Our SAM program is an amazing two week journey for high schoolers to come to camp and serve the ministry, make some friends, learn about themselves, and learn about God. In case you didn’t already know SAM is actually an acronym that stands for Servant At Manitoqua. Our aim and hope for the high schooler that attends a SAM session is that they would learn what servant leadership is and be able to put it into practice. Towards that end, the programming while here as a SAM is set up to provide opportunities for them to serve humbly, grow confidently in who they are and their abilities, and encourage them to engage the world from a Christian worldview.

SAMs do so much here at camp that it would really be a struggle for us to get through a summer without them. They work inside every part of camp. They help in the kitchen doing dishes, serving campers a meal twice a week, clean tables, and take out garbage. SAMs get involved with the campers by helping facilitate games for overnight camp, assisting with worship during chapel, hanging out with them at free time, and working in the pickle shack. They also serve in the background by filling water balloons for the other campers, cleaning the chapel, the bathhouses, and going on a service trip to serve the local community. During these times SAMs are learning about leadership, what it looks like, how they lead, about influence, and what it means to lead well. They won’t do this just by working and cleaning. There are also times set apart for academic learning about leadership.

Our leadership curriculum, newly revamped, engages the SAMs in a way to help them think about the things they have been doing and apply the lessons to the rest of their life. We do this because we know it is important and see the need for leaders in our homes, communities, and churches that can lead in a manner that is Christ-like. We want our SAMs to be men and women of unfailing character that will lead people by principle and not by fashion. We want them to be men and women of God that pursue Him and His likeness so that they can go out into the world with confidence and speak with authority because they know the one that has ultimate authority and imitate Him. We want them to dive into the Word with each other. Not out of routine or custom but out of a love for the Word. That’s why we teach them not just that they should read their bible but how to read it. To interpret scripture by letting scripture interpret itself so they can lead in the church and in the home. Our culture often looks at young people with disgust. Let’s change that together. Let’s start raising up young people that can lead and influence people toward good because they know the greatest good there is to know. Jesus.

With all that being said I have one question for you. Are you up for the challenge?