Christwalk

One of the unique things about Camp Wyoming is our special Christwalk service.  At the end of every week, campers set out on a journey where they meet characters from the Bible who have had an encounter with Jesus.  These characters are performed by staff members who have read about and researched a specific person in the Bible.  The staff then tell that character’s story as if they were actually there, experiencing the event.

In the past, it was the campers’ job to just listen and take in the stories, to walk the path of the Christwalk and see the life of Christ come alive through the stories of His followers, His disciples, and even His enemies.  They might listen to Mary describe the birth of her son, the Messiah, and John the Baptist telling everyone to prepare the way for the Lord.  Later, Barabbas might speak of his release after the crowd shouted for Jesus to be crucified and point the campers to the crucifixion scene farther down the path.  Their journey might end with Mary Magdalene, rejoicing at the empty tomb because Jesus has risen from the dead!

Last year, Christwalk took on a different form.  Instead of simply listening as the characters told their stories, the campers had their own roles to play.  After each character there was a station inviting them to pray or worship together or maybe sit quietly in Sabbath for a few moments.  Christwalk asked them to engage on the journey and to see how they were a part of the story as well—the ongoing story of Jesus Christ and His Church.  Christwalk was no longer a passive experience, but one where the campers listened to the voices of these characters from the past and worshipped God for all God had done and all God was doing in their lives at that moment.

This year, we’re continuing to evolve Christwalk.  We developed three different Christwalk themes to use throughout the summer, all designed to reinforce the summer’s curriculum All Things New.  The first theme focuses on Holy Week through the senses, where campers can taste, touch, smell, hear, and see the different stories from Christ’s last week on earth.  The second theme tells of the lineage of Christ, tracing the generations that came before the birth of Jesus.  Finally, the third theme begins with the Great Commission and follows the story of the Christian Church all the way up to the present day.

Christwalk shares the story of the Christian faith in a unique and memorable way.  Campers get to see the Scriptures brought to life and interact with the lessons they learn along the way.  Whether you lived in the time of Abraham, Solomon, Christ, or Paul, or even if you are just beginning your faith journey today, we each have a part in the story of our Christian faith.  Christwalk is just one of the ways we experience that here at Camp Wyoming.