"A Grace-Filled Welcome"

Jody Oates grew up in United Methodist camps, sacred spaces that shaped his earliest experiences of faith and community and eventually led to his call into vocational ministry. As a very young clergyperson, he was invited to serve on the West Ohio Conference Camp Leadership Committee. It was there that he first engaged in collaborative wrestling with ministry relevancy and vision—processes that would become central to his life’s work in service to the Church and to camp and retreat centers.

At the time, though, that work was happening largely “in a vacuum.” Jody hadn’t yet encountered the broader network of United Methodist Camp & Retreat Ministries or understood the scope and power of its connectionalism. That changed in 1999 at his first UMCRM National Gathering at St. Simons Island, Georgia. Encountering a room full of passionate and energetic camp leaders, he recalls, “My world opened up. I realized there were others of us!” That sense of belonging, of not being alone in his passion for this unique ministry, marked a turning point. Less than a year later, Jody accepted the role of Director of Camping Ministries for the West Ohio Conference, overlapping briefly with longtime leader Ted Witt. Just two weeks into his tenure, they packed up and traveled to Wesley Woods Camp in Iowa to meet with executive directors from around the North Central Jurisdiction—Jan Thomas, Naomi Garcia, Rocky Wilson, Bruce Nelson, Dick Farris, and host director Dave Schar. Though their wisdom and legacy might have been intimidating, their generous welcome made space for Jody. “I was passionate but clueless,” he remembers. But their openness, their willingness to share stories and struggles, and to treat him as a peer, planted something deep. It was the second time in a single year that Jody had been embraced by a warm, spirited, mission-driven community of fellow United Methodist Camp & Retreat leaders.

This connectional spirit played a role in his vocation in unexpected ways. When the West Ohio Conference brought in Kaleidoscope, Inc.—a consulting firm founded by Kathy Trotter—to help with visioning and assessment, Jody got to be part of the process. He realized how much he loved helping clarify vision and translate it into action. A few years later, Kathy invited him to help with consulting projects, and upon her retirement, he was ready to take the helm. Today, as Principal Consultant, Jody works with a wide range of camps and nonprofits, but he still finds that visiting a United Methodist camp “feels like coming home.” The shared traditions, struggles, and spirit of grace are familiar territory. And the community—decades later—still extends the same heartfelt welcome that first drew him in.

“The relevance of the camp and retreat experience must be lifted up and strengthened so that these ministries can keep reaching kids, families, and communities into the future,” Jody says. “Camp & Retreat Ministries are the strongest asset of our denomination. We impact more young people through our camps and retreats than through anything else we do in the Church.” Though his reach now extends beyond the denomination, his identity remains rooted in the Methodist heritage that camp helped instill: leading with grace, extending love through welcome, and building community through vision and connection. When he returns “home” to the UMCRM Gathering every two years, it’s the quiet porch conversations and long walks with old and new colleagues alike that fill him up. Within the UMCRM connection, he is reminded that we are a family—made stronger, always, by the welcome we extend to one another.