By Shasta Kalin
BIG SANDY--After eight years, the Summer Educational Program (SEP) is back in Big Sandy.
After discussion with Church Administration in early December, Russell Duke, Ambassador president, and Jeb Egbert, SEP director, agreed that the program needs to be moved from its northern Minnesota site, to a more cost-effective and easier-maintained location. The camp in Orr is in negotiation for sale.
Bringing SEP to Big Sandy will not only reduce costs for the program, but will also allow campers to benefit from the facilities and expertise of the former Ambassador staff.
"I am convinced that SEP in Big Sandy can be a tremendous, life-changing experience for hundreds of teens," Dr. Egbert said.
"The Christ-centered focus, coupled with activities that are fun and exciting, points to an experience that Christian teens will not want to miss. The fact that we are able to do all these things in Texas, with the help and expertise of the former staff and faculty of Ambassador, will only increase the value to the young men and women who attend this summer."
Apart from the significant change in location, the SEP curriculum will remain fundamentally the same with only a few modifications.
The program will include many of the activities that were offered at Orr, such as all-terrain biking, archery, riflery, basketball, volleyball, softball and Christian living.
SEP hopes to implement new activities and classes, including soccer, principles of living and music classes.
Tuition will be $495 for the 17-day session. One session will be offered from June 17 to July 3 for teens from the ages of 13 to 18.
Above all, SEP will continue to direct teens to Jesus Christ and the values and standards that comprise Christian lives.
Hundreds of campers have commented that SEP has changed their lives as they have gotten to know Jesus Christ, their best friend.
One camper wrote: "Wow! SEP was so breathtaking! I loved it all: the atmosphere, the people, the staff and most of all, the lifelong memories."
Another former camper wrote: "SEP was such a positive Christian atmosphere. I feel so much closer to God. I know I want God and Christ in my life forever."
SEP has many effects on the parents of campers, as well. One parent was delighted to report that her daughter had not considered herself a Christian until taking Christian living classes at SEP.
Another camper's parent wrote, "My daughter came home positively on fire for God."
In addition, a number of parents have written to request guidance on how they can recreate the SEP experience in order to nurture the youths in their local congregations.
Although SEP in Texas will be different from the Minnesota program, Dr. Egbert believes that it will remain an excellent program regardless of the location.
He wrote in a letter to the campers who attended in 1996: "SEP is a happening place! I believe it is not so much due to location, but to the fantastic, fired-up young people who come."
Applications for camper and high school volunteers are available by contacting SEP Administration at Box 111, Big Sandy, Texas, 75755, by calling 1-903-636-2373 or through the Internet at Summer_Educational_Program@ambassador.edu
Feb. 18, 1997, WN, page 14
| WCG Home | Issues | Contents |
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God,1997