Reflecting on 2024: Stories of Transformation and Hope

During this Thanksgiving season and with Christmas and year end coming up soon, we want to thank you once more for letting yourself be used. You are an important part of God’s team! And it is such a joy to serve Him together.

With more reports coming in since we last wrote to you, it now looks like indeed we had more than 10,000 kids in mostly summer camps. (Of course there are more camps when schools are closed and when kids are out for Christmas). Over 35% were from unchurched families! In the camps, kids didn’t only hear about Christ, but they also saw the message modeled in the lives of almost 1,000 volunteer leaders! Experiencing the fellowship of other followers of Christ had a lasting impact on many!

Camps were in seven countries and even more languages.

Daniel from the Czech Republic said “we saw the number of mission camps double in the last three years. From less than 10, we now had 21 mission camps this year. On average 61 percent came from unchurched families. And one hundred of them are now part of regular follow activities.”

Marketa (9 years old) said “I liked the camp and helping in the kitchen. I found three new friends…. I prayed that God would forgive my sins. I also prayed for others together with my friend...”

From Moldova: Marek says “I am 18 years old. I had a wonderful time at camp. The lessons and testimonies helped me a lot. I can’t wait to get to the church and to tell others about him”. From a different village in Moldova, Eugene (16 years old) adds: “I have never been to such a camp before. Everything, testimonies, group discussions enlightened me, I got closer to God.”

The cost to 4D? Only $28 per camper for a 5- or 6-day event. How is that possible you may wonder? Besides everyone being very frugal, all those involved volunteered their time. There is no permanent overhead, maintenance or staffing. The use of schools or churches were free of charge, while local churches and sponsors also paid part of the expenses. 4D’s financial help makes it easier to have non churched kids attend and have more of a leadership development approach towards the 1,000 volunteers. A lot of food was donated as well. (Imagine, feeding 10,000 hungry kids 5 or 6  days in a row?! And a different group week after week.)  Your support went extra far because of great sacrifices made locally.

The overall approach is not to bring kids to a camp in a different part of the country, but to bring the camp to where the kids (and the volunteers) live. The approach is less expensive, but it also helps to ensure there is much needed follow-up. And having the kids “close to home” also makes it much easier for unchurched (grand)parents to send their kids to a local camp.

Camps are sometimes held overnight in tents, but often in the smaller towns kids come during the day and evening (with meals included) before they return home to sleep. Again, this makes it easier for (grand)parents to agree to send their kids. We call these camps “city-camps”, though most of them are in small villages and mid-size towns.

Nesa, a church planter and pastor in Serbia says “before the summer we had about 20 kids attend our weekly club. Now after the camps it increased with around 10 more.”

The volunteers are very important, both during the camp and in the follow-up! So, where do we get 900 to 1,000 volunteers and how do we train them?

The answer can be found in our partnership with the supporting churches. The volunteers and leaders are part of the supporting churches (often very small ones and some larger ones). 4D’s track record and reputation is another thing that makes the difference. (Especially in smaller towns where change is not always embraced as in the larger university cities).

That’s why the camps are a great tool for churches that desire to be more outward focused. It is one of the greatest tools, especially in the smaller towns.

And what makes over a thousand people volunteer and excited? Almost 90% of them have seen their lives impacted by Christ at a camp. Some have outgrown their age bracket for the camp but still want to return. There are training events and resources (like curriculum, games, etc.) that are online and in person, but most of the training takes place “on the job” while assisting an experienced team leader. It’s still mind-boggling to us, but we have no recruiting. Changed lives (and churches) do the advertising!

Camp leaders and volunteers need to be part of a local church and involved in their children and youth club.

To sum it all up on what makes this all possible we realize it is:

• God’s work

• The local churches have ownership of their camp and the follow up

• 4D Ministries is empowering through field testing, modeling, training and networking. We are constantly learning and sharing “best practices” on the field and always working through our national partners. Our 4D subsidy to the camps makes it easier to invite especially unchurched or special need kids. (It’s like a matching gift to the children!)

Twelve years ago, Emma asked her student leader (Rei in Cluj, Romania): “we have been blessed by American teams coming to help us with our camps, can we now help others?”  Rei was excited, encouraged and helped her and others. It became the beginning of what we see today!

Ambassador’s Together, is much more then sharing Christ with kids. Yes, it starts with kids, but in the end, it is building God’s kingdom in an ongoing and multiplying way!

Even as $28 per child for 5 or 6 days at camp is very little, multiplying that 10,000 times makes a staggering $280,000. So yearend giving is especially important as we prepare for 2025!

Therefore, we encourage you to join with a special year-end gift! We hope we can say “yes” when more churches want to join and be Ambassadors of Christ with you and 4D.

It’s “a cycle of hope” that starts with reaching out to the children and us sharing and partnering as Ambassadors of Christ. You, us and our partners in Eastern Europe, being Ambassadors Together!

Good News. Your gift to Ambassadors Together (camps) or Where Most Needed will be matched by special friends of 4D and will go even further, if given before the end of the year. Make sure to mention: “match my year end gift”.

For giving from your IRA account (required minimum distribution or qualified charitable deduction), Donor Advised Fund, or by giving stocks just let us know with a short email. Remember to expect financial institutions to take extra time towards year end.