Jane Worsham | Disciple Maker | CBC San Antonio

Jane Worsham
Summer Staff Alumni

As all good stories start, I got tricked into applying to work at camp. 
 
I had just started my freshman year of college at TCU and the summer wasn’t even on my radar. One evening, some friends of mine who had worked at Sky Ranch the summer before, invited me to dinner at a local burger spot on campus. I walked with them there when they abruptly told me they had to leave but that I was staying for dinner to meet the camp director, John Morgan, and that I should be spending my summer at Sky Ranch. I was so nervous and awkward and I wanted to leave, but I was in too deep. 
 
I sat at the end of the table and played with John’s kids, whom I quickly fell in love with. Again, another trap. 
 
I went back to my dorm that night and filled out the application, interviewed the next day and was captivated by the vision shared with me about Sky Ranch and their heart for kids and their ministry philosophy. It was different than any other camp I’d experienced or heard about. I loved that as a counselor, I would be with my campers all the time, and that I wouldn’t just work at a certain station or activity, but that I would get to shepherd their hearts and play with them and look for opportunities to share the Gospel moment-by-moment with them. (Granted, I didn’t really know how to articulate the Gospel well to 8 year olds yet, but I desperately wanted the chance to). It felt like the grittiest application of the great commission in Matthew 28:
 
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
 
I love the command to “go” and have heard it translated as “as you go”, as in, as you go about living and doing whatever you’re already doing, make disciples. At Sky Ranch, the weight isn’t all on the Bible study or the night event, but the little moments to teach and ask good questions and listen on the walk to the water slides, at the dinner table over Sky Burgers, and everywhere in between. They emphasize the person of Jesus and not a program or a pitch. 
 
I had the privilege of working at camp for 3 summers, each year in a different role, getting to see different aspects of camp. At Sky Ranch, I learned how to receive truth (iron sharpening iron sounds cute in a Bible verse, but it’s painful and challenging, and ultimately shaped so much of the woman I’ve become). I learned how to ask good questions and really listen for the answers. I learned how to speak the truth in love, when I had to be the one sharpening a fellow counselor or talking through a hard issue with a camper. I learned that homesickness can sometimes be cured with Skittles and a little distraction. I learned how to work as a team with people who are different from me. I learned how to rely on Jesus when I was functioning in pure exhaustion. I learned that being silly and playing games can unlock a child’s heart to be open to trusting you when you talk about Jesus. Sky Ranch taught me about strong work ethic, endurance, and the value of play in the Kingdom. 
 
It also doesn’t hurt that I met my husband there, and our marriage and ministry together is strong and sweet, as we have a shared language, heart and ministry philosophy because of Sky Ranch’s culture and the investment of leadership in us. We’re about to be first-time parents and so much of how we will love and lead our daughter will be shaped by what we each learned in our time at Sky Ranch.