Cross Carolina Connection Is Putting Faith In Action

By Meghan B Minton
Ever wonder what youth are doing with their summer’s these days? Would you believe that a select few pay to attend a camp where they spend six to eight hours a day building porches and wheelchair ramps, repairing

floors and roofs, yard work and cleaning houses for those in need. It is part of a ministry known as Cross Carolina Connection, where campers experience a “week of spiritual renewal, service to others, and growing in community,” according to the CCC website, www.carolinacrossconnection.org. “It is a week of faith in action . . .love in person.”

Campers arrive on Sunday morning and head out by 9:15 am Monday morning in small teams to perform home repairs, free of charge for the elderly, disabled, lonely, and impoverished families throughout western North Carolina. Camp Elk Shoals, one of the five camps run by CCC, services the high country region. “Just last week we served 40 families,” says camp director Jonathan Harris. By summer’s end more than 160 families will be served and 240 campers will have the opportunity to experience this “faith in action.”
Harris is a Music Performance Major at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He first got involved with CCC as a camper when he was just 12 years old. He has continued his involvement over the years and taken on the role as director in hopes that he can help campers have the same rewarding experience he had as a young man. “This ministry affects everyone involved. It is very eye opening, and I am always encouraged by the faith of the campers, and their desire to make a difference in this world,” he added.

The experience goes well beyond a job well done; it is continued into the evenings with activities that encourage community building, worship, and sharing of the days events and how they affect their faith. By week’s end, Harris hopes this service experience will “empower campers to serve and exercise their faith not only while they are here but after they leave as well.”

Carolina Cross Connection is a non-profit, interdenomational organization that operates service camps during the summer months, from June 17th through August 3rd, and is open to all rising 8th graders or youth 13 years old and older. No fee is charged for the work performed, however, they request that the families served purchase or to help pay for the materials used on their homes if possible. “If this isn’t possible for them, then we will try in other ways to secure the materials needed to perform the work they need, usually through donations from local churches, businesses and individuals,” says Harris.

If you need repairs or know someone who could benefit from this program, contact Camp Elk Shoals 336-877-2058. Donations can be mailed to Carolina Cross Connection, Camp Elk Shoals,349 Methodist Camp Road, West Jefferson, NC 28694.