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A residential camp where leaders can work with youth 24 hours a day over the course of several days is a very powerful tool for mentoring. It has been our experience that relationships can be taken to a greater level of depth in a few days at camp than they can be in months or years in a normal ministry context. Getting away from familiar surroundings and responsibilities creates a great environment for building friendships and exploring new ideas.
Unfortunately, few if any Christian camps exist within the countries where Sports Friends works. Sports Friends, therefore, seeks to provide amazing, transformative camping experiences that youth would otherwise not have access to. Youth enjoy sports, games, crafts, music, drama, good food, a warm bed, and lots of attention and love. It is the best week of their lives!
Our objectives in the camping ministry are as follows:
Enhance and deepen on-going, relational sports ministries. As leaders from the local church accompany their youth to camp, they have opportunities to build memories that lead to enhanced ministry both at the camp and after they return home.
Stimulate new churches to develop on-going sports ministry programs. Interest in the camping program will stimulate more churches to establish ongoing sports ministry programs to reach the youth in their local communities.
Provide youth with one of the most unique and greatest experiences of their entire lives.
Introduce unbelieving youth to Jesus Christ, and disciple believing youth into greater maturity.
Develop effective sports and youth ministry leaders by modeling effective discipleship strategies.
Camp Langano – Sports Friends, in partnership with the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church, is developing the first Christian residential youth camp in Ethiopia, a country with over 75 million people! This camping ministry will be an integral part of the ongoing sports ministry programs of the local churches of Ethiopia. Youth will come to camp with their sports ministry leaders and will return home after camp with their leaders, providing a continuum of effective relational ministry. The camp is being developed on a beautiful 95 acre property on Lake Langano which has been owned by SIM and the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church for several decades. Small, pilot camping sessions are conducted each summer, and plans call for the construction of additional facilities to accommodate over 150 youth for year-round camping by the summer of 2010.
Developing Camp Langano will be a large undertaking that will require perseverance, prayer and unity to accomplish. Please join us in praying that God would transform the lives of thousands of youth, their families and their communities through the effective ministry of Camp Langano! If you would like to receive periodic prayer requests and updates regarding Camp Langano, please provide us your email address at the top of this page.
Reference our Photo Gallery as well as a downloadable brochure about the development of Camp Langano (Sports Friends Materials) for pictures and more information.
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