The United Youth Camp program in Ghana made its return after a three-year long absence following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted on the campus of the University of Education, Winneba, we had a total of 30 youth campers from the congregations in Accra, Agona, Cape Coast, Elmina, Kumasi, Winneba and Takoradi, as well as 22 volunteer staff members. Camp was held from Dec. 24-30, 2023.

Campers were grouped into two teams of 15—Team Red and Team Blue. For four highly engaging days, they were taken through archery, basketball, computing, cycling, team challenge and volleyball.

Compass check in the mornings and Christian living messages in the evenings made sure to drum home the main theme, “Race to Your Crown” via daily sub-themes such as “Called to Race” and “Obtain Your Crown” to achieve a seamless balance of physical and spiritual learning.

On the fifth and final day of activities came the hour of reckoning when both teams were pitted against each other in all the activities to prove themselves. It made for an intense and entertaining day as both teams strived to reach their physical crown.

Camp was concluded by a combined Sabbath service with the Winneba congregation after which, later that night, an awards ceremony was held to encourage the campers for putting in such admirable hard work. The movie “Overcomer” was screened at the tail end to illustrate qualities of the theme “Race to Your Crown.”