Camp for All Abilities
A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of visiting Family Camp hosted by Joni & Friends. The property was beautiful—as you’d expect from a Young Life camp—but what stood out even more was the joy on the faces of campers and their companions. It was a glimpse of the kingdom of God: everyone welcomed, everyone belonging.
Why Camp Matters
As a teenager, I attended Hume Lake and Forest Home with my youth group. Those camps were life-changing for me. I came home not just encouraged by the teaching but bonded with friends who shared the same experience. We returned on fire for Jesus and ready to grow as His disciples—together.
But for many students with disabilities, camp feels out of reach. It can seem too difficult, too expensive, or simply unattainable. And yet the same transformation that shaped my life is just as needed for them.
Inclusion, Not Separation
There are amazing camps designed specifically for students with special needs. Young Life’s Capernaum Camps and Joni & Friends’ Family Camps bless thousands of families every year.
But here’s the question that keeps us up at night: what about inclusion?
What are we missing when students with disabilities can’t attend camp alongside their peers?
What impact is lost when their friends don’t get the chance to worship, grow, and share the same mountaintop moments with them?
Camp, at its core, is about belonging. And belonging happens best when no one is left out.
The Hidden Costs
When I was a student, I didn’t realize how much my pastors worked behind the scenes to make camp possible for me. They arranged transportation, placed me in a cabin that worked, and even added another adult leader for support. My friends literally carried me up stairs and across snow so we could share the experience.
That same longing for shared experience is what we hear from families today. One mom told me her son didn’t want to go to “wheelchair camp.” He wanted to go to camp with his friends, to come home with a story of what God had done with the very people he saw at church and school each week.
The challenge is that inclusion comes with added costs—extra transportation, additional leaders, and accessibility adjustments. For families already burdened by medical bills, those costs can put camp out of reach.
A Biblical Picture of Belonging
Mark 2 gives us a picture of inclusion at its best: five friends-four carrying one of them on a stretcher, breaking through barriers—literally a roof—to bring him to Jesus. And at the end of the story? All five walked home together.
That’s what we long for at camp. Not separate experiences. Not leaving anyone behind. But shared encounters with Jesus that change everyone involved.
What If?
Here at Access Youth Ministry we don’t have all the answers, and every situation is unique. But what if we started budgeting differently? What if we planned ahead for accessibility? What if we offered inclusion before families had to ask?
Yes, there are costs. But what opportunities are we missing—what miracles might we be leaving on the stretcher—if we don’t?