CAMP JOY 2025: Repairing Homes, Changing Lives, and Rooted in God's Love
By Pastor Becki Wessinger
Christian Appalachian Mission Project – Joining Other Youth, affectionately known as CAMP JOY, celebrated its 34th year of boots on the ground mission work in tri-state region of Appalachia encompassing Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Six churches (Hancock UMC, Hancock, MD; Hiss UMC, Parkville, MD; Hollywood UMC, Hollywood, MD; St. Matthew Presbyterian, Silver Spring, MD; Emory UMC, Street, MD; and St. John’s Norwood, Chevy Chase, MD) provided 11 youth work teams to repair 27 homes. Work included repairing and building steps, ramps, decks, and railings, as well as painting, replacing windows and doors, and repairing leaking roofs. More than just repairing homes, this mission ministry provided an immersive, transformative service experience for youth and their leaders. CAMP JOY 2025 included first-timers and those who returned to CAMP JOY as youth leaders who participated in CAMP JOY when they were teens.
Our theme this year was Rooted in Love, from the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus. “…And I pray that, rooted and grounded in love, you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints its breadth and length and height and depth, and know Christ’s love even though it is beyond knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” All that we do through CAMP JOY is rooted in God’s love for us, and in turn, we demonstrate God’s love through our interactions with the homeowners, each other, and the community at large.
Relationships are formed with one another and the homeowners the teams serve; stories are shared, and the love of God is experienced. We see the smiles on the tired faces of the work teams and on the faces of the homeowners when a project is complete, knowing that they will be a little safer, a little warmer, and/or even a little drier.
The youth groups camp in tents at the beautiful Camp Harmison in Berkeley Springs, WV. The days begin with the sun rising over the mountains and breakfast cooked/served by the ministry team. The work teams gather and pray before heading out to their worksites. Each evening, the work teams are fed by different churches in the region.
Vesper services are held each evening at God’s Open Window, a peaceful outdoor chapel, which include the youth leading spirit-filled singing, a time of prayer and devotion, as well as reflection on the day, and sharing of where they saw God present and at work. Vespers on Friday is held around a bonfire, and all who participate in CAMP JOY are invited to share how this experience has impacted them. Friday evening is a time of powerful testimony to God’s transformative power and love.
CAMP JOY 2026 is scheduled for July 12-18.
CAMP JOY is a mission ministry of the Hancock United Methodist Church. For more information on how you, your youth, and/or your church can participate, please contact Pastor Becki Wessinger at or 301-678-6440.