Every Wednesday night since the dawn of T Bar M, the Sports Field is transformed from a place of fun and play to a place of reflection. Star Gaze. It’s a moment when every camper and coach lays on the sports field and takes time to “be still and know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10). Campers have just been presented with the incredible news that Jesus Christ has a gift for them. Some would call it a “tradition,” but if you have laid on that field, you know it to be so much more than that. Holy. Life-changing. 

In fact, it is so important to T Bar M, that Campfires at Camp Travis and Huddles at Day Camps were the first things that found their place in their year one schedules. There is no doubt that some of the best conversations and life change happen on porches and fields—where God’s people talk with Him and one another about the life He wants us to live. 
 
Not a week goes by each summer that a parent, an alumni, or an older camper doesn’t see that field and say, “that’s where I met Jesus for the first time,” “I remember laying on that field in elementary school and knowing I needed Jesus,” or “I prayed to accept Christ right there.” Friends recall conversations that began in Bible studies in the morning, porches in the afternoon, and in the quiet (or even wrestling) of hearts that were given time to take root by simply sitting still Wednesday night on the Sports Field. 

This summer was no exception. God continued to meet hundreds of campers on that field and at Campfire… in their hearts. 
 
On July 9th, during Session 7 of the summer, our full-time staff came to Base Camp to pray for the campers and coaches while the Gospel presentation was being given. We broke into small groups as they found their spots on the field. Campers had their Bibles and hearts open while laying scattered near their coaches, close by but far enough to have space to consider, talk to, and for many, accept Jesus. 
 
This was the moment in the summer, when the entire state was looking to Jesus—in fear, in hope, in disappointment. Many campers and parents were anxious. And that night, many campers laid on that field and gave those anxieties and their hearts to Jesus.  
 
Those campers outlasted our prayer huddles. They remained still and engaged with their Bibles, their thoughts, and their coaches for nearly two hours. Not one cartwheel or wrestling match combusted. Not one person asked them to stay that long. It took our breath away. It was holy.  
 
And it was what had been happening all summer. Sure, maybe a bit longer that particular week as the state mourned with Kerr County. But campers and coaches looking to Jesus in fear, in hope, in disappointment of what storm was hitting their own life, had undistracted space and time to meet with Jesus. And they did. 
 

Camp yields a special time to unplug, refocus, and hear Jesus in a different way. The challenge for us is this: How can we each take time each day, each week, to linger longer with Jesus? How can we give our disappointments, fears, and questions to Him and create space to hear and know the hope He has for each of us? 

- Kelli Boyd, Alumni Coordinator