As summer slowly fades into fall, we wanted to share some highlights from this very different yet unforgettable summer.
When most of our initial summer plans were either canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Young Life staff and leaders stepped up their game and discovered new ways to engage with kids this summer.
As restrictions loosened up, Young Life was able to plan safe, socially distant, small group experiences that included things like backpacking, rafting/kayaking adventures, sailing, day trips to Timber Wolf Lake, virtual camps, and camp-in-a-box experiences.
Scroll through our scrapbook below to see how God was at work this summer…
“We were so grateful for the opportunity to take kids to Timber Wolf Lake this past Sunday! We were reminded of His constant goodness and faithfulness to us AND that we are TOV MEOD!” — Grand Traverse Young Life 
“After a week of white water rafting, kayaking, cliff jumping, and hiking, the unanimous highlight was just being in community.” — Grand Rapids SouthWest Young Life 
“SLP Session #1 looked a little different this year, but it was still a good time growing together!” 
“Camp looked a little different this year, but that didn’t stop us from having a BLAST!! So thankful for 3 nights packed full of laughter, singing, games, good conversation, and JESUS!” — Northeast GR Capernaum 
“When YoungLives camp gets canceled due to the COVID pandemic, mentors will do whatever it takes to bring camp to teen moms” – Central Grand Rapids YoungLives 
“From tie-dye, to pop tarts, to jump pics, you guys are the best. Thanks for jumping into summer 2020 with us—it was tie-dye for!” – Grand Traverse WyldLife 
When the initial camp plans were canceled this summer because of COVID-19, Timber Wolf Lake soon discovered that some things about camp weren’t canceled. Like relationships, sunsets, hikes in the woods, and small group bonfires (socially distant, of course).
While these experiences were quite different than spending a week at overnight camp, kids and leaders ended up having all kinds of fun, adventure, and meaningful conversations—and witnessed God transform lives—all elements we aim to give kids during the typical Young Life camp experience.
Young Life camp speaker Kelsey Jenney said it so perfectly: “Young Life camp is still a space and place for kids to meet Jesus face to face, to have authentic conversations, to process, and to be invited into a relationship with God. It’s laughter, adventure, Truth, and Radical Love.”
And kids were desperate for “laughter, adventure, Truth, and Radical Love” this summer. Maybe more than ever before. A high school senior commented: “I feel like I was robbed from saying goodbye with a lot of things in high school from the virus. Timber Wolf has given me a proper goodbye these three days.”
A teenage mom from Central Grand Rapids YoungLives shared how YoungLives Virtual Camp came just at the right time in her life: “Camp this summer was great for me. I definitely needed the support because COVID really affected lots of things in my life this summer. Having communication with my mentors was so amazing.”
At the close of the summer, Timber Wolf Lake Camp Manager Brian Johnson shared a beautiful reflection on how God showed up this summer. Here’s what he wrote:
While leaders and kids may not have had the camp experience they first signed up for, this summer was not a loss. God said “Yes!” over and over again. In the end, the same Good News was told. We are grateful for every opportunity we get to share the greatest story ever told with teenagers.
