Ability Camp is something truly extraordinary—two weeks of summer camp that offers adults with special needs a place to grow spiritually, form lasting friendships, and experience God’s love in tangible ways. Designed to be fully inclusive, Ability Camp is a haven of acceptance, joy, and faith. Here, every camper is invited to deepen their relationship with God, experience His grace, and embrace the truth that they are beautifully made in His image.
ability camp
Ability Camp Pennsylvania – Week 1
Ability Camp is something truly extraordinary—two weeks of summer camp that offers adults with special needs a place to grow spiritually, form lasting friendships, and experience God’s love in tangible ways. Designed to be fully inclusive, Ability Camp is a haven of acceptance, joy, and faith. Here, every camper is invited to deepen their relationship with God, experience His grace, and embrace the truth that they are beautifully made in His image.
Ability Camp PA – Week 2
Our team will be organizing all camp activities and recreation as well as providing support for counselors and camp team.
Ability Camp PA – Week 1
Our team will be organizing all camp activities and recreation as well as providing support for counselors and camp team.
Fishing Changes Things
You have to know up front that I am NOT into fishing but every summer our team gets to be up and ready by 6:30 a.m. to give campers a fishing experience. Every year I hunt for worms before going to camp and every year I am the one that baits every hook that is dropped in the water. I have even lovingly been nicknamed “Bait Lady” and was known by that name before my real name. So what does this have to do with ministry? Stay with me and you’ll be absolutely amazed at the way God works.
This particular year we were helping Ability Tree launch a special needs camp for adults in Oklahoma and finding a suitable location along the lake was a challenge. Now, I may not look forward to the act of fishing but I do value the time with the campers and the relationships that are built in those early morning hours. This year it was HOT HOT HOT and honestly I was looking for any reason to cancel fishing; it was too far away, not the right bait, campers would get tangled in the debris along the shore, the rods had the wrong reel, it was too hot and the fish wouldn’t bite.
As hard as I tried, Eric, our newest team member, wouldn’t let me “off the hook”. His positive attitude was relentless until we were on the dock at 6:15 a.m. the following day, rods and bait in tow, getting ready for the campers.
Yes, I was still mumbling about the things that weren’t going to work as I prepared to bait each of the hooks . Here’s where God enters the picture. As I baited each hook I laid the rod on the deck so that the hook dangled over the edge. As I went to the second rod, the first one began to move. Not wanting it to fall in to the water I grabbed the rod and pulled it up and to my surprise there was a fish on the hook. What was up with that? I wasn’t fishing. I wasn’t even trying but that fish changed my entire attitude.
God had caused a fish to literally JUMP onto that hook so that I would realize that fishing wasn’t about whether or not I enjoyed the act of fishing, it wasn’t about how hard it was to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready or even about the disgusting smell on my hands. It was about building relationships and giving the campers an experience that they would remember. Every morning we had 8 out of 10 campers show up to fish and each morning we caught several fish. Over the week, every camper experienced the joy of catching at least one fish, many for the first time.
God was orchestrating much more than I realized and it took God causing that fish to JUMP onto that hook to change everything. We are fishing for men and we need to be as excited about catching one person for Jesus as those campers were about catching each of their fish.
And Jesus said to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.