Huntersville, NC Camp

Salkehatchie Summer Service
Comes to North Carolina

This article which originally appeared in the North Carolina Advocate, was written by Rev. Monica Humpal, Children and Family Minister at Huntersville United Methodist Church and Salkehatchie attendee and supporter for 8 years.

Salkehatchie Summer Service, a South Carolina based youth mission program, made its debut at Huntersville United Methodist Church during the week of July 19-26. Twenty-two youth and seventeen adults participated in this camp and worked on four Huntersville homes.

Salkehatchie Summer Service was the vision of United Methodist minister Rev. John Culp over 25 years ago. As a rural South Carolina pastor, he ministered to many families who lived in dilapidated homes just minutes from his church. The youth in his congregation felt as he did that something needed to be done about the conditions their neighbors were living in and hence Salkehatchie Summer Service was born. Now, over 25 years later, the South Carolina Conference sponsors over 30 campsites all over the state and thousands of youth work on hundreds of houses each summer.

This camp offers youth and adults the opportunity to spend a week doing major repair work to homes in desperate need of roof repair, floor and wall restructuring, painting, plumbing, and even some electrical work. Youth not only make decks, porches, add additions to homes, and put a bathroom where there was none, but they also spend the entire week on one home and have the valuable opportunity to build a relationship with the family who lives there. To that family, these young people are exemplifying Christ by giving them hope that no one else would. Each evening the youth and adults have devotional time and are invited to share some of the experiences they have encountered that day and each evening is pastor led with Scripture, prayer, and music. The relationships that form over the week between the campers and the families are irreplaceable and help the kids expand their faith as well as special relationships. After the week ends, the campers are sad to go but are filled with the love of Christ and the desire to continue to help others in their communities.

The Huntersville Camp had United Methodist youth groups from Pennsylvania, Durham, and China Grove as well as adults from around the Huntersville area and from Huntersville United Methodist Church who were willing to lend a hand. Lowe’s was very generous in their discounted building supplies as was local building contractors in their time and labor. A Lowe’s representative was so curious about what the camp was doing that she came by to see for herself and ended up volunteering for next years camp! The children who attended the Huntersville UMC Vacation Bible School donated many items for the camp and the Western North Carolina Conference was very generous in their financial assistance.

Salkehatchie Summer Service is now an annual event at Huntersville United Methodist Church and we hope to make it an annual event at other United Methodist Churches around North Carolina. Our dream is to see thirty camps in North Carolina in 10 years! If your church is interested in learning more about this mission camp please contact Rev. Monica Humpal at 704-875-1156 or monica@huntersvilleumc.org.