Each summer, the camp portion of HPUMC’s Camp-to-Career Ministry offers inner-city children and youth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area a chance to be outdoors, make new friends, and dive into God’s word in a fun, safe space.

At camp, students make memories and participate in activities they may have never had the opportunity to do before. The camp portion of Camp-to-Career has such an impact on students that many return years later, sending their children to camp and giving back by volunteering.

During the summer before their senior year, students who have “aged out” of camp embark on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage through Mississippi and Alabama, then to Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, during spring break of their senior year. Through these trips, students learn the complex history and the importance of their journeys.

In April, a senior luncheon is held to celebrate Camp-to-Career’s high school graduates. Then, before they head off to college, trade schools, or internships in the fall, we help equip them with everything they need for college dorms or apartments at our send-off party at the end of the summer.

Throughout their years of schooling, we encourage our students with cards and letters monthly, treat boxes during exams, and a gathering during winter break where high school seniors and college students in the program have the opportunity to fellowship and lift each other up.

Students in this phase of Camp-to-Career are also given the opportunity to apply for a paid summer internship with our church, helping support these deserving students every step of the way.