Boot camp Teens for Christ offers week of intense training

By Rosanne Bowman

LIMA — Every June for the past 11 years, Teens for Christ has headed into Canada for an intense week of boot camp. The camp takes place on Treasure Island, a privately owned, 60 acre island located in Ontario, Canada.

“God gave us the idea back in 1999,” said Buck Sutton, executive director of Teens for Christ. “God laid it on our hearts that the teens needed more training.”

Teens for Christ Boot Camp centers on an inductive study of one book of the Bible. Each day, attendees spend five to six hours, divided into three sessions throughout the day, listening to a teacher.

But it isn't just about studying the Bible. The camp also challenges the teens physically, emotionally and mentally.

“We basically only advertise it within our ministry, so that is about 1,500 kids, but only 72 kids went,” added Buck Sutton. “It's not for everyone.”

Boot Camp this year was staffed by 40 adults, including two cooks. The majority of the adults are involved in the Teens for Christ ministry in some capacity.

“We have great leaders,” said Kristen Sutton, office manager at Teens for Christ and Boot Camp coordinator. “We couldn't do it without them. They pay to go, and a lot of them take off work without pay or take up their only vacation time to put in 18 to 20 hour days on this trip.”

The camp is modeled on the military idea of boot camp. The kids are divided into platoons. Each platoon has a leadership team consisting of four to five adults. In addition, the teenagers in the platoon are ranked according to how many years they have attended. First years are privates; second years are corporals. Third years are sergeants, and fourth years are staff sergeants.

“Being fourth year,” said Marcus Craig, a 2011 graduate of Temple Christian High School, “they put a lot of leadership on you. I learned a lot about leadership and the responsibilities of that this year.”

The preparation for boot camp includes platoon meetings where the teens come up with their platoon name, their cadence they will march to at camp, and a flag or other symbol to identify their group. The teens are also asked to purchase and complete the Bible study before they go to camp. Because of all the time spent together, the members of each platoon become very close.

“They say you become like family, and you really do,” said Jenna Howe, a recent graduate of Siloam Springs High School in Siloam Springs, Ark., and first year attendee.

Buck and Kristen Sutton, as well as the other adults that go on the trip, spend hundreds of hours preparing. In addition to the practical things, the leadership team prepares spiritually.

“Forty days out, we fast,” said Buck Sutton. “We also had a prayer team praying the entire time we were gone.”

After making the 13-hour trip to Treasure Island, the teenagers' time is completely planned from the time they step off the buses until they climb back on them to go home.

“They do not have any free time,” said Kristen Sutton, “except for a rest time after lunch. We actually make them go lay down because the week is so physically grueling, they need to rest.”

The bugle wakes the teens between 5:30 and 6 a.m. every morning. From that time on, their day is regimented with various activities and assignments, from physical training in the morning to special assignments that go with the day's theme.

“Each day has a theme that has to do with the Bible study and drives home that theme in a very practical way,” Buck Sutton said. “You are going to remember the idea of resistance when you are trying to do your assignments only being able to use one arm.”

While most teenagers come back exhausted, many return every year.

“The first year I went, God really broke me,” said Heidi Fried, 17, a senior this year at Elida High School. “He showed me a lot of sin I needed to get out of my life, but this year, it was more He was refining me and showing me things from His Word.”

Each year, boot camp has gotten larger even though it is not advertised as a fun camp, but one of intense discipline and focus.

“I love boot camp,” said Paul Paschal, senior high administrator at Teens for Christ. “It's a very unique type of youth camp because it is so challenging physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.”

This year was extra special because of the camp-wide revival that took place on the fourth night.

“God always moves in mighty ways in individual's lives at camp,” said Buck Sutton. “But this year, He seemed to touch every single person there. It was amazing.”

“We feel incredibly blessed that God allows us to be a part of it all,” said Kristen Sutton.

If you have a story idea or an item you feel the community would like to know about for the Religion section, please contact Rosanne Bowman at bbowman3@woh.rr.com or 419-331-3958.