JDC Camp: Hope Behind the Walls
This year’s Juvenile Detention Center Camp was one of our favorite camps yet. It was a beautiful picture of collaboration, innovation, and God’s faithfulness. Because of your prayers and generous support, 51 youth inside the juvenile detention center experienced a week filled with fun, encouragement, and the life-changing hope of the Gospel.
Throughout the week, campers enjoyed outdoor games, water slides, a dunk tank, snow cones, crafts, and activities designed to help them discover their worth and purpose. They created vision boards centered on Scripture and self-portraits inspired by the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold—a powerful reminder that God can take what is broken and create something beautiful. Every activity reinforced one simple truth: they are loved, worthy, and created on purpose for a purpose.
Each day also included practical life lessons from our team. Davon taught emotional intelligence. Angel shared practical next steps for making better choices. Carlos courageously addressed family wounds and the road toward healing. Mental health professionals spoke about healthy coping skills, while our small group leaders created safe spaces for honest conversations. Many of the teens had never been given the opportunity to openly talk about faith, forgiveness, identity, and hope.
The Gospel remained at the center of everything we did.
This summer also marked an exciting step forward as five team members from YFC Miami joined us to learn how to replicate the JDC Camp model in their own community. Our vision is to see camps like this take place in juvenile detention centers across Florida and eventually throughout the country. Next week, we will be bringing camp to the Detention Center in Hillsborough. God is opening doors, and we are grateful to be part of what He is doing.
By the end of camp, 20 students made decisions to say “yes” to Jesus!
Many asked for Bibles, saying things like: “I haven’t read one since I’ve been here. Can you get me one?”
Others quietly asked for prayer:
“Pray for my mom to make good decisions when she gets out of jail.”
“Pray for protection over my baby.”
Several students expressed a desire to be baptized.
One student has already reached out to stay connected after camp, and we are continuing to follow up through one-on-one discipleship, weekly mentoring, Bible studies, and connections to our aftercare ministry. While some youth will move to other facilities before we see them again, we trust God has planted seeds which will continue to grow.
One moment especially captured why this ministry matters. During camp, a student said,
“We don’t deserve this. We did bad things to get in here, so we don’t deserve to have fun.”
Those words broke our hearts. So many of these young people have believed lies about themselves for years—they believe they are
beyond hope,
beyond love, and
beyond redemption.
Many wear a tough exterior because vulnerability feels dangerous. Yet beneath hard shells are teenagers carrying deep wounds, shame, fear, and loss. Throughout the week, we challenged those lies with God’s truth.
We talked honestly about betrayal, broken hearts, poor choices, and the mistakes which bring people to places like juvenile detention. Then we shared the greater truth:
God loves them. They are worthy. They were created on purpose and for a purpose.
Their past does not define their future.
Camp happens just once a year but every week our team gathers to pray, prepare, and faithfully continue this work. Because every young person who sits in front of us is a gift. We may only have one opportunity to share the Gospel with them, but we believe this one encounter with God’s love can change the course of their life forever.
Through your faithful partnership in prayer and resources, you are a vital part of planting these seeds of hope.