BEHIND THE SCENES: OUR CREW TEAM AT CAMPS
For the youth of Redemption Gilbert, Winter Camp and Summer Camp are two of the most exciting times of the year. Whether in Flagstaff or Point Loma, they’ll play wacky games, make new friends, and grow closer to God. But none of this is possible without the sometimes overlooked hard work of the CREW.
The CREW is made up of guys who volunteer to do just about everything–from setup to teardown, cleaning, cooking, and making the everyday tasks invisible so the kids can concentrate on the bigger tasks of learning about God’s goodness. Matt Benson and Scott Manning are two CREW members with plenty of stories to tell.
Benson has been on CREW since 2018, and Manning since 2017. Both of these longtime Redemption Gilbert attenders got involved for different reasons, but with the same goal in mind: participation.
“One of the guys in my Redemption Community told me how hard it is to build community in a larger church,” Benson said. “He told me that he’s gotten to know some guys well because he volunteered in CREW. It was great advice, and I share the same story with other men.”
Manning’s introduction was a little more personal. “My oldest daughter’s first time going to camp was my inspiration–and honestly, a week in San Diego in June sounded great!”
Both have learned valuable lessons while volunteering to make the kids’ experiences memorable.
“I’ve learned the amazing reward of sacrificial love for others,” Manning said. “Plus made an incredible bond with the other men of CREW who clearly have very humble hearts of service. It feels like the most important work of my life to help spread the gospel to the next generation and be part of this group that just focuses so much on having fun and loving the word.”
“The biggest thing for me is learning each man's story,” Benson said. “As an example, I've known Sean Warren for many years and know him pretty well. But this past camp, working shoulder to shoulder with him, I feel like I got to know him so much better.
“In CREW, all of the men feel safe to share their story of walking with Christ, and you have a lot of time to get to know these men deeply,” he added.
Manning had one particularly favorite story to share from this year’s Summer Camp:
“This year, the kids got up and preached to each other to encourage the ‘one anothers.’ They did it with such confidence and poise for around 45 minutes,” he said. “ What an amazing night to see such spiritual maturity in such young people.”
Manning has been encouraging men to become part of CREW in time for this year’s Winter Camp.
“Anyone who wants to be part of an incredible group of men and help behind the scenes of camp and church events–and sweat a lot while doing it–needs to come join us!” he said.
“It is work, but it doesn’t feel like work, because you’re being recharged spiritually and socially. For a lot of people, this is one of the biggest things they seek–community. CREW is a great community of men.”
Interested in serving with CREW?
We’d love to hear from you!