the things that I've oftentimes said, if the church was really doing everything that it was supposed to do, you wouldn't need FCA, you wouldn't need Young Life, you wouldn't need Campus Crusade for Christ and all these other things. But God said, you know what? I'm going to continue to spread my gospel, and I'm going to use whatever resources are available, especially for the population of student athletes. And that's a great point. And on the flip side of that, some churches, they don't have the facilities, they don't have the staff to host a camp, so they'll send a kid to an FCA camp, or a bunch of kids, they'll send a boatload to Canicuck, to the Wilds, to Young Life Camp, or to campaigns. Right, Val? And you all are kind of like a church camp for some of these smaller churches, other churches. Hey, let's jump in there.

That's right. And just kind of building on what we've been talking about and what kids are facing today, a couple years ago at campaigns, I spoke to a camper, and one of the things we do at camp is we unplug. So kids today, and with the mental health challenges that are out there, one of the things that we were talking to this camper, we actually have kids unplug when they're at camp. They don't have cell phones, they don't have computers, they don't have those devices, because we want them to unplug and have time away from that.

And I was talking to a young lady, she's 13, 14 years old, and she was telling me that she loved it. She loved that she didn't have her cell phone at camp, because when she had her cell phone with her, she felt like that she was on vacation when she came to camp, because she didn't have her cell phone. She said when she unplugged and came to camp, she said it was a vacation, because keeping up with social media and keeping up with the things you were talking about a little bit earlier, she said it was like a job.

Keeping up with social media is like a job, and she needed a vacation away from that job. And one of the things that I've seen in my 30-plus years in camping is that you have, when you pull people out of their day-to-day environment, that's where God just works, just so amazingly. In campaigns this summer, the scripture verse, the theme is Ephesians 4, verse 2 and 3, and it's always, be humble and gentle, be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. And when you think about it, kids today, we talked about some of the mental health challenges they're doing, and then they see a world that is so divided, and they need places where, as our YMCA's motto is love all and serve all, they need places that bring people together.

And that's one thing I love about campaigns. It's one thing I love about the Y, is you can be playing basketball, and you could be playing basketball with a CEO. You just have the mixture of society out on the basketball court, working out on the treadmill, in the locker room.

You just have everybody from society, and I love how the Y brings the entire society together that we can love and serve and make a difference for the Lord. Yeah, and really, I've got two North Carolina guys, and of course we believe that's God's favorite state, but we have listeners all over Utah, listeners all over Iowa and Virginia, Ohio, and we want to invite you to call in my friend Wayne Robinson of ACC and NBA fame, played all over the world. He swatted shots from the likes of Ralph Sampson. I mean, very few people have blocked a man's shot who's seven foot four inches, and you're like, no way. Well, if you saw him right now, if you saw the Hulk of a man that walked in the studio, you're like, oh my soul, we feel really safe right now. Can he be on my basketball team?

Absolutely, if I'm on your team too, and we'll just get him the ball, he'll handle business. But in Val Elliott, both men have a lot of camp experience, a lot of ministry experience, but honestly, there's something powerful about getting someone out of their area, and every one of you has that story, and I hope you have it. If you haven't, let's talk about it. Let's get your youngster to camp, your grandkid to camp. Randy Shepard, Jamie Johnson have an amazing camp at Crossfire, crossfireministry.com, in the mountains of Asheville. They've been advertising that all across the Truth Network.

Take your kids to that. It's a great high-level basketball training camp, and they pump the Lord into you, and a lot of kids get saved. And hey, is it not amazing, Wayne, Val, when decades later, years later, and sometimes months later, a camper comes back to you and says, Jesus changed my life, and you had a part of that. Yeah, you hear the stories, and it almost brings tears—well, it does bring tears to your eyes, because now, I don't predate myself, and these young people that I spent a lot of time with are in their 40s now, and they went through careers that maybe not as promising as they would have liked to, but at the time, they were really committed to it, and they were sold out, and it meant something to them, and they were able to not only have successful careers in various sports, but also, they started to understand how the gospel, how the Word of God could be integrated in. And you know, you all know that through sports, that's really a wonderful teaching for life. I mean, just so many fundamentals you can take from every sport, especially team sports, that you can use in the business world, you can use in any aspect of life, and you draw on those examples, and it helps you to, you know, kind of navigate the waters that sometimes get a little bit rough when you're out here, and you maybe remember that coach, you remember that mentor, you remember that FCA leader that gave you some principles that you say, wow, you know, this can really apply right now. The biggest thing that I really focus on anytime I'm teaching young people is, look, how can we take this and apply it in our lives?

And I think if they're in an environment that's conducive, no matter where it is, whatever camp, where young people can leave realizing they've got some nuggets that they can take and apply in their lives, man, that's going to mean volumes for them for the rest of their life. That's so cool. If you have a camp testimony, how the Lord, I got a couple I want to share about how the Lord has changed your heart, your life through camp, through Christian camp, I'd love to hear from you. Our toll-free number nationwide here on Truth Talk Live is 866-344-TRUTH. That's 866-348-7884. Quick shout-out to our friends at vinetasticmightymuscadine.com. Thank you for this new drink from Le Bleu and Mighty Muscadine that has no carbs, no sugar, no calories.

It tastes great, and it is replenishing, energizing, hydrating, and it's got like over 100 antioxidants in it. We want to thank them. This is just on the label here. We want to thank them for partnering with us, making this show possible.

We could use some of this at camp, I think, couldn't we? Learn more at mightymuscadine.com. And just enter this, there's a promo code that they've made available. Truth is the promo code for you to learn about all their amazing health products and say thank you to them for being partners here of Truth Talk Live. MightyMuscadine.com.

And the promo code is TRUTH. Camp is a special place. My friend Joby, pastor of Church of 1122 down in Jacksonville, Florida, they bought a camp. They were taking people to that camp all the time, just north of Jacksonville, kind of in the Brunswick, Georgia area, and they're getting these life transformational testimonies from people. Couples, pastors. Pastor Kyle, a pastor in the Triad area, he went down there and just got rejuvenated.

There's a hunting, they go hunting and all that stuff. So whether it's FCA camp, whether it's YMCA campaigns, Val, just getting out there with God, you know, it could be a real game changer. And the counselor is very important. And some of you have been a camp counselor, some of you have horror stories, and some of you have testimonies. And if you have a testimony about how camp has changed your life, call us. We've got a few minutes left of the show, we'd like to hear your story.

Your story could really inspire others in a big way. There's camps coming to your neck of the woods we're going to tell you about when we come back, too. Our toll-free number is 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884 on Truth Talk Live. I'm Stu Eppers and more with Brother Val and Brother Wayne when we come back on Truth Talk Live.

Hang on. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. There I was in a deep sleep, in a nightmare that I will never forget. I can remember the words, I can remember where I was, I can remember the people in that nightmare. And I woke up in my bunk at camp and did business with God. I mean business with God.

Like, I mean, I was serious. This little poser, religious, self-righteous kid in my early teens got right with God in that moment at that camp, and my life hasn't been the same. And I'm glad my parents sent me that camp. I didn't always want to go. I wanted to go to basketball camp. I found a basketball at the camp I went to.

If I didn't, I'd just go get some box and hang it on a tree or something, you know, or whatnot. But I'm Stu Eppers and this is Truth Talk Live. We want to hear your camp story, your camp testimony, what Jesus did in your life at camp. It's an all-camp hour here on Truth Talk Live. We're all going to go to camp. You say, well, I'm too old for that.

Well, no, you're not. A and B, you don't have to go. You don't have to get on the bus. You don't have to sweat, jump on the blob, do the rock, crime, and wall, you know, play basketball or big ball or whatever they do at the camp that you want to go to. You don't have to do that.

Just join us for that. Because I got the big gun for FCA across North Carolina, Wayne Robinson, who was the big gun of Virginia Tech, all ACC, shot blocker, slam dunk, all the trifecta, everything, and he is here with us. He just showed us a picture of him and Ralph Sampson that he took not too long ago, seven foot four. He's one of the few people who blocked Ralph's shot and out rebounded him in certain games. That was a rivalry.

The Hokies and the Cavaliers. Brutal. I mean, I'll tell you right now, the fans, that's when they threw stuff and got away with it. Absolutely. No doubt.

No doubt. And the Hokies were just as crazy as the Wahoos. Unbelievable. So you know, he has some stories from Blacksburg, Val Elliott, who played a lot of ball growing up. I mean, you worship sports. That's part of your testimony. And then now you're a camp counselor telling kids, hey, sports are, they're a great fun activity, but they're a terrible God, right?

That's right. You know, and one of the things, Stu, we talked about is that culture at camp. You know, camp creates such a positive, encouraging, loving environment. I mean, you can feel the Spirit of the Lord moving. I mean, you and I were at chapel this morning at campaigns, and you could just feel, when you went into chapel, you could just feel that culture. You could feel that difference. And one of the things I was thinking about and as one of my first summers as a counselor, one of the things that, you know, going back to Proverbs chapter 3, verse 6, and everything you do, put God first.

And so like when, you know, we have a lot of different thoughts with what putting first God looks like. But, you know, one of the things that I learned at camp, and it was the culture that we learned to look at life differently. You know, I was getting ready to head home from Missouri, and I couldn't find my car keys. And I mean, I was, I mean, it was like the day before my car keys were gone. We had just ridden on these info cars. I mean, we had gone on the water.

We had gone to, we had gone on probably four or five miles on the road. And, you know, the first thing that my friends that were with me said to do was they didn't say, go talk to this person to help us. They didn't say, go drive around and look here. They said, let's pray. They said, let, let's pray.

And that's what we did. And amazingly enough, we got in the car, the car keys fortunately didn't drop in the water, but we ended up finding them. I mean, I'm talking about small car keys, but it was that prayer, but it was the way of life. You know, at campaigns, one of the things that I talked about so much is the I'm third way of life of putting God first, other second, and myself third. And as a camp counselor, you really learn about serving kids. And as the counselors have that, we talked about it a little earlier, you can't give away something you don't have. And as the counselors learn about being a servant and serving the Lord in that environment, the kids also pick up from that.

And they see that about putting God first, other second. Things are caught sometimes better than taught. And you've got a lot of great teaching, a lot of great instruction, a lot of great speakers, but they're watching you. You're a counselor and they watch you get upset, they watch you in competition, they watch how you deal with other counselors, how you deal with other counselors of the opposite sex, how you are gracious when you're wrong about something, your command of Scripture, this and that. And I'll tell you, Wayne Robinson, you've been doing camp a long time, you do FCA, you do huddles, you know, you're in the public school system, that's what I love about FCA, and you've got quite a camp coming up.

Tell us about that. If you want to share a quick camp testimony, you're welcome to call us at 866-34-TRUTH. Your greatest camp experience or memory, 866-348-7884. And I'd love for you, Wayne, to invite people. There's a camp that you're inviting everybody to. I love this. I love the idea of an All Abilities. I mean, it's like you're including everyone, and you're not saying, you know, it's not like this elite thing where, oh, I don't qualify.

Talk to me. Exactly. Thank you so much, Stu. We are so excited to have our second annual All Abilities Camp, which is going to be held June 29th at Prolific Park. The hours of activity will be from 8 a.m. to about 2.

Actually, prime time will be probably around 9 to about 1.30. But we're inviting every single parent and child who has special needs to consider coming out and spending some time with us. We had a phenomenal time last year. We had 30 young people. Their parents were there. We enjoyed their activities so much. We had a chance to watch them do basketball, soccer, a little bit of football, some T-ball, just running around having a great time, enjoying life. Each of the student athletes had a buddy. McDonald's sponsored the event. Ricky and Kelly Parole, who are just phenomenal hosts, opened up their facility for us, shut everything down and gave us a chance to have just a free access to every square foot of that facility. And we saw lives change, not only through their efforts as they were playing and just enjoying the competition, but also through some of the testimonies from some of the young people.

It was a tearjerker. You just had a chance to see these young people feeling great about themselves because they were winning. Everybody gets a trophy.

Everybody has an opportunity to move in areas that they feel very comfortable with. We're encouraging people this year. Registrations have been a little bit low.

Listen, I'm a little bit disappointed. I'm fired up because I know that if the word gets out and that if parents get connected through tryitfca.org, they can go and sign up online, get their kids involved. It's only $20, but if you don't have that, we'll scholarship every kid.

Now listen, that doesn't happen too often. We'll scholarship every kid if we need to, but if you can pay $20, come on out. The young people get a chance to have some food, fellowship, we'll have some competition, and we know that God's going to bless. We have a ton of volunteers, but if you're interested in volunteering, you can come out and hang out with us. We'd love to do so.

We've got a lot of people, FCA staff, as well as parents and friends who are going to be working with us. Yeah, it's so cool because, you know, when you reach the camper, and with all abilities, every kind of camper—and this is a great picture of God's grace, isn't it? He invites all of us, right? Hey, we all have needs, we all have issues, but when you reach the camper, you reach that camper's siblings. You reach that camper's—you know, I had to go home and make some decisions about how I treated my sisters from camp, because I'm like, okay, I just got on my knees in front of a lot of people and repented of my sin and said, Lord, I want to follow you. And then I go home and I walk into a house, and I got three blisters—I mean, three sisters. I didn't say that, sorry, Val. But I had to say, okay, Lord, am I going to react?

Am I going to grab the first piece of bacon off the plate when Mama cooks off the griddle, or am I going to share? And when my sister says, I think little Stu should be more like Jesus in this case, and share with me. But Val, this is—you reach families, you reach Mom and Dad, and a lot of kids are going back as missionaries.

They come as a mission field, they leave as a missionary, right? You know, I've seen it over and over and over again, and I think, Stu, you heard me telling a story this morning. I had a camper that wrote me a letter, and he said, based on the things that he learned at camp, that his family was now going to church.

Oh, wow. I mean, you talk about just like, man, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing. And I think when you look at it, God works through the children, and he impacts and changes the family by things kids have learned at camp. And kids take what they've learned, and it really changes families, and it makes such a difference in their lives. And I think that culture of putting God first, others second, and ourselves third, you know, it changes households.

It makes people look differently at how they are around the dinner table, you know? Yeah. Wayne Robinson, you've seen Jesus change people's lives. Give us a testimony, and give us your final challenge to people out there about coming to this camp, or just going to any camp. I mean, I know your heart. You find out someone, oh no, they're going on an Athletes in Action trip.

That's not an FCA trip. You've got to get excited about that. Absolutely, absolutely. Last year at our first annual All Abilities camp, we had a young man whose name was Adrian. I love him.

This guy is phenomenal. He has Williams syndrome. Interestingly, Williams syndromes, they know no enemies. They love everybody. Wow.

If you can say anything, they'll believe it, and they will hug you and embrace you. And he's kind of a lanky kid. He's just all over the place, can eat like a horse. The guy's just got all this kind of stuff going on. Once he went through the rigor of all of the sporting activities, had a chance to meet people. Of course, everybody was his friend by the time it was over. You record this guy, you have to tell him to pause, because he's just speaking 10,000 miles an hour.

But he said, Wayne, he said, listen, I enjoyed myself so much. I'll definitely be back next year. I'm going to tell my friends, because I know that Jesus is here. Wow.

And everybody who obviously is not able to function on their own, but yet they are in a supportive environment where they see the love of God. They understand the importance of sports, and they continue to move forward. So we are going to encourage everyone to consider coming out and spending time with us. Listen, as I said last time, triadfca.org. Please go to our website. Also, too, if you want to get information and you want to email us, call us at triadfcacamp.com. That's triadfcacamp.com, or call us at 336-897-2030.

That's 897-2030, area code 336. Age is five and up. Five and up, boys and girls.

Let's get them out there and let's enjoy. Parents, you'll have a great time. We're going to minister to you, too. You'll get a chance to see your kids in action.

You can't get out there and run with them. We've got buddies that are going to work with them, but you get a chance to see them, pray, be prayed for. We're going to love on you just as much as we love on these young people. I love it. What a blessing. Val, take us home, man. I mean, this is—I got these two legends in here. I mean, I'm so encouraged. I'm surrounded by godly men. That's what we love about this show, you know, Truth Talk Live. Be sure you download the podcast later.

Share it with someone, need some hope, some encouragement. And to get someone to camp, Val, close us out of here. The importance of encountering Christ, God first, like you talked to the accounts this morning, and how people should send their camp, whether it's Crossfire, FCA, or campaigns, wherever they can get their kids off for a week or two.

Without a doubt. You know, the camp experience, it makes a difference in children's lives like nothing that I've ever seen in my life. I mean, I see God moving through the camp experience, and I would encourage parents to do that. Campaigns is ages 6 to 15. Your program, powered by the Truth Network.