Ottawa University

Students Flood Ottawa University for Church Camp

OU hosts campers for the 25th year 

OTTAWA, Kansas - Ninety-seven high school students from Kansas and Oklahoma are on the Ottawa University campus July 16-20, 2007, to attend the annual American Baptist Churches Central Region (ABCCR) Church Camp.  OU has been hosting the camp since 1983. 

Campus Pastor Bud McCluney is the coordinator of this year's event, which is comprised of small group sessions, worship times, games, and workshops conducted by OU faculty and staff.  The interactive workshops are in areas such as music, drama, fitness, movie editing, and science and religion. A few special events are also part of the week, including a Thursday night dance hosted by OU's own disc jockey, Dr. Dennis Tyner, provost and vice president of The College. 

The camp theme for 2007 is "Cross Point" and is based on Mark 12:30-31, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  [and] 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no commandment greater than these."  Using those verses as their guide, students learn about their vertical relationship of loving Jesus Christ during morning study sessions, while afternoon sessions focus on their horizontal relationship of loving others.

In the past, McCluney worked closely with camp coordinator Dick Smith, youth pastor of Augusta Baptist Church in Augusta, Kansas, to help coordinate the event. He assumed full leadership of the camp for the first time this year. "I've taken the great ideas Dick used and built on them," said McCluney. "With 20-plus years in youth ministry and having led Braving Discipleship, this came pretty naturally. It's a great way to give youth a church camp experience that strengthens their relationship with God and others." In all, 28 adults are assisting with the camp, including 20 OU students. One of those students, student worker Jenna Reeves, has played a key role in the event's success, according to McCluney.

High school senior Brad Sommerfeldt of Pittsburg, Kansas, is attending the ABCCR church camp for the third time. "This camp is like changing the oil in my car," he said. "It refreshes my soul and spirit and helps me get closer to Jesus. Plus, they add something new to the program every year, so every year it gets better."

Sommerfeldt is currently considering attending OU in 2008 and would like to participate in the track program. "I would love to get accepted at OU and get on that track," he said. "It's awesome!"

For more information on the camp, contact Bud McCluney at 785-229-1068 or bud.mccluney@ottawa.edu.

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Founded in 1865, Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Ottawa University's educational mission brings together a residential campus in Ottawa, Kansas, and adult campuses in Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe, Arizona; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jeffersonville, Indiana; as well as multiple international instructional sites.  For more information, visit http://www.ottawa.edu/.