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Student Life

Student Life

Student Life camp, christian youth camp, summer youth camp, christian summer camp, christian youth conference, summer bible camp, youth bible camp, baptist youth camp, student camp, summer student camp,

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About Us

Since 1993, Student Life has served churches through inter-denominational Christian summer camps, conferences, and resources. We strive to support your student ministry with Gospel-centered experiences that transform students into devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Student Life exists to help people know Christ through His Word. We believe God’s Word is relevant and instructive for the challenges students face today. Our camps inspire students through engaging worship, sound biblical teaching, and community-building in small group Bible studies.

We believe discipleship best occurs within the context of the local church. Relationships formed at camp between students and their leaders serve as a catalyst to discipleship that continues long after camp ends. We would be honored to have the opportunity to partner with your group to make Jesus known in the lives of your students.

Jared
Shingleton

Manager, Student Life

Anna
Archer

Operations Lead

Lacy
Pauley

Lead Event Coordinator

Sarah
Barber

Event Coordinator

Justin
McDowell

Mission Specialist

Danielle
Sullivan

Event Specialist

Hailea
Packard

Event Specialist

Melissa
Nicholson

Event Specialist

Madelyn
Pruitt

Event Coordinator

Lo
Southerland

Program Specialist

Meghann
Searcy

Event Specialist

Sean
Blackmon

Event Coordinator

Rebekah
Sikes

Event Coordinator

Beliefs

God

There is one and only one living God (Deuteronomy 6:4). He is eternal (Revelation 1:8), omnipotent (Mark 10:27), omniscient (Romans 11:33-36) and omnipresent (Isaiah 43:1-13). He is perfect in every way (Psalm 18:30) and exists in three Persons (Genesis 1:26): the Father (Luke 10:21-22), Son (Matthew 3:17), and Holy Spirit (John 16:7-15). He created the universe (Genesis 1:1) and is worthy of worship (1 Chronicles 16:29-31) and the obedience (1 Samuel 15:22) of humanity.

The Bible

God has provided humanity with His revelation (2 Timothy 3:16-17), written through men divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). God’s Word is entirely true, without error (Psalm 19:7-8) and speaks on faith and life with complete authority (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Bible is instructive, teaching God’s law (Joshua 1:8) and helping His people grow into the righteous likeness of Jesus (John 17:16-18).

Jesus

He is fully God (Colossians 2:9) and fully human (Hebrews 2:14-18). He is the sinless Messiah (1 John 3:5) who was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18). He was crucified on a cross, buried and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He is the only path to reconciliation with God (John 14:6), currently resides in heaven (Hebrews 12:2) and will return again (Matthew 16:27) at a time appointed by the Father (Mark 13:32) to judge sinners and reclaim His people to enjoy Him and worship Him forever (Matthew 24:30-31).

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6), indwelling them at the point of salvation (Acts 2:38). Christians who yield their lives to the Holy Spirit are empowered to boldly witness (Acts 4:31) and faithfully serve (Romans 12:6-8). The Holy Spirit works in a Christian’s life by convicting them of sin (John 16:8-11), molding them into Christ likeness (2 Corinthians 3:16-18), revealing Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:9-16), teaching all things, reminding what Jesus said (John 14:26), and sealing them until the return of Jesus (Ephesians 1:13-14).

People

Humanity was created by God (Genesis 1:26) in His own image (Genesis 5:1-2) so that He might be glorified (Isaiah 43:7). God created all things, but people stand as His crowning work (Psalm 8:3-8). Nevertheless, sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam (Romans 5:12). This disobedience is called sin (1 John 3:4) and all of Creation suffers upheaval because of it (Romans 8:19-22), especially humanity with its sin nature (Romans 8:1-5). Sin ultimately brings the demise of both body and soul (Proverbs 21:16). Since every human being has chosen to rebel against their Creator (Romans 3:9-12), every person desperately needs salvation from sin (Psalm 40:12-13), which can only come through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18) by God’s infinite grace (Isaiah 30:15-18).

Salvation

Every single person is born cut off from God (Psalm 51:5) having sinned against their perfect and holy Creator (Romans 3:23). The punishment for sin is eternal separation from God. (Romans 6:23a) Jesus Christ accepted our punishment upon Himself, dying on a cross for the sin of mankind. (Romans 4:25) Salvation from our desperate state only comes through a faith relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ (John 14:6). A person forms a faith relationship with Jesus by repenting of sin and placing saving faith in Jesus alone (Romans 3:22) for forgiveness and eternal life (Acts 3:19). Human work plays no role in salvation (Titus 3:4-7), only the grace of God in response to the sacrifice of His Son Jesus upon the cross (Romans 3:21-26).

The Church

The Holy Spirit binds all Christians into a single unified spiritual body called the Church (Romans 12:5), which is under the leadership of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). The Church exists to glorify God (1 Peter 2:9) by spreading the Good News of His Son to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and by encouraging Christ likeness in all believers (Philippians 3:7-11) through Bible teaching and study (1 Timothy 4:13), prayer (Acts 12:5), worship (John 4:23-24), service (Matthew 20:25-28) and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). Jesus established the Church upon earth (Matthew 16:18-19) until His return, when members of the Church will unceasingly praise and glorify King Jesus for eternity (Revelation 21).

The Future

God is not distant, but present, involved in His people’s lives and in control of the future (Psalm 139:1-4). Historically, God foretold His plans through His prophets (2 Peter 1:19-21), specifically the redemption of His sinful people (Psalm 49:12-15) due to the miraculous birth (Isaiah 7:14), sacrificial death (Isaiah 53:4-6) and miraculous resurrection (Hosea 6:2) of His one and only perfect Son Jesus (Matthew 17:5). Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of Father God (Acts 2:32-33) and promises to return to earth for all to see (Matthew 24:30) at a time ordained by God (Matthew 24:36), initiating the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:22-23) and judgment of all mankind (Psalm 96:13). God’s will is perfect in every way and deserving of our complete trust over today and every day in the future (Romans 12:1-2).

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Sean Blackmon

In May of 2024, Sean graduated from the University of South Alabama.  He had attended Student Life Camp several times with his church’s youth ministry in Mobile, Alabama. Though not initially planning to work at camp, a pivotal moment came during his freshman year of college when he volunteered at a local DNOW Weekend and the Lord planted seeds. Sean applied and began working for Student Life Camp!

Over the next four consecutive summers, Sean took on various leadership roles, including REC Squad Leader (2021), Production Director (2022), and Event Director (2023 & 2024). His time on the road serving at Student Life Camp deepened his love for ministry, especially in creating spaces for students to encounter Christ and experience life-changing moments.

Outside of camp, Sean LOVES to run and spending time outdoors!

Lo Southerland

Lauren, better known as Lo around her friends and the office, grew up going to Lifeway camps and attended Student Life Camp her senior year of High School. Lo traveled and worked in the Student Life Camp office for two summers and quickly fell in love with the hospitality, admin and customer service side of church ministry!

Lo’s heart for ministry has been evident throughout her journey. Since she was old enough to work, Lo has always been involved in ministry in some way. During late high school and early college, she served on the nursery team at FBC Mount Pleasant for four years. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, Lo continued her service as the Administrative Office Assistant at Crosspoint Fellowship in Greenville, Texas.

Lo attended Texas A&M – Commerce and graduated with her Bachelor’s of Social Work in December 2023 and began working as the Program Specialist for Student Life in February 2024. In this role, Lo gets to serve the church through her favorite things: spreadsheets and answering your emails!

Lo was born and raised in the great state of Texas and you will never find someone more proud of their home state. She moved to the middle Tennessee area in July of 2024, but you can find her back in Northeast Texas any chance she gets.

Lo doesn’t know a stranger, loves the Texas Rangers, and can always be found with a cup of coffee.

Meghann Searcy

Bio coming soon!

Rebekah Sikes

Rebekah grew up attending Student Life Camp from the moment she was old enough to register. Her summers at camp were so formative in her walk with Christ that it became a dream of hers to one day work for Student Life to make that experience possible for others.

She attended Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida where she got her Undergrad in Graphic Design and a Masters in Design Management. She spent 4 of her summers serving with Student Life, most recently as an Event Director. Her summers on the road developed in her a love for caring for our Pastors and Life group Leaders, as well as leading young adults.

Four summers just weren’t enough for Rebekah and she now works full time as our Event Specialist over our Print and Digital assets. She loves living in Nashville, but will always be a Florida girl at heart (she needs the sun). She loves art, music, coffee, and bread.

Madelyn Pruitt

Madelyn was born and raised in Eastman, Georgia with her parents and 2 younger sisters. She attended Student Life Camp all throughout her time being a part of her church’s student ministry. A deep love for camp ministry was formed during these years and little did she know, would continue to be a large part of her life in the years to come.

She attended Georgia Southern University to obtain her undergrad degree and then moved to Tigerville, SC to work as a Graduate Assistant at North Greenville University where she earned her Masters in Business Administration. Madelyn traveled on the road for 3 summers serving as a Mission Squad Leader (2018), Mission Director (2021), and as an Event Director (2022).

Watching students sit in the presence of the Lord while at camp is by far one of her favorite parts of this ministry, along with watching college students fall more in love with Jesus as they serve as summer staff members. Madelyn enjoys traveling, walks with friends, and cheering on THE Georgia Bulldogs — Go Dawgs!

No preference beyond wanting to serve at projects with great need

Melissa Nicholson

Melissa has always loved details and organizing. School supply shopping was a favorite activity each year (and was really the only kind of shopping she enjoyed). A combination of that love of administration and a calling to ministry and discipleship in college was the perfect setup for what she gets to do every day at Student Life.

As an Event Specialist, Melissa’s main role focuses on serving our Camp Pastors and Worship Leaders in all aspects of their time at Student Life and Student Life Kids Camp. She also has become the travel guru and calendar wizard for the team and Coordinator for the SL/Worship band. 

Melissa went to undergrad at the University of TN, Chattanooga and then received a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  She worked 3 summers with Lifeway (Fuge Camps) before beginning full-time with Student Life Camp in 2006.  Melissa lives in Helena, AL with her husband, Josh, and their two children, Levi and Lydia. 

Levin’s Bend Summer 2024 Rates

*Maximum Occupancy depends on the bedding in the condo. See more details for each unit on their website

TBA

Another Great Staff Member will be added to our team soon! We can’t wait to introduce you to them!

Justin McDowell

Since he was in middle school, Justin has always loved camp and has felt called to serve the Church. During his four college summers, Justin served in camp ministry where he was able to teach Bible study and lead mission projects. While he worked at a different camp, he continued to hear great things about Student Life during his time in college and seminary. Justin is happy to be with Student Life Camp as it offers a fun and exciting camp experience that is ultimately focused on supporting the local church.

As Mission Specialist, Justin works on the details of Mission Camp throughout the year. He loves that Mission Camp allows students to grow in their relationship with Christ at camp while also providing them an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with local communities as they paint, sort donations, do yardwork, play games with kids, and more. Justin also hopes the experience at Mission Camp inspires students to serve their local communities when they return home.

Justin graduated from the University of North Carolina (Go Tar Heels!) with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Peace, War, and Defense. He received his Master of Divinity from Baylor University in 2020. Justin joined the Student Life team in March 2022 and lives in Nashville.

Hailea Packard

Hailea was born and raised in Orlando, Florida and moved to Virginia when she was 18 for college. Hailea met the Lord when she was 15 working a VBS and then began attending Student Life as a camper soon after. She fell in love with camp ministry during her freshman year of college and realized then that if she could work camp for the rest of her life, she would.

Hailea loves talking to people! Her job provides the opportunity to daily communicate with student pastors and youth leaders. Hailea enjoys utilizing her communication & people skills in getting to both serve and know Student Pastors. Hailea loves to serve the church behind the scenes because it, “Takes me out of my comfort zone.” She believes even inputting info into our system is Kingdom work, and loves being a part of something much bigger than herself.

Hailea just graduated from Liberty University (go Flames) with a bachelor’s degree in Family and Child Development. She has been working seasonally for Student Life since 2015 serving in 4 different roles. This is her first year working full-time with Student Life & she loves it! Hailea loves psychology, corgis, scary movies, youth ministry, and being with people “a latte!” (She also may be obsessed with coffee…maybe).

Danielle Sullivan

Danielle grew up attending and volunteering at a summer camp in Kansas City. Whether it was working in the kitchen or the snack shop, if she could be there, she was! This was a place she saw discipleship happen in a unique and special atmosphere and developed a desire to be a part of something similar long term.

Having a love of traveling and hearing people’s stories, Danielle gets to meet and talk with people from all over while exploring new camp locations or returning to many of the same hotels, conference centers or universities year after year. She also enjoys geeking out over excel spreadsheets full of data and camp details.

Danielle began working with Student Life for Kids camp in the summer of 2001. She began full time in 2004 in the production department, coordinating videos for camp and Bible Study. In 2008 she moved to the Events team and into her current role. She loves coffee, chocolate, finding a good deal, the Kansas Jayhawks and spending time with her family. She is married to Wes, a Student Minister, and has 3 children: (twins) Malakai and Amiya & Nora Layne.

Anna Archer

Anna grew up attending Student Life camps with her youth group. Realizing what a spiritually impactful experience summer camp can be, she applied and served 2 summers on the Student Life office team. She fell in love with the administrative side of ministry and working in the details to ultimately see The Kingdom proclaimed. She felt called back to the Student Life team full-time in 2021 to continue the work she loves to do.

Anna is the most extroverted introvert you will ever meet. While spreadsheets and documents make her happy, she also very much enjoys being on the ground floor of serving churches as they prepare for camp and developing relationships along the way. Her role allows her the privilege of personally communicating with churches and watching what The Lord is doing through student ministries across the nation, while also handling the nitty gritty data details that allow her introverted side to thrive.

Anna has a degree in communication and business from Troy University and lives in Birmingham, AL with her husband and their 2 daughters. She enjoys reading, usually more than one book at a time, and impatiently waits for the Olympic Games to cycle back around. Go Team USA! She’s never said no to a bowl of popcorn and is always up for iced coffee.

Sarah Barber

Sarah grew up a little bit of everywhere in North Carolina (like 6 different towns everywhere) before she joined the SLKC team in Nashville. Growing up a PK meant a lot of moving and a lot of restarts. Because of that, she got to make friends all over the state and see the local church in a multitude of perspectives. Some of Sarah’s favorite childhood memories were centered around going to a local camp (think “The Parent Trap”). During those weeks of the summer, Sarah saw how having fun and knowing Jesus could go hand in hand. Little did she know that the Lord was going to use those incredible weeks of fun to cultivate my love and passion for serving kids, students, and ministers.

Sarah was always the one who had fun organizing her desk, redecorating her room and helping plan events around school and church, but it wasn’t until college that she realized her love for those things could collide with her love for the local church. What she loves most about her position as an Event Specialist is that no day looks the same other than the opportunity to serve the local church!

In May of 2019, Sarah graduated from Campbell University (GO CAMELS! — yes, you read that right, their mascot is a camel) where she majored in business marketing and minored in Christian studies. In the summers of 2018 and 2019, Sarah worked for SL and SLKC as a hospitality coordinator and office director. During her junior year of college, she studied abroad in London and lived there for 3 months. Some of Sarah’s favorite things to do are travel, run, cook and take way too long in Bath and Body Works smelling candles.

Gabe Cyrus

Gabe surrendered his life to Jesus at camp in 2012, he had no idea how prevalent a role camp would play in his life, but but over the years God has kept opening doors to be involved in the ministry. Gabe attended camp as a student for four years, worked as a summer staff for five summers, and has been working full time with Student Life since 2019.

As a Coordinator, Gabe is heavily involved in developing the programming you see at camp, hiring the incredible summer staff you meet, and working with locations to nail down all the details that come with planning your camp.

Gabe graduated with a Social Work major and Biblical Studies minor from Cedarville University, as well as a Masters in Clinical Social Work from Southeastern University. He loves using clinical insight from the social work profession to serve student ministries! If you ever need coffee or food recommendations on your next trip to Nashville, Gabe is your guy!

Lacy Pauley

Lacy grew up attending Student Life camp all throughout high school. She ended up giving her life to Christ at camp when she was a junior in high school. After coming to know Jesus, Lacy fell in love with serving the Church. As soon as she got college, she knew God wanted her to partner with Student Life Camp, giving her summers to serve the Church.

As an Event Director, Lacy’s summers are dedicated to traveling across the country serving churches, in the offseason, she works hard to prepare the best camp experience possible. She loves creating an environment for students to see God fully and believes God has given her a creative spirit to help others encounter Jesus. For Lacy, the best part of her job is seeing youth groups leave camp unified by the Holy Spirit.

Lacy graduated from Liberty University (go flames) with a degree in Counseling. She served 3 summers on the road as seasonal staff. Last year was her first summer as an Event Director for Student Life for Kids and now she will lead a youth camp team. Lacy loves her husband, Nathan, going to concerts (a lot…like, a lot), French bulldogs, and a nice aesthetically pleasing coffee shop.

Sarah Beth Shepard

Sarah Beth went to Student Life Camp with her youth group and always wondered who the people with the nametags and worked behind the scenes were. In college, she began to feel a calling to support and enable ministry and found a home to do that here at Student Life.

Sarah Beth’s position allows her to combine her detailed and process-driven mind with her deep-rooted belief in the role of the local Church. Day to day, she helps prepare staff training, meets with our Advisory Board, and works on the details of Mission Camp. She loves that, at Mission Camp, students are able to realize serving and opportunities to share the Gospel can happen anywhere. She hopes that a light bulb goes off, that there are nursing homes, apartment complexes, food banks, etc. in their own hometowns and God has called them to be ministers of the Gospel there every day.

Sarah Beth graduated from Auburn University in 2013 where she studied Agricultural Communications and Public Relations (cue the cow jokes). She began seasonal employment with Student Life in 2010 and joined the full-time staff in 2013. Sarah Beth and her husband Billy live in Birmingham, AL. Together they love serving in the Student Ministry at their church, hosting dinner nights with friends, and keeping up with their sons, Beau and Cameron.

Jared Shingleton

Jared came to the Student Life team to be the Director in 2021 after serving in the local church for the past 12 years. He is a student pastor at heart and loves pouring into the lives of the next generation and their leaders. It was through serving on a mission trip in Brazil as a teenager that he came to know the Lord and felt a call to pursue vocational ministry.

Since Jared grew up as the son of a student camp and conference director, you could say camp ministry is in his blood. With that he brings both experience and a passion for producing and planning large scale ministry events–like camp. In addition to planning and taking his own students to camp every summer, Jared has served in various leadership roles at the parachurch level to help produce premiere church experiences.

Golfing, hunting and riding motorcycles are just a few things Jared enjoys when he isn’t spending quality time with his wife, Emily and their three children: Shiloh Kate, Judah Wells, and Noa Grace. Jared enjoys eating any and everything spicy, including the five hottest peppers in the world. He studied Ministry Leadership at Williamson Christian College which he enjoys putting into practice with the teams he leads.