Community Ministry
From Local
to Global
By Leslie Harris,
Community Ministry Intern
“And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
Jesus told his disciples to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Camp Tejas has taken that concept and made it all its own. As the Community Ministry Supervisor, I got the
opportunity to be a part of what Tejas is doing locally and globally. When I was first offered the position, I remember being so excited—it seemed like a perfect fit for my passions and abilities. As the summer got closer,
however, the list of things I would be responsible for continued to grow. By the time training arrived, I was so
nervous and felt completely overwhelmed. I knew I was committed, though, so I just took a deep breath and
took one day at a time. I am so glad I did! I got to do some wonderful things!
Our Community Ministry for this summer chose the theme: “Tales of the Kingdom.” Each weekday
night a team of staffers traveled to a different apartment complex or mobile home park. I always looked forward to the opportunity we had to sing, laugh, talk, and teach the kids there. As relationships with the kids
grew, so did my confidence that Camp Tejas was where God wanted me. Other community outreach strategies
that Camp Tejas employs are participating in Meals on Wheels, (which I did with my partner Allie Brown) and
teaching the children on Sunday nights at the Crossroads Fellowship Church. I had the awesome chance to see
God working in and through lives for His Kingdom and His glory.
An exciting part of the global outreach for Camp Tejas is our team of International SMTs (Summer Ministry Team.) The world comes right to us every summer through these wonderful student workers. The global
ministry of Camp Tejas is expanding and it was so exciting to be a part of it. I loved to hang out with awesome
brothers and sisters from Korea, England, Tanzania, Thailand and Canada. Then the grand finale for the summer is the week-long mission trip to La Puerta, Honduras to make repairs on a school, put on a VBS, make new
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