By Jeb Egbert
I received a phone call from an old friend some time ago.
"Jeb," he started, "how is everything going with SEP?"
"Fabulous!" I responded, wondering where the conversation might be headed.
"Well, I just want you to know that I attended SEP in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and it served as the foundation for my life. I was just hoping SEP would still be there for my son."
When I hung up the phone, I couldn't help but reflect on what just occurred. A man in his 40s went out of his way to share his excitement over what had happened in his life almost three decades earlier. SEP had helped to make him the person he is today.
SEP has had a significant and generally positive impact in the lives of thousands of young people over the years.
What makes it so successful?
SEP has a clear sense of purpose. The mission of the program is to help teens either develop or reinforce their relationships with Jesus Christ. SEP is about relationships.
SEP is also about community. It is about bringing hundreds of young people from around the hemisphere together for a two-week action-packed spiritually charged experience.
It does all this within the context of a program that has been successful for more than three decades.
Some ask why we have so many recreational activities at SEP. The reason is simple--Christianity is more than what happens when you go to church. Christianity happens when you are at a dance, in a volleyball game, shooting a rifle or learning more about your Savior.
Every element of SEP's active program is filled with spiritually teachable moments. Whether one is out on a three-day canoe trip, on the high ropes at the challenge course, or tossing a ball in a softball game, each activity is ripe with opportunities for young Christians to learn what it means to be young Christians.
SEP is designed to catalyze spiritual development in the young people who come. It doesn't happen to everyone, but for most, the spiritual embers are stirred and burst into full flame.
According to last summer's post-camp survey, most campers indicated that SEP helped them to develop or strengthen their relationships with Jesus. More than 10 percent of the campers were baptized last summer.
Some ask how SEP can be replicated within a local congregation. It is virtually impossible for this to occur simply because the dynamics of camp are so special.
This summer we anticipate 200 teens in each session to come from around the United States, Canada and beyond. Many of these young men and women will come as strangers and leave as lifelong friends.
SEP has worked for more than 35 years. Because of the undeniable and unapologetic spiritual focus, SEP will work again this summer.
I hope that SEP will flourish in the years to come. Then, one day, 25 years from now, we can receive another phone call. "Jeb, how is SEP? I want you to know that I attended in 1999, and it helped to change my life. Now I want my children to have that same experience."
When?
First Session: Campers arrive June 27, depart July 12
Second Session: Campers arrive July 14, depart July 29
Where? Orr, Minnesota
Cost? $595 per camper
Also, we need qualified college, adult and high school volunteer staff. To request more information or an application, write or call the SEP Office at
SEP Office
Box 2211
Frisco, Texas, 75034
Phone: 1-972-712-KSEP (5737)
e-mail: sep.orr@wcg.org
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999