This is a week of specialized training for young men (ages 13-19) and young ladies (ages 13-19) who want to learn more about becoming better servants for God. There will be some joint chapel services, activities, and devotionals, but the boys and the girls will be in separate classes during the day. These daily classes will include faith-building teaching on Christian Evidences, holiness, worship, and moral purity, as well as practical instruction on how to be an effective servant.

This special week of training is open to young men (ages 13-19), and young women (ages 13-19) who submit and receive approval of their applications, recommendation forms, and medical release forms. We would love to accommodate every request to attend, but because of limited housing, the logistics of giving proper attention to each student, and finding time for sermons/speeches to be presented, we will accept applications until we have run out of housing space. Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis, so do not delay.

Young Men will receive training in such areas as leading singing, presiding over the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, leading public prayer, effective public reading of Scripture, preparation of sermons and the proclamation of God’s Word in preaching, and preparing to become an elder or deacon.

Young Ladies will receive training in such areas as leading other young ladies in singing, preparing the Lord’s Supper for worship, leading a prayer for other ladies, reading Scripture before other ladies, preparing and delivering a message to other ladies, and the kind of women we need in the Lord’s Church.

To prepare them for the work of the church, we will provide training in the following areas: conducting a home Bible study, making hospital visits, remembering widows and orphans, comforting the grieving, preparing a church bulletin/newsletter, computer training (making PowerPoint presentations, etc.), and using the library for research.

Campers will arrive on Saturday afternoon, June 22nd, 2024. Check-in begins at 3 p.m. Upon check-in, students will be assigned roommates. They will also meet the adult supervisor who will be staying with them in the available student apartments located on the campus of MSOP, or they will meet the Christian family in whose home they will be staying during the week. Of course, the boys and girls will be staying in separate buildings/homes, and will be under adult supervision in these dwellings. After a period of orientation, there will be a cookout for the campers on Saturday at approximately 4:30-5 p.m., followed by games and mixers.

The camp continues through Friday afternoon and officially closes with a banquet. Campers will leave after the banquet. Those with great distances to travel may request, in writing, advance approval to stay Friday evening, but must provide supervision of their children, and must check out no later than 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Daytime Activities Activities for Monday-Friday will be as follows:

• Breakfast will be served Monday–Friday at 7:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall at MSOP, or in the homes where campers are staying.
• Chapel will begin at 8:15 a.m. Monday-Friday in the Forest Hill auditorium.
• Morning Classes will be from 9 a.m. to Noon, Monday-Friday, with breaks scheduled in between classes.
• Lunch will be served at noon on the campus each day, Monday-Friday.
• Following lunch (Monday-Thursday) there will be additional classes and group time for students to work together on their projects.
• From 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Monday-Thursday) there will be free time.
• At the end of the week, the male students will deliver the sermons they have worked on all week. The girls will also deliver a short devotional to a girls-only group.

Special combined activities are planned for the evenings. • Two evenings will be reserved for periods of recreation. These activities include such things as Putt-Putt golf, Go-Karts, and attending the AAA Memphis Redbirds Baseball game. For both activities, we will leave the parking lot at 5:15 p.m. • One evening, the students will enjoy a talent show involving campers and staff. • Wednesday evening, the students will visit either Forest Hill church of Christ, or an area congregation for an evening meal and Wednesday night Bible study. Students must be ready to leave by 5:15 p.m. • Friday evening, the banquet will be at 5:00 p.m. It will take place at the Forest Hill church of Christ building/MSOP facilities.

The classes are free—the housing is free. As for the food costs, in the early days of Foundations, area congregations took turns providing the daily meals. However, the camp has grown to a number that is larger than what our area congregations can afford. Brother Tony DeBerry, a graduate of MSOP, and a professional caterer for many years, has offered us a very generous discount rate to cater the meals. Some generous congregations and brethren have contributed to cover some of the costs of these meals. However, as the camp grows, serving a minimum of 18 meals to over 100 campers for an entire week represents a significant cost. Consequently, there is a need to charge a small fee for the camp to offset some of the costs not covered by donations to the camp. This charge is still not enough to cover all of the costs, and thankfully, it is far less than most weeklong camps typically have to charge, but it will help us greatly reduce the annual costs of the camp. The last thing in the world we want to do is to keep any young person from attending Foundations. Therefore, your child/children may attend Foundations even if you cannot afford the full amount. Perhaps your local church would assist you in coming to camp. If not, we will appeal to churches/donors to help defray your costs. As noted above, the housing is free. The students will stay in designated apartments on the MSOP campus (some of which are unoccupied during the summer break) or they will stay in the homes of Christians in the area. To cover a portion of the food costs, recreational costs, T-shirt, etc., this year’s cost for Foundations will be $90.00 per camper. Families with multiple children attending at the same time may, if need be, appeal for scholarship assistance to help cover the costs of the camp. You may also wish to bring some money for the concessions at the recreational activities.

For boys, nice slacks and a dress shirt (polo shirts are acceptable) are required for chapel and for daytime instruction (NO JEANS). For girls, dress slacks and a modest shirt, with sleeves, are required for chapel and daytime classes (NO JEANS). For the guys, a coat and tie will be required for certain evening activities. For the girls, a modest dress (no shorter than knee length) will be required for certain evening activities. Note that these dresses must not be too tight, or too revealing. You should also bring clothes appropriate for recreational activities (playing basketball, Putt-Putt golf, bowling, field events, baseball game, etc.). T-shirts and sport pants are acceptable, but must not be too tight, too revealing, or imprinted with improper language or advertisements. Capri pants are acceptable for recreational wear. To avoid the need for constant policing concerning the length of shorts, the only shorts that may be worn during recreational activities are shorts that cover the knees.

• A Bible
• A Notebook and pen for taking notes
• A sleeping bag or bedding
• Pillow
• Towels and washcloths
• All needed personal medications
• Personal toiletry items (soap, shampoo, toothbrush, deodorant, etc.)
• Dress Clothes for Chapel, daytime classes, and certain evening activities. For boys, a coat and tie are required for Sunday services, Wednesday evening, and Friday night for the banquet. For girls, a dress is required for Sunday services, Wednesday evening and Friday night for the banquet. These clothes must meet the dress code explained above.
• Recreational clothes for afternoon free time and evening recreational events. These clothes must meet the dress code explained above.

The students who attend this camp will benefit from the instruction of some outstanding faculty members and graduates of MSOP. These men possess multiplied years of experience, both in local work and in the classroom. Additionally, godly brethren from other faithful congregations will assist in certain classes, devotionals, and training sessions. We are also grateful for the godly women who will be working with and teaching our girl campers.

Why, thank you for asking! We’d just like to say that when possible, we provide our campers with free books, handouts, and other materials. Our speakers and other generous brethren contribute these materials.