Every summer, we hear inspiring stories from our team members about how God was at work in and through them throughout their season. There are more stories than we could ever possibly share, but we wanted to highlight a few for you to read! Thank you for making the 2024 summer ministry season possible through your ongoing prayers and support!
“I planned to go outside to write my message for Sunday. I sat down at a nice lookout, but 15 minutes later, it began to rain. I went into the lodge and sat down to keep writing. There were three older gentlemen sitting nearby talking. They invited me to join after I smiled at a joke they made very loudly. I joined them and proceeded to converse for the next 4 hours. The conversation turned to faith and they asked for insight on spiritual challenges they each had. We all left the conversation at midnight with everyone completely in awe of how much of a God situation it was as we all had come in there out of mixed up plans.” – Shannon
“Last night I had an older man who stopped by the concierge desk pretty late in the evening. He and his wife were visiting the lodge in celebration of their anniversary which was coming up. He was so proud of the fact that he and his wife were celebrating their 50th year of marriage. And he had every right to be, because that’s amazing! This old man was oh so friendly. I never even got his name, but it didn’t matter. He was coming up to the desk to ask about any worship services nearby, and boy did he come to the right person! We told him about the services in the Arrow Room and his jaw dropped a little bit. He started to tear up and cry in front of us, and he held up his finger to indicate that he needed a second. When he had composed himself a little, he told us that he and his wife had been married in the Arrow, that same room we do worship in. He started tearing up again and explained to us that it’s the most beautiful fulfillment of their marriage, realizing that the room he got married in is now used by young people to lead worship services in the park. And we told him we’d love to see him. And he and his wife came in the morning, and they sang their hearts out in their worship to the Lord. They stayed afterwards to talk for a bit, saying that there was no greater way for them to celebrate their anniversary than in the same room they were married in, 50 years later, worshipping their Savior and King. They each gave us a hug before they left, and I was in awe for awhile at how faithful God is across generations. It was such a touching moment for everyone involved, and I’m so glad that God put this husband and wife together and into our path! It was a beautiful Sunday morning.” – Grace
“One of the LeConte Crew members had been very closed off to me most of the summer; she wouldn’t even tell me where she was from when I asked my first week on the mountain. Although she has been softening up over the summer, I don’t know much about her, nor have I gotten to know her story. I suspect she has been hurt (possibly by Christians, as evidenced by the fact that she asked the manager that the group stop praying together before Sunday family crew lunch because she didn’t feel “safe”). I didn’t take her distance personally; I was mainly curious about what had happened to her and how she might have been hurt. And, of course, I wanted her to know the love of Jesus. She quit her job on the crew suddenly this past week, but I was able to see her on Sunday when she and her sister hiked up to gather her things. Much to my surprise, she gave me a huge hug and proceeded to tell me that she really likes me and to explain briefly that she just puts up walls because she has to with people. She wants to keep in touch and even go hiking together. Praise God for showing me that I don’t have to win anyone over (to liking me or liking Jesus). I just get to show up and consistently serve and be loving to those he puts in my path.” – 2024 Ministry Team Member
“In my previous job, I consistently tried combining ministry and work, particularly as a national sales manager. However, I faced constant attacks. As a manager, I had to make tough decisions, but my desire to live like Christ often conflicted with these demands. My manager accused me of being unprofessional and making the business a charity. They criticized my attempts to protect employees and my reluctance to make harsh decisions such as layoffs or severe penalties. However, an opportunity arose through ACMNP through my work as a front desk clerk, allowing me to live my dream. While this role may not have been as challenging as a sales manager position, it presented unique difficulties. The job required me to interact with and satisfy many hotel guests, ensuring their comfort and happiness. It was demanding work, involving checking in 250 to 300 guests daily and responding to their inquiries and requests with kindness, humor, and humility, even when faced with rude or demanding customers. With such a heavy workload, my colleagues and I made many mistakes. Despite this, I decided to live out my Christian faith in the workplace, something I had struggled with in my previous job. I did this by admitting my mistakes, accepting my weaknesses, mentoring my colleagues, helping them correct their mistakes without escalating issues to management, and using every opportunity to share the message of Christ. I also taught them about Christian principles like love and giving. Surprisingly, I was recognized and rewarded three times during my three months of work. People often asked me about my peace, humility, love, and ability to overlook others’ mistakes. I always replied that I was a Christian and was doing what I had learned from my master. A coworker was wondering why I hold a PhD in Business Administration and accepted a front desk job. I wanted to shout out that if this is the way for God to be glorified, “But whatever gains were to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” – Sameh
“Today at our campground service we had a campground guest bring his own guitar and offer to play for us! Neither Bright nor I were able to play guitar, so we’ve been using a speaker to play our worship songs each week. There’s something about live music though that connects people and brings them together. And so, when this man came up and offered to play, we were so excited! We changed the songs we were planning to sing to the ones that he knew how to play. We invited him to stand up front with us, and he led us beautifully through our worship. Just this past Sunday our message was about using our gifts. This man wasn’t here for that message, but he lived it out so well! It was a cool connection for us as a team, but it was also a wonderful example of what it looks like to come as you are, to bring the skills and gifts that you have in order to benefit the body of Christ. It was a bold thing for this man to do! The confidence he had in the sharing of his gifts was a lesson I’ll bring with me, that it doesn’t have to be scary to offer up our talents, and that it can instead bring people together in a beautiful way.” – Grace
“Our last Bible study together as a whole team the previous week, we ended up having to move the Bible study to a location in the dorm where a lot of people pass through. There has been one Romanian friend of mine, Marius, that has seemed interested in the Bible and our studies but hasn’t been able to come everytime I’ve invited him. He happened to be passing through and actually was excited to come and join. He was asking many questions and was commenting on how deep this all was. We prayed with him and he seemed interested to get a Bible of his own. This was such a clear answer to prayer, and if the ministry could please pray for his heart to be ready to pursue God, he seems like he’s waiting for something.” – Shaylan
“There was a coworker of ours that I met at my first campfire and from that very moment I knew that God was going to be up to something over the course of the summer. I was afforded the opportunity to take a class about some very specific philosophers this spring and it was grueling––needless to say, I thought I would never have to think about them again. Flash forward to the aforementioned campfire and, yep, you guessed it, we ended up talking about those exact philosophers. The coworker’s name was Cameron, and Cameron had somehow decided to go to his first church service ever before coming up to Kings Canyon. He was seeking God and you could tell he was developing in his beliefs; he started out with some very interesting (and conversation-worthy) beliefs about the faith, but, by the end of the summer, he was someone I would consider within the fold of Christianity, a believer, a follower of Jesus (aside from baptism). That being said, it was first and foremost the work of the Spirit in his life that brought Cameron closer to God, but it was also the long and drawn out campfire and book study conversations, the runs to Hume lake, the spontaneous hang outs on the lodge porch, and the one service he did come to (his kitchen schedule was not kind to him) that helped him get to some more solid beliefs about Christ. He is absolutely someone I want to keep in touch with and see how God continues to work in/with/through.” – Colin
“One Sunday, I had a man walk up and ask me what I was hosting at the amphitheater. I told him about the service, and he said he’d be right back. He came back a few minutes later with his fourteen-year-old daughter and asked if he could leave her with me for the hour. She shared how she was hungry for the word, for Jesus, and how her family was not Christian. We got to talk for a while, read scripture, and talk about questions she had. This challenged me because there were some questions I had to think hard about myself! She kept saying, “I don’t know much,” and I shared that I’m still learning too, but that’s the beauty of it. We worked through things together, both left with questions to dive deeper into, and prayed together. God had his hand on both of us that day.” – Anna
The Lord said, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Attend a worship service in a park
during your next vacation