Engage Truth Student Summer Camp 2024

Registration is NOW Open!

Camp Information email

You must arrange your own travel/drop-off plans for your student for camp

Drop off & Pick-up Times: 

• Check-in/Drop-off: Check in starts at Sunday, June 23rd, 1pm at the Aspendale Chapel until dinner at 5pm. (campers turn in phones.

• Pick up: Make plans to pick up your student(s) by Friday, June 28th, at Aspendale around 3:30-4:15pm

• Travel is up to you: You will need to organize travel plans with your family or church group yourself. Engage doesn't currently have vans to transport students up from our home area (El Paso) to camp. 

• Address: Aspendale Mountain Retreat Center, 163 Pierce Canyon Rd, Cloudcroft, NM 88317

  • We recommend taking the Cox Canyon Hwy route and NOT taking the Sunspot Hwy.

• Didn't receive the camp final reminder email? Reach out to our secretary via email here: hannahmastriani@yahoo.com

Click here to pay off the rest of your camper or staff account

Register Camper

Camp Staff Application

Camp Memory Verses, Catechism & Awards

Give to Camp Scholarship Fund

Counselor Job description

Packing List

Camp Rules

Fun Activities at Camp

Why the Engage Truth Camp?

Key to a successful Christian camp

Click on the Camp promo video here or on the picture below:

This page will be the main hub for updates about our camp schedule, speaker and staff training! Stay tuned! More info coming soon!

• Where: Aspendale Mountain Retreat Center

• Staff Cost: $100

• Total Camper cost: $320 (Deposit of $50)

• Camp Scholarship fund: If you would like to give to our Scholarship fund to help send other campers or staff to camp, click here. Make payments for camp: ***preferred options are the first two with no processing fees:

1. Check: Mail a Check to Engage Truth Ministries. P.O. Box #12523, El Paso, Tx 79913

2. Zelle: Give to Engage via Zelle by typing in Caleb's email: caleb.harrelson@yahoo.com

3. Pay Online (includes a processing fee): click here.

• Business Sponsorship: If your business would like to sponsor camp, click here.
  

• Camp Schedule: click here

• Guest camp class teachers: Monique Duson & Krista Bontrager with the Center for Biblical Unity and Kathy Gibbens from the Filter it through a Brain Cell show. Staff Training Dates:
  

  • Training #1: Sat, March 2nd, 10am-1pm at Coronado Baptist.

  • Training #2: Sat, April 27th, 9am-1pm, Sun City Church

  • Training #3: Sat, May 25th at Park Hills Church

  • Staff required reading: the Holiness of God, Faithfully Different, & Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age.

    • All Group staff Trainings are complete by this point. Any last minute staff that come on board will need to set up a meeting with Caleb or Jason.
      

Camp Schedule:

Sunday

•  1-5pm- Check in at Aspendale at the Chapel (Free time until dinner)

  • Sign up for team sports (free time everyday) & paintballing during registration. Then go play outside games until Dinner!

• 5pm- Dinner  

• 6pm- worship- "Chaos to Clarity" Caleb Harrelson  (chapel) 1 Peter 1:13-16

• 7pm- evening activity & counselor skit (team building with camp teams)  

• 8:30pm- camp devotional activity (chapel)-

  • Worship & Pilgrims Progress Skit- Leaving the City of destruction

• 9:15pm- Group Cabin discussion time 

• 10:30m- lights out  (Pre-teens lights out by 10pm)
  

Monday

• 7am- wake up bell  

• 7:30am- morning calisthenics & morning devotional & Catechism  

• 7:45am-Meet in the chapel- Worship song & announcements

• 8:00- Breakfast  

• 9am- Morning class (age specific classes)*

• 10:30- Challenge courses rotation (ropes course, archery, zip line, etc)

• 12- Lunch  (chapel first- goofy songs before lunch)

• 1- Rest time for everyone in cabins  

• 2- Special topics class rotation 

  • Pre-teens: Worldview Academy student presentation (Ashley A.)

  • Middle School: Worldview Academy Student presentation (Ruth)

  • High School: Creation Hike with Charlie W.

• 3:15- Free Rec- Team sports, paintballing, crafts or board games.

• 5- Dinner (meet in chapel first)  

• 6- Worship- Preacher: Juan Briones (1 Peter 1: 3-12 )

  • Pilgrims Progress Skit at the beg. of worship- "Vanity Fair"

• 7:15 pm- Evening Fun activity- Talent Show  (canteen open before it starts)

• 8- Evening Devotional- Start at chapel & then end at the campfire around 8:45pm for S'mores (extended worship time reflecting on the character of God)

• 9- Cabin discussion 

• 10:30- lights out (pre-teen students light out around 10pm)

Tuesday

• 7am- wake up bell  

• 7:30am- morning calisthenics & morning devotional & Catechism  

• 7:45am-Meet in the chapel- Worship song & announcements

• 8:00- Breakfast  

• 9am- Morning class (age specific classes)*

• 10:30- Challenge courses rotation

• 12- Lunch  (chapel first)

• 1- Rest time for everyone in cabins  

• 2- Special topics class rotation

  • Pre-teens: Free Time or Crafts

  • Middle School: Creation hike with Charlie W.

  • High School: Worldview Academy Presentation (Zeke A)

• 3:15- Free Rec- Team sports, paintballing, crafts or board games.

  • "Wild West" Game (mid-high school)

• 5- Dinner (meet in chapel first)  

• 6- Worship- "In His Image" Preaching- Charlie Wolcott (1 Peter 1:13- 25)

• 7 pm- Evening Fun activity- Cabin Skit Night  

  • "The message" by Drama team)

• 8- Evening Movie (separate movie for younger students)***

  • Pre-teens: Watching Pilgrims Progress

  • Teens: In His Image Movie

• 9:45-

  • Cabin discussion on movie (preteens)

  • 10:15pm- lights out (preteens) 

• 10:30pm- teen cabin discussion on In His Image movie

• 11- lights out (teens)

Wednesday

• 7am- wake up bell  

• 7:30am- morning calisthenics & morning devotional & Catechism  

• 7:45am-Meet in the chapel- Worship song & announcements

• 8:00- Breakfast  

• 9am- Morning class (age specific classes)*

  • Foundation Worldview

  • Mid School Class

  • High school class (gender specific)

• 10:30- Challenge courses rotation

• 12- Lunch  (chapel first)

• 1- Rest time for everyone in cabins  

• 2- Special topics class rotation

  • Preteens: Creation hike with Charlie

  • Mid- High School: Kathy Gibbens- Critical thinking & Identifying Progressive fallacies on identity

• 3:15- Free Time- Team sports, paintballing, crafts or board games.
  

• 5- Dinner (meet in chapel first)  

• 6- Worship- Drew Cook Preaching (1 Peter 2:1-12)

• 7 pm- Evening Fun activity- Kangaroo court (canteen)

• 8- Evening Devotional

  • 8pm- Pilgrim's Progress Skit (doubting castle)

  • 8:15pm-

    • Pre-teen: "Hidden in Christ" scripture walk

    • Mid-High School- Fallacy of Idolatry w/ Kathy Gibbens

  • 8:30pm-

    • Teens: Pilgrims Progress hike with backpacks

      • All end up at the campfire for worship and reflection

• 9:30- Cabin discussion 

• 10:30- lights out (pre-teen students light out around 10pm)

Thursday

• 7am- wake up bell  

• 7:30am- morning calisthenics & morning devotional & Catechism  

• 7:45am-Meet in the chapel- Worship song & announcements

• 8:00- Breakfast  

• 9am- Morning class (age specific classes)*

  • Preteens- Foundation worldview

  • Mid-High school- Krista Bontrager- Defining Biblical Justice

• 10:30- Challenge courses rotation

• 12- Lunch  (chapel first)

• 1- Rest time for everyone in cabins  (awards discussion with staff)

• 2- Special topics class rotation

  • Mid-High School: "Secular social justice vs. Biblical Justice" (Monique Duson)

  • Preteens: Free-play or Crafts

• 3:15- Free Rec- Team sports, paintballing, crafts or board games.

  • Staff vs. Campers Vball game!

• 5- Dinner (meet in chapel first)  

• 6- Worship- Matthew Mitchell preaching (1 Peter 3:8-17)

  • Beg of Worship- Pilgrim's Progress: "The Gates of Heaven."

• 7:15 pm- Evening Fun activity- Awards (canteen before)

• 8- Evening Devotional- Testimonies

• 9- Cabin discussion

• 10:30- lights out (pre-teen students light out around 10pm)

Friday

• 7am- wake up bell  

• 7:30am- morning calisthenics & morning devotional & Catechism  

• 7:45am-Meet in the chapel- Worship song & announcements

• 8:00- Breakfast  

• 9am- Morning class

  • Pre-Teen: Foundation Worldview

  • Middle-High School: Monique & Krista

• 10:30- Challenge courses rotation

• 12- Lunch  (meet at chapel first)- lunch discussion with your cabin groups

• 1- Worship - Preacher Jason Kerns (1 Peter 4:1-19)

• 2:30pm- Clean up

• 4pm- Pick up your student to go home.

Daily Camp Themes & Curriculum:

Note on Core Class Curriculum:

• Mid-High school Curriculum: Written by our Camp director and Engage President, Caleb Harrelson, with the aid of other camp staff members and our staff required reading books (see above).

• Pre-Teens (9-12 yo): These campers will have age appropriate material (using the Foundation Worldview Curriculum) and an earlier bedtime at camp than our mid-high school campers. Daily Camp Schedule coming soon.

Introductory Remarks:

In our cultural moment, the stats show that only 4% of Gen Z has a Biblical Worldview and a large number of students are deconstructing their faith. On top of that, Christian morals, much like in the early church, are now seen as being hateful to humanity. Like the Old Testament prophet Daniel, we must learn to be faithful to our Lord in a Babylonian-like culture. We must learn to be Faithfully Different. Navigating our culture as ambassadors of Christ means we must be willing to address the cultural idols with Biblical clarity and faithful living. Today, our unbelieving world is not only asking whether Christianity is true, they are asking whether Christianity is even good for society. As faithful Ambassadors of Christ, we MUST respond by equipping the next generation to stand firm on God's unchanging Word and how to effectively share the life giving message of the gospel to a confused culture.

Campers and Staff will both be equipped to tackle questions like...

• how the gospel must be central to change our nation

• Defining Biblical justice vs secular justice

• Defining Biblical love vs. the secular definition

• What it means to be made in God's image & love the body God gave you

• Finding our identity in Christ alone and not in what we do or feel and identifying counterfeit gods (sports, job, relationships, LGBT identities, etc.)

• How Christianity is good for the world and human flourishing.

• The necessity of being committed to the Body of Christ in our witness to the world.

Daily Camp Themes:

• Sunday- Cultural chaos vs Biblical Clarity

  • Brief Description: Students will reflect on how culture is aggressively trying to get Christians to compromise, deconstruct, or redefine terms (i.e. love, justice, oppression) instead of being faithful to God. How can we respond like Daniel? We must first reflect on God's Glory in the gospel and his unchanging Word to move forward.

• Monday- Who is God?

  • Brief Description: Students we dive into the Holy Love, justice and mercy of God. Questions about the justice of God in the OT and NT will be answered by looking at the Character of God.

• Tuesday- Made in His Image

  • Brief Description: Students will grapple with what it means to be made in the Image of God and identifying false narratives about what it means to be a human (evolution, secular humanism, new age, expressive individualism).

• Wednesday- In Christ Alone

  • Brief Description: Students will be challenged to build their identity on Christ alone and reject any counterfeit gods that they might be building their lives around (sports, attractions, feelings, friends, music, etc.).

• Thursday- Why Christianity is good for society

  • Brief Description: Students will hear testimonies and learn about how the Biblical worldview has shaped nations that have a love for human rights and justice. In short: they will learn WHY Biblical morality is not only good for the world, it is the best option for human flourishing.

• Friday: This is the Way

  • Brief Description: Students will learn about the value of loving and being committed to the body of Christ and practical ways they can use their gifts to strengthen their local churches. Key Staff Positions:

    • Camp Director: Caleb Harrelson

    • Assistant Director: Jason Kerns

    • Registration & Hospitality: Hannah Mastriani & Sonia Ayala

    • Aspendale Caretaker: Jim Petit

    • Nurse: TBA soon

    • Head Boys Counselor: Juan Briones

    • Head girls Counselor: Karen Luse

    • Worship Leader: Oscar Alderete

    • Staff kid childcare: TBA

    • Videographer: Michael Head

    • A/V: TBA

    • Activities Director: Laura Harrington

      • Assistants: Hiram Samaniego & Ken V.

    • Preachers: Caleb H. Juan. Charlie, Drew Cook, Matthew, Jason Kerns

    • Age specific teachers

      • High School Guys: Caleb H.

      • High School Girls: Kendra H.

      • Mid School Guy: Matthew Mitchell

      • Mid School Girls: Kimberly Mathis

      • Pre-Teen Boys: Juan Briones

      • Pre-Teen Girls: Annette Vanderzwan

    • Guest Teachers:

      • Kathy Gibbens (Filter it Through a Brain Cell)

      • Monique Duson & Krista Bontrager (Center for Biblical Unity)
        

Downloadable Promo fliers:

Kid friendly flier:

Engage Camp kid flier 2024.pdf

Download PDF • 706KB

Teen Friendly Flier (ropes course in the background)

Engage Camp flier 2024 (5.18 x 8.22 in) (2).pdf

Download PDF • 530KB

Youth Engage Camp flier 2024 (1).pdf

Download PDF • 1.06MB

More camp info on the schedule, special games/activities, and special topics in apologetics coming soon....