The What & Why of Worship

Natalie Hope was a Program Manager at Camp Baker Mountain in 2024. She is a student at the University of Georgia and is studying public relations and religion.

Songbooks placed on the benches, a call to worship placed at every seat, candles lit or flipped on: it is time for evening worship at Mountain T.O.P. during Youth Summer Ministry. The altar, made out of string lights, burlap, and A-frame ladders, illuminates the cross placed at the center of the worship area. Each evening, our camp communities gather together to turn our attention back to our Creator and worship God. This is a time for our youth and adults to reflect on their day out in the field, and recharge spiritually for the work day ahead of them.

This summer, I had the special honor and privilege of serving as a Program Manager, or PM, who oversees all of the programming and worships. I was a first-hand witness into the power and transformation that comes from worshiping the Lord. From the brainstorming of worship, to the assistance of message writing, to the creation of the physical space, all the way to participating in worship alongside the camp community, Program Managers are able to see, almost, every aspect of worship. Although it can be an overwhelming and daunting role, it is incredibly fulfilling and spiritually enriching.

And while one of the Program Managers’ main roles is to ensure campers have meaningful worship, I often found that God was transforming MY heart just as much as He was our campers’ hearts. 

We like to joke that being a Program Manager is making a lot from nothing. While at first I did not understand it, I slowly began to realize that is exactly that. It is using old milk crates and wax-stained bedsheets and turning it into a beautiful, put-together altar. It is using copious amounts of duct tape and binder clips to hold together the altar. Whatever it may be, we  spend a lot of time running around, trying to make sure our worship area is a beautiful and inviting space. But if we are not careful, we miss the true meaning and heart of worship. You see, no matter how “pretty” or “aesthetically-pleasing” our physical worship set-ups are, God is still going to move. It is not the intentionally organized candles or the strategically placed string lights that move our campers closer to God, but rather it is the act of gathering together, praising, and tuning our hearts to our Heavenly Creator. Our job as Program Managers is not to transform people, but rather to invite others into God’s transformative love and power. We do this by thoughtfully and prayerfully planning the songs, messages, and responses.

We can plan, but God will move. 

This summer was special, in that we began the celebration of Mountain T.O.P.’s 50th anniversary. In response to that, this year’s theme was Journey, based off of Psalm 84. In verse 6, it speaks of the pilgrims who find “refreshing springs” on their journey. For many of our campers, Mountain T.O.P. serves as a spring of spiritual renewal, where they feel refreshed and renewed in their faith. Whether it is through the act of serving others in the field, or worshiping alongside their camp community at night, our participants’ leave the mountain with a newfound faith and hope for their journey ahead.

This is why we worship.