COURTESY PHOTO
Camp Wingmann has been a big hit with youths of all ages for years. Youths last December enjoyed their Christian experience at Winter Camp.

A Christian revival of sorts is “Happening” these days at Camp Wingmann, and it’s an empowering one.

On April 28-30, Camp Wingmann will hold its third Happening for high school youth since reviving the event last year after a decades-old absence. Sponsored by The Episcopal Church, the Happening is a ministry run by teenagers for teenagers: youth in 10th through 12th grades.

The Happening is much like New Beginnings, its highly successful counterpart for middle school youth, but takes a different approach.

“With New Beginnings, you get the kids together and they get to know more about their faith,” said the Rev. Deke Miller, director of Camp Wingmann. “They talk about the basics of faith and who we are in faith.

“With Happenings, they get to see Christian life lived out,” he added. “They see what the Christian community looks like.”

Miller said he is hoping for 30 participants and approximately 25 to 27 team leaders for the spring Happening. The team is made up of adult advisers and a large team of youth leaders who run the event, which consists of prayer, worship and ministry.

Almost everyone in attendance at this year’s Happening were expected to come from the Central Florida Diocese, except for one team member from the Southwest Florida Diocese, Miller said.

Unlike New Beginnings, which often sees returning participants, Happening draws a new youth group each time. However, some of the Happening team leaders are former participants, which gives the event a sense of fluidity and credibility.

“There’s adult advisers, but it’s the youth who are running the event,” Miller said.

Miller said the main purpose of Happening is spiritual growth for the participants, but there’s an added advantage: “It’s not only that they get into a deep relationship with Christ, but they develop friends here. It’s about community and relationships. It’s a pretty close community. It’s ever-growing.”

The forging of relationships in a Christian community has left a powerful impact on some, Miller said. “We’ve had stories where (someone) goes back to their church to be baptized,” he said.

That sense of community, Miller believes, helps “Happening” attendees get more out of their participation and see how bringing a Christian message into a community helps them work as a Christian.

“They will find kids struggling with the same things they are,” he said. “They are finding new strengths with their relationships. They go back with a newfound energy.”

For more information on Happening events, call the Rev. Becky Toalster at 863-370-7185.