Dear Compass Checkers,

Last summer I had the joy of visiting Camp Hye Sierra, California, one of the five summer United Youth Camps venues. What did I observe there? Naturally, I met dozens of wonderful campers who were enjoying the Zone during their camp week. And I also talked with many of the hard-working staff who were devoting so much of their time and energy to the campers.

Many of us also visited Sequoia National Park, which is close to camp. Giant sequoias are the world’s largest single trees and largest living thing by volume (average height is 164-279 ft. and 20-26 ft. in diameter). God made these mighty sequoia trees to naturally resist fire and insects, and as a result, some of them date back to the time of Jesus Christ! In fact, some of this species frequently exceed 3,000 years, and larger trees may exceed 3,500 years in age.

Standing next to one of these behemoths makes any human look mighty small.

But what else did I see at Camp Hye Sierra? The future of the Church!

I literally saw the future of the United Church of God at camp—you campers and young adult staff. As a camper now (from ages 12 to 19) you already are a very important part of God’s plan, since He calls youth as 1 Corinthians 7:14 describes: “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy” (New International Version).

And in not too many more years (if not already), you will hopefully be baptized, receive God’s Holy Spirit, and fully become a member of the Body of Jesus Christ. This means you will be even more involved in serving in your local congregation and, yes, at United Youth Camps as well. Think about that. You, as a teen now, are literally part of the bright future of God’s Church. God the Father and Jesus Christ are offering you now the blessing of being a part of eternity in the Kingdom of God. You can read this in Revelation 5:10: “And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”

God will share His plan with all of humanity, and this is the exciting theme of this pre-Feast Compass Check issue. Don’t miss reading about your future in the article “The Back of the Book” by Ben Light.

God has a wonderful future for each of you, and I saw part of that future at Hye Sierra last summer. I wish all of you a very encouraging upcoming festival season.

Until next time, your camp friend,

Steve Nutzman, Editor | compasscheck@ucg.org