By Dale Sauls
-From the May 2007 Messenger Publication

Where did you spend time as a child? Think of your home, your grandparents’ home, aunt’s and uncle’s home, friends’ homes, schools, churches, and vacation spots. You can probably remember many details about all these places. How did you feel at those places?

How did the people there make you feel? Where were some of the most positive memories made? Where did you spend time that now brings a smile to your face?

For me, Crusader Youth Camp (CYC) fits that description. CYC was a regular for my family. I spent time there every summer from the age of two to approximately age nineteen. I spent six consecutive weeks at CYC most of those summers. It was my home-away-from-home. One person said, “Dale is like pollen. He just keeps coming back every year.” I realize now that probably wasn’t a compliment. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter because I loved CYC and just being there.

This feeling was not only true for me, it was true for many. In fact, a number of you reading this article had the same story. Few Pentecostal Free Will Baptist ministries have a bigger alumni than CYC. Untold people attended CYC during its fifty-nine year history.

I learned at CYC how to live with no sleep, eat cafeteria food (and like it), ride horses, live without air conditioning, get into trouble, avoid getting into trouble, ask girls to the banquet, deal with rejection, and the list could go on and on! Some of what I learned I do not want my son to know about, much less experience first hand!

Nonetheless, most of what I learned at CYC is knowledge I want to pass on to the next generation. In fact, much of who I am today stems from my experiences at CYC. Much of what I do today, the things I am passionate about, I learned from CYC.

I learned to love people at CYC. Most any chronic CYC alumni could talk tenderly about the relationships they built at CYC. By “chronic,” I mean those who came for more than one week one year. For most of us “CYC-chronics,” the relationships built there were like family. We ate together, played together, fought together, prayed together, worshiped together, cried together, laughed together…we did life together! Undoubtedly, the relationships I built at CYC are life-long relationships. When I see those people or hear their names, I feel an immediate, positive bond.

After growing up and getting involved in Church leadership, I became a student of church structures. My favorite is the cell-based church structure. The cell-based structure assimilates the larger congregation into smaller units. This plan insures no one falls through the proverbial “cracks.” These smaller groupings “do life” together. Together these smaller units make up a collective whole, much like cabins make up CYC. Often when I talk to people about the power of small groups, I use my experiences at CYC to illustrate. CYC taught me to love people and “do life” with them.

I also learned to love the Church at CYC. I learned there are reserved churches, wild churches, conservative churches, aggressive churches. Churches have different styles of music, preaching, programs, and ways of doing things. Somehow, even with all that diversity, we were a collective Church, the Body of Christ, at CYC.

People came from all over. I learned there were some not-so-nice people in the Church, but there were also some of the best people in the world in the Church. These people were “the salt of the earth” kind of folks. Some of my greatest hurts in life have been connected with church people. HOWEVER, some of the greatest joys of my life have been connected to church people as well. Can you relate?

CYC instilled a love for the church so strong in me that I have given my life to help build the church. In 1986 on Tuesday night of Campmeeting, I accepted God’s call to full-time Christian service. That night I dedicated my life to building the church. My undergraduate education centered on this commitment. The past fourteen years of my life have been in full-time ministry. My passion for the church drove me to get a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership. Now, much of my time is spent consulting with other churches as well as leading San-Lee Chapel. I love the Church and desperately want to see the church thrive!

CYC taught me to love God, without doubt the greatest value and lesson I learned from CYC. If you polled the vast alumni, undoubtedly many would say CYC greatly influenced their Christian pilgrimage. Countless people will not go to hell, but rather go to heaven, because God used and anointed CYC’s ministry.

When I think of my “first works” or my formative years as a Christian, I think of CYC. At CYC, I committed my life to Christ. There God sanctified me and filled me with the Holy Spirit. When someone asks me to describe intimate times with God, occasions at CYC frequently surface. I still remember those experiences, they are as real to me today as when I first experienced them. My Christian journey now builds on those formative experiences as an infant Christian. Those experiences have impacted and are impacting my life beyond words.

At CYC I learned to love people, the Church, and God. Did you notice the operative word? It is love. If I could sum up what CYC was about for me, I would use the word love. Why else would people have made the sacrifices they made for kids like me? Why else would a camp tucked away in eastern North Carolina impact so many? At CYC I felt loved.

Thus, the loving people make CYC great. It is not the horses, the pool, the games, the pranks, or the property. One winter day a CYC alumnus who had strayed from God and who wanted to return dropped by the house. He said, “I
am going down to the camp to re-connect with God. I want to go there because I think God kind of lives there. I know I will feel different if I get there.” A few minutes later, he returned disappointed. He said, “Man, without the people there, it just seems like a deserted old camp. It was kind of spooky!” Yes, the loving people make CYC great.

Love has a magnetic power that can change lives. I am grateful for those who demonstrated love towards me at CYC. But most of all, I will be eternally grateful for all those who allowed their lives to be a conduit of God’s love. I am better because of their loving Christian obedience and sacrifice.

By by Clara & Errett Marshburn
-From the May 2007 Messenger Publication

CLARA-
It all began in the summer of 1973 for me......But let’s take a moment to look back to what brought me to my decision.

I was born and raised in the family of Rev. Bobby Penny in the little town of Beulaville, NC. My dad was a minister of the gospel, so all of us kids spent many a day, all day long, in the church. We would travel to many various churches with our Dad as he ministered the Word of God. I can remember some of those churches very well. I remember going to New Light in Bladenboro. I remember well the first time my Dad preached in a black church. We had to sit on the front row so Dad could keep an eye on us. It was amazing to watch the people worship God there. My home church was Piney Grove church in Beulaville. Watching those wonderful saints worship God and hearing their testimonies of what God had done in their lives were the experiences that shaped my life and prepared me for my ministry.

During my teen years and early adult life, I chose to go my own way--until the summer of 1969. God revealed Himself to me and showed me I would be lost completely if I didn’t choose to follow Him. I made my choice in July of that year to follow God by repenting of my sins and asking for forgiveness. I was baptized in December of that same year. Upon making my decision, I began to seek God, asking where He wanted me to work for Him. Learning about the need for counselors at Youth Camp, I decided to be a counselor in the summer of 1973 to see if this was where God wanted to use me. I was completely hooked. My heart was caught in ministering to the children. I believe the greatest ministry anyone can do is to teach children the Word of God. I didn’t want to be just an ordinary Christian as I told God many times. God put a strong desire in my heart to make a difference in other people’s lives. So, I have continued to attend camp because God ordered my steps and placed me there to make a difference. I am committed to continue for as long as I have strength, because I love my Lord Jesus Christ. I tried to stop a couple of years ago, but I was not content. I felt like something was missing in my life. I went back the very next year.

Even now, I am amazed at the love God showed me. He loved me when I didn’t love Him. He came to me when I was not seeking Him; and I want to show that love to others. Because our children are our inheritance from God, we must value them and show them how important they are to us and to God. God instructed His people to teach their children. In Deuteronomy 6: 5-7 God said: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Thus God has commanded us to teach the children in our homes as well as in the streets. Crusader Youth Camp is a great opportunity to minister unto our Lord by teaching His Word to the children. My husband, Rev. Errett Marshburn, was saved in 1970. In 1976, we went to camp as a family. That became a ministry for us. We took our family with us and continued that ministry through the years. Our children grew up at the camp, and later became ministers themselves. Errett Marshburn Jr., Angela Marshburn Buchanan and Jeff Marshburn worked as assistant directors for several years. I said that, to show that we passed the torch down to our kids by taking them with us to camp every year. There they grew in their relationship with God, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and learned to be servants. It is vital to set an example before your children and all other children that God puts in your path.

ERRETT-
My first year as a counselor at CYC was one of the hardest weeks I have ever experienced. I had a cabin of fourteen boys by myself. I also took the responsibility of organizing and implementing all the outside activities, softball, basketball, horseshoes, etc. I was so exhausted by the end of the week that I kept falling asleep while driving home. I declared to my wife that I would never return to camp again. But as the following camp season approached, I felt a stirring in my spirit to get away from the general hubbub of life and to minister to the kids at camp again. That year I learned how to say no and pace myself. It was a wonderful week, and I returned each year for approximately thirty years.

CYC, in my opinion is the greatest ministry of the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. There is always a heavy anointing of God’s Holy Spirit on the camp. Some weeks several days will go by with no outward evidence of anything spiritual taking place. Then as in Acts 2:2 “suddenly” there will be a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit. Kids and counselors gather at the altar, weeping and crying out to God in life changing experiences.

It would be inspiring to know how many ministers received their call, how many married couples met, how many drug addicts delivered, how many souls saved, how many believers sanctified, how many camp counselors filled with the Holy Spirit during all the camp seasons so far?

I encourage men and women to pray and to seek God’s direction about giving a week of the summer to minister to young people. It will not only make a difference in their lives, it will make a difference in your life.

By by Lynette & Danny Taylor
-From the May 2007 Messenger Publication

LYNETTE-
Danny and I believe that Crusader Youth Camp is a vital ministry. We have both been involved in camp for years in some way or another. I started attending camp when I was eight years old and attended as a camper for eight years after that. When I was between fifteen and sixteen years old, I met Danny at camp and we became friends. At the time we met, I was dating someone else. I guess you could call it dating since I was only fifteen. I believe the correct term these days is “talking to someone else.” As a matter of fact, during camp meeting that year we double-dated, I with this other fellow and Danny with a friend of mine. About a year later, he became more than a friend, and we began dating. Danny just happened to show up at the New Zealand Church in Benson where my father was pastoring. Daddy invited him to speak that morning, and I invited him to stay for lunch. Afterwards, he played softball with our youth group; and believe it or not, so did I. For those of you at camp who never see me participate in sports, I did play softball at one time. Our first date was the next Friday night and we attended the banquet at camp since Danny was a counselor that week. And, of course, we have attended many banquets since then. I truly believe God’s divine purpose for us was to bring Danny and me together. He used the ministry at camp to accomplish that purpose. Since Danny lived in Angier and I lived in Beulaville, it is likely we would not have met otherwise.

Danny continues to attend camp and has throughout our marriage. Both he and our son, Jonathan, work at the camp every summer. Some folks wonder how I can deal with their being gone all summer; but because we all believe in
the ministry of camp so strongly, it is not really a problem for us. Some say I enjoy it because I have the house all to myself. That is not a bad thing, but the truth is that I see how much of a ministry this is to Danny and to Jonathan.
I would not do anything to stop them from being involved.

In fact, I enjoy visiting with them. I have often said there is nothing more relaxing after a long day at work than to drive to camp, to listen to the praise band play during the altar services, and watch the young people and the camp staff pray. Jennifer, our daughter, and I have always enjoyed this part of camp thoroughly. Although she is married now and cannot go with me as often, it is still a blessing to both of us. You can see how God is working in these young lives, and I can see how God is using my family along with the other CYC staff to minister to them. It is truly one of the most rewarding ministries there is. I see camp as a wonderful place to build relationships, not only the kind of relationship we found, but many others too. I have many friends that I met at camp as a camper and as “Danny’s wife.” These people have had a great impact on my life. There is a sort of “family feeling” at camp that is spiritually encouraging and uplifting. Even though we do not see each other throughout the year, it is exciting to see each other every summer. It builds a support system that encourages the campers and the staff members as they return home to continue God’s work. I would not trade this part of my life, and I am genuinely thankful that this is the direction God has sent my family in.

DANNY–
I first met my wife at camp. The odd thing is that she was seeing someone else at the time. It was not until later that we seemed to connect. As we all know, relationships have their ups and downs. Ours was no different. We have
always tried to work through every hardship together. I think that camp can be a place to meet people who become friends for life. My wife and I have always tried to put God first in all that we do. As a pastor’s family, we have experienced that many battles have made us better people and parents. Lynette and I feel that the ministry we do at camp is just the ministry God has placed in our lives at this time.

At camp you build relationships when you are playing basketball, ping pong, or around the altars at nightly services. I have met innumerable people, young and old alike, that have had an impact on my life. We have shared so much. Some of the relationships have happened just because I would listen to the campers or staff. Often people just need someone to listen to all their problems and not complain. God has blessed me with knowing and sharing with hundreds of people that I might not otherwise have met. A lot of these people have become friends for life. What a blessing it has been to see young people blessed by God, called into a ministry and adults who have been blessed so greatly.

I could not have done anything in my ministry here at camp without the support of my wife. She has been my rock. We sometimes jokingly say, “Lynette has six weeks of single life.” I am so blessed to have someone who always understands and accepts my ministry at camp. She has gladly given up some summer vacations and family times so I could work there.

Through my relationships and friendships at camp and beyond, I have been made a better person. My wife and I have been blessed by these many friendships and relationships that have been formed over the years. It has made us stronger in our own relationship.