Heartland Youth Finish Youth Camp

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Heartland Community Church’s ID318 Youth Group just finished its Summer 2025 youth camp. The camp is held on the Heartland Campus with high schoolers staying overnight and the younger students gathering during the day for team challenges, fun activities, and worship services. Here is a report from the ID318 team:

Camp kicked off Thursday night with a time of refocus and recharging and a teaching on relational currency. “Relationships are often about what we can get out of them,” explained ID318 Leader Josh Smith, “and we often treat God the same. I want to challenge you to spend time in God’s presence and let Him speak to you.” After the service, students played glow in the dark volleyball and got ready for the next day.

Friday was already set to be full of water games, so the rainy weather just added to the fun. Team games involved filling water buckets while blindfolded, chariot races (where students pulled and rode on bedsheets), capture the flag, and slip-and-slide kickball. Campers later joined the church’s weekly prayer service where they shared the things God had been placing on their hearts. It was a sweet time to watch students grow in their faith.

Things warmed up on Saturday as camp leader Danielle Emerson lead a campus-wide scavenger hunt for the Kraken’s Treasure – a continuing theme for camp – as students solved clues and outran youth leaders dressed in inflatable dinosaur costumes. It wasn’t long before one of the tribes solved all the clues and found the “X” to discover the treasure of pirate themed candies and prizes. Saturday night the new students moving into sixth grade joined the camp for dinner and a youth service, where youth leaders Emilee Rihanek, Elizabeth Wilson, and Peter Nickerson preached on Love Earnestly, Show Hospitality, Honor God, from the Bible passage of 1 Peter 4. Students responded with a desire to hear God and let Him be seen in the way they live.

Sunday wrapped up the camp activities where the tired campers joined the Sunday service at Heartland Community Church. Afterwards, they gathered for one last meal together, and teams used the points they won from mini games and challenges to purchase prizes for their tribes. It was a long four days, but the young people pushed through rain and exhaustion to learn to love each other and, above all else, make Jesus Christ the center-point of their lives.