Luke Dodenhoff’s first trip to Camp McCall was with his father for a week of Lad Camp. As an older camper, Luke made his profession of faith at McCall on July 10, 2003. Because of his decision, Luke’s family is confident of where he is spending eternity.
Luke DodenhoffCliff Satterwhite, director of Camp McCall, had seen the media coverage about the accidental shooting death of a 17-year-old Columbia student in January. He did not know of the connection with Camp McCall until he read the high school senior’s obituary in the newspaper.
“I saw that Luke had been at McCall and made a life-changing decision there,” Satterwhite said. “As camp staffers, nurses, camp pastors – we don’t always know how the seeds we’ve planted will grow. Sometimes it is in times of sadness and reflection that we are reminded of the impact these ministries have,” he said.
Satterwhite was able to locate the decision card Luke filled out nine years ago and gave it to his grieving family at the funeral, held at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia. “I am so glad I could be there to hear such meaningful comments on a young man’s life, and for him to still have such a positive impact on the lives of the teenagers who were there that day,” Satterwhite said.
In his obituary, the Dodenhoff family wrote: “If you want to see Luke’s smiling face again, then seek out a Christian that you know.” Luke’s experiences at Camp McCall also led his family to request that memorials be sent to the camp in the form of scholarships. As of late February, $3,900 had been given.
“Now someone is going to benefit from Luke’s experience, some life will be changed down the road because of this,” Satterwhite said.
Luke’s mother, Connie Dodenhoff, shared the following with Satterwhite: “I’ll never forget the day when Luke got off the church van and ran to me and said, ‘Mother, I’m saved.’ “
Since Camp McCall was started 50 years ago, 123,856 boys have heard the gospel, and 24,632 of them have made decisions for Christ. In 2009, 556 of the 2,515 McCall campers made decisions for Christ.
“There are eternal reasons for what we do at Camp McCall,” Satterwhite said. – SCBC