PHOTO: JONNY HAYASAKA
Northern California Conference
PHOTO: SAMUEL D’AUTRUCHE
While sheltering together for six weeks, the Summer on the Run team produces 15 fun and inspiring videos for kids.
NCC Summer Ministries Make an Impact
By Julie Lorenz and Laurie Trujillo
Northern California Conference summer ministries looked very different this year, but the Holy Spirit continued to use them to touch hearts and impact lives. Summer on the Run Beginning in the summer of 2018, the Summer on the Run team has taken its mobile day camp program to a number of churches and Redwood Camp Meeting, but this year they faced a whole new challenge. “Our mission was to provide the best camp experience we could from a distance and to broadcast the fun, energy, and excitement that we would bring in person,” said team member Samuel D’Autruche, Pacific Union College senior. The group created 15 videos and released three per week on their Facebook page and YouTube channel, “Summer on the Run.” The videos feature the best parts of day camp—music, crafts, nature, skits, and spiritual lessons. Each episode has a theme such as bullying, anxiety, or equality. By early August, the Summer on the Run videos had been viewed more than 1,300 times. Youth Director Eddie Heinrich and
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the team created the videos over the course of six weeks while they sheltered in place together at Chico Oaks Adventist School and the Chico church. The group included nine high school and college students, as well as Heinrich's wife, Tammy; Lodi Academy chaplain and Bible teacher Janeen Little; and several family members. Although they didn’t have previous experience producing videos, the team quickly learned new skills as they wrote scripts, built sets, filmed, and edited. “When they realized we couldn’t do the ministry we’d been planning, they wouldn’t give up,” said Heinrich. “You couldn’t ask for a better group of young people.” Redwood Camp Meeting While they missed gathering under the trees by the Eel River, many longtime Redwood campers received a blessing from virtual Redwood Camp Meeting.
The 44 videos on the YouTube channel, “Redwood Area Campmeeting,” were viewed 4,000 times during the first weekend they were posted. “The videos gave people a way to feel that they were still part of the Redwood family,” said Harry Salvini, Redwood Area Camp director. “People were so grateful for the connection. We received emotional calls, emails, and messages on Facebook.” Arcata McKinleyville church member Betty Newman summed up the feelings of many. “We missed everything about camp meeting,
