Twenty-five Receive Christ at Camp U CAN

In mid-August, twenty-five young men received Christ at CampUCAN, a four-day retreat for urban young men, ages 10-15, who are unsaved and unchurched. These young men live in mainly female single parent homes in urban communities across Ohio, enduring bullet-riddled streets as well as drugs, crime, and poverty.

The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) sponsored CampUCAN along with several Ohio baptist churches. The camp environment focused on teaching the next generation of urban leaders the tenets of manhood from godly mentors. These mentors encouraged camp attendees about their faith in God and in themselves. Simultaneously, the young men learned about having an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ, which resulted in half of the fifty attendees asking Jesus Christ into their lives.

John Maze, Pastor of Agape Bible Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio, and CampUCAN mentor said, “I am 80 years old, and I have not seen any other retreat or event that has influenced urban boys, who are at crossroads in their lives, to want Jesus Christ any better than CampUCAN has.”

The Keynote speaker for the week was Lawrence Funderburke, former NBA player and OSU basketball standout. Additional speakers included Doug Worthington, a former NFL player; H. Goode, entrepreneur and motivational speaker; and Pastor Tony Harris, SCBO Second Vice President as well as President of the Ohio African American Fellowship.

The speakers and the young men cannot wait to return next year.

For more information and to learn about becoming a sponsor, please visit https://www.scbo.org/CampUcan or email Reginald Hayes at rhayes@scbo.org.