By Brandon Groff

I first came to Camp Hebron in 2004 when I attended Discipleship Camp as a 14 year old trying to learn more about my faith. During that week, I learned a lot about faith and Christianity and had a fire lit under me to live out my faith in a new way. I joined the Summer Staff in 2005 as a kitchen assistant and spent that summer and the following summer learning about service and ministry in a behind-the-scenes position. When I turned 17, I served as a Staff-in-Training (now known as a Counselor-in-Training) and then as a counselor in 2008 and 2009. All five of these summers, 2005-2009, were filled with incredible spiritual growth as I met many young people who were filled with passion for serving God and the campers that come through Camp Hebron.

During my last summer in 2009, I began to develop an interest in ministry and felt God calling me toward a life of youth ministry. I transferred to a Christian university where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Ministries in 2014. At the end of the summer of 2009, I thought that my time working at Camp Hebron was over. This past spring, as I have been searching for a youth ministry position, I felt God nudging me back to Camp Hebron where my passion for ministry began and where I had grown so much. God placed in my heart the desire to return and use my passion, as well as my degree, to serve as Camp Pastor for the campers. Since this summer began, it has been a great joy to serve my fellow Summer Staff and teach all of the campers that come about God. I am excited to see how God is going to work this summer at Camp Hebron!