I moved to Duluth, Georgia in the fall of 1999 to join the youth staff of Perimeter Church. I was working with high school students at the time, but I was amazed at the transformation of the church campus in the summer. Starting in late May, the church was packed with elementary aged kids. They were meeting in the hallways and under the stairways. They were in the gym and filling the many ball fields around the church. The pool was filled with kids and the woods behind the church were constantly in motion. Kids were everywhere!
Not only were there kids everywhere, but they were having a blast. Laughter filled the air and little packs of kids were moving around the campus with big smiles on their faces. These kids were having the time of their lives. They were learning about friendships and a relationship with God, and they were coming back year after year.
As I was observing the children having a blast, I also noticed something else happening. Many of the high school and college students that I was working with were serving as camp counselors for the summer. I was pouring my life into them, and then they were pouring their lives into the children at the camp. They loved hanging out with the little munchkins. They loved being around their friends for the summer, and while they were having a blast, they were also making some money too. More importantly to me, I realized that they were really energized by giving their lives away!
In June of 2007 God changed the direction of my life, and I started GracePointe Community Church in North Forsyth County. As the lead pastor, I knew that I wanted to begin a “Camp All-American” in our area, but I had no idea how to start it! By God’s grace, the staff of Camp All-American was willing to invest significant resources to help us get our camp started.
So, Camp Kerusso was created to provide a safe place for kids to have a blast and build life-long relationships while they are also learning about their faith. We invested all of our resources with one goal in mind: we wanted the week that your child is at camp to be the best week of your child’s summer!
Sincerely,
Ralph Johnston
Camp Founder
