As the second week of June rolled in, so did Upward camps in San Diego. The first camp out of 13 this summer kicked off at San Miguel Community Church.
As an Upward camper was 
leaving one afternoon, he asked, “Mommy, how much do you think that the Upward people get paid to play with us?” His mom replied, “Well, these people don’t get paid anything for being here. They’ve given their time, money, and effort to play with you all just because they love Jesus.”
God is at work through the Upward camps in San Diego. People are hearing the Gospel and sharing Christ’s love. Here are two great examples of how God is moving in the lives of people in San Diego…
Meet Greg Rikel:
He’s the Wellness and Recreation Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia. Greg and four others from Woodstock flew out to San Diego on June 14 to lead a week-long Upward sports camp at San Miguel Community Church in Chula Vista, CA. They teamed up with 11 others from First Baptist Church of McKenzie, Tennessee. Greg has led his church in Upward sports programs for the last 11 years, along with 8 years experience doing mission camps.
Talking with his son Andrew, who also came as part of the team, Greg explained, “Most of these people don’t know about Jesus, and that’s why we’re here, to share His love with them. It’s hard to live out your faith, but we’re here to lead by example.”
By the end of the week, a combined Upward team from GA and TN were challenged and stretched, but very encouraged as 70 children and families heard the presentation of the Gospel and as a fire for church growth and evangelism ignited for the San Miguel community. Through the ministry of Upward and hard- working volunteers, people are not only being introduced to Christ, but strengthened to multiply ministry as well.
Meet Jerry Nichols:
He is a member of San Miguel Community Church. Since San Miguel launched nearly two years ago in December of 2006, Jerry has been a part of this church body and desired to see it grow. He volunteered and worked alongside the Upward mission team for the week. Seeing how the ministry of Upward runs firsthand, with 70 campers participating each day, he has been encouraged in seeing how his church can continue to reach out.
Jerry explains his experience: “At most, only 5% of the children that are here are members of San Miguel, so this ministry is definitely introducing the people of this community to the church.” Along with reaching more than double the number of children at San Miguel, double the numbers of families have also been reached. Through this experience, Jerry has been challenged to investigate how he can be a part of God’s work and serve his church further. San Miguel’s Pastor, Chuck Rheam, captured the impact of the week when he said,
“What Upward has done for us is simply build another bridge into the lives of people in the San Miguel community, to introduce them to Jesus’ love, so we can help them come back over that bridge to be a part of the Kingdom’s work.”
To sum up the first week of Upward sports camps: Individuals were reached, a community touched and a church strengthened, all in the name of Jesus. For more information about Upward camps or other ways to serve, call us at 1.877.817.4777.
