A Joy Retreat volunteer teaches campers how to play handbells.There is one place every summer where smiles are a dime a dozen, hugs are never passed by and everyone is having the time of their life.
Joy Retreat, two three-day camps for adults with special needs, are held every summer at White Oak Conference Center. Using the previous year’s Vacation Bible School materials, teachers spend time with small groups, walking them through Bible stories, crafts and songs. The campers also enjoy puppet shows, clowns and a big group celebration. This year’s theme was Arctic Edge and utilized Joshua 1:9 as the central verse.
This summer, both three-day camps were at capacity with a total of nearly 340 campers participating, revealing a steadily growing area of ministry across South Carolina.
Wearing a name tag reading “Special Friend,” Richard McWhite, pastor of South Main Street Baptist Church in Greenwood and volunteer chaplain for the first camp, shared the gospel with attendees using a soccer ball.
“How many of you here know that Jesus loves you?” he asked.
“It is God who can make you courageous,” McWhite reminded participants. “God made you special.”
Richard McWhite has Joy Retreat camper Danny recite John 3:16.The retreat relies on volunteer teachers, assistant teachers and staff to guide campers through the VBS material, music time and the large group celebrations. But more than any other skill, volunteers must be proficient at hugs, smiles and handshakes.
Jackie and Clark Weeks, longtime Joy Retreat volunteer teachers from Oakland Baptist Church in Rock Hill, shared a story about Jay, a camper who never spoke to his caregivers and had never uttered a word at Joy Retreat.
Throughout the camp, Clark Weeks would sing a little song about Jesus as the group was working on crafts or other activities. Slowly, some campers began to pick up on the song and would sing along. On the last day of camp, Jay began to sing. It was the first sound the Joy Retreat teachers and his caregivers had ever heard him make.
“It is the small rewards that make it all worth it,” said Weeks.
For more information on Joy Retreat, contact the SCBC missions mobilization group at (800) 723-7242.