50 years of Super Summer: A Legacy of Discipleship
It was 1975 at Emporia State College when a budding new music camp was created with a vision to equip and encourage students to know Jesus, grow in their faith, and share Jesus with others. Meet Super Summer. It was a single week and its first year hosted 194 campers.
As the years progressed, Super Summer began to morph into a bigger event and by the 1990s, camps were held over multiple weeks at various locations, including Maranatha Bible Camp, Rock Springs Camp, and Webster Conference Center. Fast forward to 2025, where Super Summer as we now know it, consisted of six weeks of programming, hosting 2,258 campers, celebrating 54 salvations, 87 rededications, 8 baptisms, and 22 students responding to a call of vocational ministry.
Through fifty years of transition, Super Summer’s mission has remained the same: reach the next generation with the Gospel. Students are provided a unique opportunity to separate from the busyness of life, hear the Gospel, be challenged, and equipped to grow in their faith. Each week is packed with opportunities for students to deepen their faith through worship, personal devotionals, and dedicated church group sessions. Family groups are led by a Super Summer Collegiate staff, many of whom previously attended Super Summer as a camper. Collegiate Night at Super Summer offers high school seniors a chance to connect with current college students involved in collegiate ministries through Church Forward, helping them prepare for their next chapter as they leave high school. Webster’s campus also provides a huge amount of fun- challenge rope courses, outdoor games, water activities and a beautiful natural setting that leads students away from technology and into face-to-face interactions with their peers, forging friendships that last for years.
This year’s theme “Legacy” reflected the deep history of Super Summer and the impact it has had on the thousands of students who have attended from its start in 1975. In fact, many of our Church Forward staff and countless KS/NE ministry leaders attended camp as students, connected with campus ministries during college, and served as collegiate staff at Super Summer, a natural flow into a ministerial vocation. When asked how their consistent relationship with Christ was formed, these leaders will no doubt bring up Super Summer as one of the many positive influences in their faith journey.
Super Summer Co-Director Todd Brown reflects, “There’s nothing magical or flashy about Super Summer—but it has become something truly special. Because of the faithful investment of countless leaders, pastors, and volunteers across generations, this camp has become sacred ground for so many. I often think of the Celtic Christian idea of “thin places”—those spaces where the veil between heaven and earth feels unusually thin. Super Summer is that place for many. The presence of the Holy Spirit is deeply felt here. It’s a space where lives are changed, callings are clarified, and faith becomes personal. If you’ve never experienced it, I truly believe it’s something that could mark your life and ministry in a lasting way. It’s a joy and a gift that I hope more within the reach of Church Forward will come to know.”
As we reflect on what God has done through Super Summer for the last half-century, we wait with anticipation for what’s to come in the next fifty years and beyond.
