In Summer 2018, DayShore will be in its third year. We have already seen amazing growth and stories from years one and two. Last year’s DayShore Team Leader, David McDuffie shared a few stories about his experience with the program that will be shared over this four post blog series.
“DayShore serves as an important and meaningful partnership between Lakeshore and the churches of the Memphis Conference, joining these ministries and their servants.
I wholeheartedly believe in the work of DayShore. I just spent my fourth summer on Lakeshore’s staff serving as the DayShore Team Leader and experiencing with each new day another example of the power of this ministry. I witnessed so much love in the churches I visited, and to those churches, I am incredibly thankful and fortunate to have met your congregations. The passion of these congregations, offering their time and energy to make DayShore a success, is what allows the ministry to reach its campers.
DayShore is a ministry that has the potential to involve an entire church and surrounding community. Even though it is designed for the children, I believe it offers an opportunity for the rest of the church to come together. Those who enjoy cooking can serve meals to the camp; those wanting to work with children can serve as counselors; those passionate about outreach can drive vans to pick up campers each day; and those who are social butterflies can greet families at the check-in table. There are so many ways to get involved! I hope more churches in the Memphis Conference will consider hosting a week of DayShore and using it as a tool in their mission to train disciples.
One week brought the greatest examples of how church and community came together to support DayShore. Unfortunately, as I attempted to fill some fifteen-gallon buckets for our water games, the water pressure at the church started dwindling. The pastor told me the well pump was slacking, and I started wondering how we could have water games without water, but the pastor already had a solution to the problem! He called up a member of the community’s volunteer fire department, and within fifteen minutes a firetruck was pulling into the church parking lot. The man stayed at DayShore for two hours, filling up buckets and delighting the campers. I was blown away by the showing of support for DayShore and the effort to ensure its success.”
We have a few spots left for DayShore hosts! If your church is interested in reaching out to your community members and deepening children’s relationships with God through DayShore, contact Allison Doyle to get started!
Lakeshore can’t do all the work in ministry it does without help from friends like you! Approximately 25% of our annual campership fund allows community children to attend DayShore. We are partnering with churches all over the conference to help us go and be about the family business. If you are moved by the work we are doing here, consider making a donation to the campership fund to ensure those opportunities for children to grow closer to God.