Learning how to start a fire is one thing. Learning how to use that skill to share the Gospel is another, and it’s something that sets Leadership Training Camp apart from any regular summer camp.
During this year’s LTC at Camp Menard — a lush, green campground on the outskirts of the small town — 12 Royal Ambassador state staffers spent last week preparing to teach campcraft skills like outdoor cooking, starting campfires and water purification and connect those lessons to biblical truths when they serve at seven different camps across Texas this summer.
TXM RA Coordinator Savion Lee said instructors and adult leaders allowed state staffers to take the lead throughout the week, whether it was cooking dinners over the campfire or leading fireside devotions for the rest of the staffers. The group leaders stepped in and gave feedback when necessary, he said.
“We want to be using men of the church, teaching the boys of the church how to represent Christ to their families, communities around the world,” Lee said.
Lee said he wants the boys to recognize they don’t have to be adults to serve in leadership roles and have an impact on others.
State staffer Adam Pence said his father shared a similar message with him before he headed off to Camp Menard for LTC — 1st Timothy 4:12, which encourages believers not to let anyone look down on them because of their youth.
“I’ve always been nervous to talk to people, but every time I think about that verse, it has allowed me to continue in my leadership and overcome my shyness,” Pence said.
Camp Menard groundskeeper Josh Hernandez observed the staffers as they went about their week. He said he witnessed several of them “open up” drastically and ease into their leadership roles not long after arrival. Pence, for example, plays guitar and leads the other boys in song around their nightly campfires, he said.
“Some of them are pretty timid at times, and by the end of the week, they’re leading the devotions and rallying the group,” Hernandez said. “It’s amazing to watch them grow.”
LTC instructor Timothy Smith, who attended as a state staffer 25 years ago, explained the process of teaching the staffers how to lead devotions.
“We try to keep it very simple,” Smith said. “We ask for three things: you read a Bible verse, tell it in your own words what that verse means and then tell us how that actually applies to each and every day of your life. It’s really rewarding to see — we’ll start off with John 3:16 and by the end of the week, they’re trying to find more in-depth things they can talk about.”
For LTC first-time attendee Becket Trimvoli, speaking during devotions and sharing their testimonies has been challenging, but rewarding. He said the experience has strengthened both his relationship with God and his confidence in spiritual leadership.
“All the prayer we’ve been doing, it’s really opened me up,” Trimvoli said. “I need to pray more and read my Bible, I’ve realized that since being here.”
Throughout the week, the state staffers honed in on skills like cooking, water sanitation and firecraft, along with other activities such as riflery and archery. The second through fourth year staffers even got to try their hand at teaching some of these electives. State staffer and LTC fourth-year Walker Derrick was one of them — leading his group of fellow staffers in a knot-tying course.
“As you get older, you take on more responsibility and teach more classes,” Derrick explained.
On Thursday, the state staffers went out into the Menard community to assist in a local service project, scraping old paint from a home that had sustained flood damage to prepare it for the next round of volunteers to paint.
As the morning sun beat down, staffers focused in on their task and took to all sides of the house, using their scrapers to chip old paint off siding, window ledges and door frames. As they worked, chatter and laughter echoed across the suncast property.
Perched on a ladder beneath an awning, scraper in hand, Derrick reflected on his four years at LTC.
“I think the main point is to live on purpose,” he said. “Everything you do, do it for the glory of God. Even if it’s simply scraping paint off a house, do it to the best of your ability.”
Working on the other side of the house, state staffer Eleazer Mitre reflected on the impact LTC has had on him as a first-time attendee. Upon arriving at LTC, he said he was saved.
“One of my leaders came up to me and asked if I accepted Jesus into my heart,” Mitre said. “I thought I had already, but I really didn’t.”
Mitre said his leader shared Bible verses and encouragement with him to give him courage and strength to stay strong in Christ, since his family and friends at home are not very supportive of his faith.
Through LTC, Mitre said he learned the power of spiritual application to everyday tasks, something he wants to take home and share with his friends, he said.
“If we’re learning about fire, we learn that we are the spark and everyone else is the coal,” Mitre said. “We want to spark them, so they can spread The Word.”
State staffer Michael Montes, a second-year LTC participant, said he, too, has had a renewed sense of spiritual confidence since returning.
“When I’m here, it brings me closer to God,” Montes said. “LTC has proven to me that I am able to lead people and I can go share scripture with other people.”
