Summer provides students with a unique time to minister at summer camps and ministry organizations.

Next week’s BJU Summer Ministry Conference is a great place to start for any student seeking to find those opportunities. The Summer Ministry Conference allows camps and summer ministries to recruit workers for the coming summer.

Friends and workers from previous summers can also use the time to get together and share news. This year the conference is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 15, after chapel until 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 16, after chapel until 5 p.m. in the Davis Room of the Dining Common.

Last year, about 40 camps and organizations were involved in the conference. About 125 representatives set up displays in the Davis Room, where around 540 students of all majors came to see the different opportunities.

The conference is not just a chance for students to find places to serve over the summer. Brendon Johnson, one of the coordinators of this year’s upcoming Summer Ministry Conference, said the conference offers a great chance to hear about the things the Lord is doing in other places around the United States. He said even students who aren’t looking for somewhere to work over the summer should check out the conference to share encouragement and be encouraged.

“Just go and see what it’s about!” Johnson said.

Amanda Vermiglio, a junior ministry and leadership major, first heard of Camp Grace at the conference, a camp located in Roberta, Georgia. She worked at Camp Grace this past summer and is planning on working there again next summer.

The conference also presents students with opportunities to use their skills in a variety of different areas. Vermiglio said her time at the summer camp was a learning experience in leadership.

Vermiglio said the conference is a good way for students to find out about ministries going on that they didn’t previously know about. “God can use different people in a lot of different ways,” she said.

The Summer Ministry Conference is an especially wonderful opportunity for small camps and organizations. Justin Porter, a graduate biblical literature and language major, was a representative for Pioneer Bible Camp at the conference. As a representative for the small camp located in Eden, Utah, Porter said the conference was an encouragement to him. He enjoyed meeting other representatives from camps and summer ministries who were as excited to see students with a passion to serve as he was.

Hannah Lovegrove, a junior physics major, found out about Pioneer Bible Camp through the conference. She worked there for a summer and said one of the biggest benefits she gained from the experience was getting to practice sharing the Gospel with people in a more personal way.

Lovegrove said she would encourage students to go to conference, meet with representatives and find out what opportunities are available. Filling out an information card or taking the first steps to apply can lead to a new unexpected experience.

“Sometimes God leads that way,” Lovegrove said. “You take one step and you say, “Okay God, if you don’t close the door, I’ll keep going.’ And you end up somewhere like, ‘Well, God never said no!’ That can be the way God leads us.”