Super Summer Offers Truly Unique Experience

Super Summer Ohio is a unique type of camp for teenagers in the Southern Baptist Convention, that takes place for five days near the end of June. Super Summer is a special leadership camp for youth leaders to go and grow more in faith, leadership, and service. Each grade has a specific school, ranging from soon to be 8th graders to recent graduates, and those schools each have a specific theme for the week. But not only does each school have a particular focus. Themes such as identity, service, and authenticity are some of the themes that dominate school classroom time. But the thing that really sets Super Summer apart is the family group times. Each family group is a small group with two adult leaders who guide the small group with questions that deal with the topics we discuss. The family group is a huge bonding time between those who are in family groups. Super Summer is a truly unique camp experience for young adult leaders. 

But Super Summer is not just a unique camp, it’s a life changing experience. Since I first went to Super Summer in Red School (The first year in Super Summer), all the way to Silver School (for recent high school graduates), I’ve learned more and more about my faith and myself. After my second year (Blue School), I felt a call to ministry, a call that I still pursue today. In Orange school (the third year), I had my first experience with leading worship in front of a group of people, something that is now very near to my heart and something I now use in my local church. Super Summer also presents many unique challenges to its students. To practice evangelism, we each had to share the gospel with someone else at the camp (they would graciously pretend that they had never heard the gospel before to give us the real feel). Lo and behold, I shared the gospel with Jack Helton, our state’s evangelism director! Jack and I have since become friends and he is a great mentor in my life. There are so many great opportunities like this at a camp like Super Summer. 

Super Summer has really led me to be a better disciple in Christ. If your church has never heard of Super Summer or never sent kids to Super Summer, I encourage you to send your youth group’s leaders to Super Summer. It’s truly one special place, that’s tons of fun and there’s so much to learn and grow from spiritually! 

  --  Tyler Zweydorff