Three boats, two jet skis, 16 leaders, two cooks, and 57 teenagers come together at the end of each year for Summer Camp at Lakeland Park in Queenstown.
Fun, friendships, water sports, and faith are at the heart of the camp, which is supported by a range of churches across the South Island.
2025 GC3 Headspace Graduate Hayley Spencer from Waikari Gospel Hall was one of the leaders at the December camp and had the opportunity to share a devotion (pictured below) with the young people.
“We had devotionals at the end of each day, and I had the opportunity to share my testimony with the teenagers, and as part of this I shared the gospel openly.”
Hayley says that sharing opened up deeper conversations with the teens. “I initially didn’t really know what to share, but prayed about it and decided to share a bit about a time when I was struggling and how God was faithful. One of the things I shared really seemed to stand out—I challenged the group that ‘eternity was a long time to spend in the wrong place’. This seemed to really resonate with a lot of people.”
Having attended Summer Camp as a teenager herself, this year marked Hayley’s first time serving as a leader. “It was cool to be able to go along and help the camp staff and organisers to run the camp, and to just be there for the young people—to be a friend to listen to them and come alongside them.”
Summer Camp was founded and run by Graham and Wanda Ashby at Fisherman’s Bend (near the Aviemore Dam in the Waitaki Valley) and moved to Lakeland Park in 2022. The camp is now organised by Brad and Vanessa Anderson from Bryndwr Chapel, and run with a strong cohort of leaders and cooks. The camp's traditions are kept alive through different activities, with teams competing for points and the winning team being awarded the Ashby Shield at the end of the week.
Churches involved included Cornerstone International Bible Church, Riverside Chapel, Bryndwr Chapel, Elles Road Chapel, Queenstown Bible Chapel, Rosedale Bible Chapel, Riccarton Community Church, and Waikari Gospel Hall.
Summer Camp 2026 is planned for mid-December. For more information, visit: summercamp.southerncamps.nz
