Archive: Fire in Ceta Canyon

By Sandi Kirk

Amidst the flatlands of West Texas, nestled in a canyon among cedar and cottonwood trees, hundreds of children gather in an open-air tabernacle. Instruments are sounding, hands are clapping, many arms are rising, tears are streaming, hearts are being lifted toward heaven as fourth and fifth graders worship Jesus Christ.

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going,” sang a group of enthusiastic campers in 1970. Now, some twenty years later, the spark has kindled into a flame and is spreading like a prairie fire through the “One Way” Camps of the Northwest Texas Conference.

An altar call is given. No pressure. No gimmicks. Just a simple call to come and receive Christ or rededicate one’s life. Hundreds flock to the altar.

Look closely. A little girl prays with a counselor to receive Christ for the first time in her life. She goes back to her seat with joy sparkling through her tears.

A boy weeps out his hatred for his alcoholic father who abused his mother. He forgives and is filled with deep peace. He goes home with a call to the ministry burning in his heart.

A group of girls walk arm-in-arm to the altar. They kneel and ask Jesus to fill them with His Spirit and give them a new boldness to tell others about Christ.

The Scene Repeats

Witness the same scene a week later at the sixth and seventh grade camp, then a junior high camp, followed by a senior high camp. Only this time, as hundreds of youth fill the altars, heart-wrenching tears of repentance for deep personal sins are flowing.

See strapping young men walk forward to nail beer tabs to a cross, a silent commitment to give up drinking alcohol forever.

Hear youth director Beth Brown implore both junior and senior highs not to “shatter the dream” of being a virgin on their wedding night. Then see dozens of young men and women flood the altar that night, weeping over sexual sin and rising to live a new life in Christ.

Yes, something is happening in the Northwest Texas Conference, as each summer well over a thousand young people attend “One Way” Camps at Ceta Canyon and Butman—two United Methodist campgrounds. “Each camp term,” reports Jim Terry, “about one hundred receive Christ as Savior, hundreds recommit their lives, and dozens are called into full-time Christian service.”

How Did It All Begin?

In 1969, while the Viet Nam war raged and young people rebelled against the Establishment, a few young pastors had a vision. Jim Smith, Hugh and Wes Daniel, and R.L. Kirk believed that young people needed a camp where they could be inspired to find Christ.

They scheduled Camp Butman and called it “Youth Camp Number One.” The name seemed a little generic to Hugh Daniel. He suggested, half in jest, “Let’s call it ‘One Way,'” referring to Jesus’ words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6).

By 1974 Butman could no longer hold the camp, and they moved to Ceta Canyon. Jim Smith says that in the 20 years since the senior high camp opened, nearly 2,000 young people have come to know the Lord, hundreds have given their lives to full-time Christian service, and several thousands have rededicated their lives to Jesus Christ.

The Secret of Success

The primary secret is prayer. Robert Kirk, director of the junior high One Way camp, meets all year long with his leaders and counselors. The camp is soaked in prayer, and the Holy Spirit is earnestly welcomed.

Another secret, explained Jim Smith, is the strong emphasis on worship, solid Bible teaching, and a challenge to the youth to commitment to Christ. “We don’t want these kids simply to have an emotional experience, but real substance… . We want to give them something to believe in.”

Still another secret is that many of the campers who were touched by God at One Way return to become counselors, passing along the spark.

But it’s not the counselors alone. It’s the campers as well. When a group of girls discovered that their counselor was skeptical and had come to “check things out,” they began to pray. After the first night the counselor wanted to leave, but the girls kept praying. On the last night this same counselor made her way tearfully to the altar.

“I don’t know what you people have, but I want it,” she sobbed. Though she had been in the United Methodist Church all her life, for the first time she prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord. Then she prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In moments, the presence of Christ flooded her soul. She was overcome as the gentle Spirit of God washed over her. Through tears of joy, she whispered, “Now I know what you people have—it’s Jesus and now I have Him too!”

A Burning New Hope

Some say ours is a “graying church.” Well, take a peek over your shoulder. An army is arising. It’s a ground swell of burgeoning new life. It’s an army of United Methodist youth: their banner is the Cross, their sword is the Bible, their motive is love for Jesus Christ, and their power is the Holy Spirit. A song of praise bursts from their lips and a message of salvation spills from their hearts. It’s new blood we desperately need.

“This is one of the greatest hopes of the entire Methodist Church,” says Pastor R.L. Kirk.

But how will we respond? Will we quench their tender flame, which will result once again in a mass exodus to independent churches? Will churches around the nation catch the spark from these One Way camps and start their own evangelical camps? Will we fan the flame until it spreads throughout the youth of the church?

It started with a spark, but it is now becoming a spreading flame. O come, Holy Spirit! Breathe upon the flame until it burns throughout the entire United Methodist Church.

Sandi Kirk is a freelance writer, Bible teacher, and the wife of R.L. Kirk, pastor of St. Luke’s UM Church in Lubbock, Texas.