Camp Courage and Youth Ministries
God has called us to minister overseas and here at home. Additionally, He has called us to minister to youth; they are our future. We conduct youth services, and services on college campuses. Many of these young people are living, or have lived broken lives; therefore, we need to lead them in the right direction. While we enjoy ministering to youth groups, and young adult groups, we particular are laser-focused on reaching troubled teens. Because of their painful upbringing, many of these teens have low self-esteem, little confidence, and are sometimes suicidal. Also, many have lack the fathers that they needed, and we want to teach them how to be men. We want them to learn how to be men of God as well. Our role is to give them a hope; we are resposible for exhibiting that hope to these troubled youth.
With Sledgehammer's military background, we conduct a camp which is called "Camp Courage". This camp reaches out to troubled teens, and through team-building exercises, physical exercises, and other confidence building exercises, we want these troubled teens to gain the courage to become men and women of God, hence the name "Camp Courage". The camp is a boot-camp style phase in which the teens go through an obstacle course, play paintball, and various other military-style activities. Additionally, these teens will do land navigation courses, and be trained in survival. Also in this phase, teens will be fed the Word of God. These teens will attend a service each night, and bible studies during the day. There have been hundreds of salvations, and many lives have been impacted; through God, all things are possible.
Phase two of this camp is to apply what they have learned. We have taken campers on local outreaches, sharing the good news, and we have taken them on short-term mission trips (this is for the students who are more advanced in the Word of God). We have planted many seeds, and have even reaped fruits of salvations on these youth outreaches.
We typically invite 12-20 campers to attend this; it takes a lot of work, as one can imagine. However, it is more than worth it. God has annointed these camps, and many of the teens see improvement. Pray that God will continue to touch their lives and their families' lives. Pray, also, that the churches will follow-up with these youth. As you can see, the harvest is plenty, unfortunately, the workers are few. Pictured on the left is the 2009 Camp Courage which was held in Wahalla, South Carolina. In 2010, Camp Courage went to Palmyra, Pennsylvania (center), and in 2011, the camp was held at Christian Assembly Church in Nicholasville, Kentucky (right), which is just outside of Lexington (there is a slideshow which highlights the 2011 Camp Courage). In all of these camps, there have been adventures, but all have been very rewarding.
This is Camp Courage, the military phase in action. The purpose of these activities is build confidence in these youth, and to build teamwork and character. Many of these youth have not had the opportunities to do these activities, and building their confidence will enhance their character. Here, we also teach discipline; many of these youth have absentee fathers, and therefore, have not been taught proper discipline. This discipline will pay dividends in their adult lives. Pray that fathers will be more involved in their children's lives. Having a present earthly father is very influencial on the individual in their adult life.
Here, the youth are being taught the Word of God. These youth will hear the good news, and many will accept the good news; however, the passion may die, when they return to their homes. Pray that their home lives can improve, and that the church will intervene, and follow-up with these youth. The seeded is planted, but it has to also be watered, and cared for.
This is another part of Camp Courage; we love to see youth apply their knowledge, and reach out to others. This is the most rewarding aspect, to see salvations because of youth sharing the gospel. We took a team from Texas to Mexico, where they went door-to-door; conducted revivals; children's ministry, and various other ministries. We also have taken teams to conduct local ministry and evangelism. Pictured right, is an evangelism team from Victory Christian in Palmyra, PA. We train them in evangelism, and they evangelize in public areas, and going door-to-door. It is important to raise up this young generation for Jesus.
We conduct outreaches in local areas, and often, we target youth. We have conducted sports outreaches; have had guest speakers and musicians; and even had a power-man. This power-man (right) demonstrates extreme human strength, while sharing his testimony. We had Driven (left), a Christian rapper share his talents and his testimony with us during an outreach. We use entertainment as a vehicle to reach these youth. We want to also show that Christianity can be fun; youth will be more inclined to commit their lives to Christ.
In addition to Camp Courage, we minister to youth groups; we teach them principles that are important in living a life for Christ; we encourage them to focus on Christ, even through difficult times. We have reached out to inner-city kids (right); these youth are often marginalized, due to their difficult upbringing. These children are the ones who need ministry; although they are at times difficult, many of them are very open to the gospel. Sledgehammer Ministries wants to break down those walls that have been built. We will minister to the most difficult groups, because this is what ministry is about. When we ministered to these inner-city kids in Saginaw, Michigan, 25 youth made decisions for Christ.
Last, but not least, we would like to thank everyone who has helped us with Camp Courage. We thank all of the staff members who gave their time, efforts, and money to make these camps and outreaches possible. We would also like to thank all of those who have supported us prayerfully, financially, and sowed your time in our ministry. Thank you to all of the pastors who have helped us over the years. God Bless you!
Contact Infomation:
For those who have been following us, we have moved to Kentucky!! Our new address is 107 McCormack Avenue, Elizabethtown, KY, 42701.
For services, or other questions, please feel free to contact us at +1 (864) 723-6002, or
E-mail us at Sledgehammerministries@hotmail.com.
For current events and service times, feel free to visit us on Facebook. Become a fan, or become friends with John and Marshelle Killian.
If you would like to donate to us, click on the paypal button, and use our e-mail, sledgehammerministries@hotmail.com. Thank you so much for your donation, and God Bless!
