Cottonton Baptist Church uses new campground to reach people with gospel

Cottonton Baptist Church uses new campground to reach people with gospel

By Caleb Jones
Intern, The Alabama Baptist

If you build it they will come.”

This famous line from “Field of Dreams” inspired Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his Iowa cornfield.

While that was Iowa, Robert Rhodes, pastor of Cottonton Baptist Church, recently had his own “Field of Dreams” moment.

Even though Rhodes was not completely sure of the purpose, he felt the Lord leading the Russell Baptist Association church to purchase a wooded area right down the street from the church building. He initially thought the property would be used to help local foster children because Rhodes himself was a foster child and his family has hosted more than 100 kids in his lifetime.

‘Supernaturally woven’

However, after purchasing the land Rhodes felt led to have the church develop it into a campground instead in order to advance the spread of the gospel.

“I had a vision that we would be able to slip Jesus into the fun we were having through the camp,” Rhodes said. “But the Lord had plans for the gospel to be supernaturally woven into every aspect of the camp, especially in the obstacle course.”

The obstacle course contains about four or five different challenges, and each challenge represents a little piece of the gospel and explains everyone’s need for it, he said.

The course leads up to the grand finale zip line, which represents a truth about our walk as Christians, Rhodes explained.

“The truth is that even though Christians surrender their lives to Christ, they will still face challenges. But the Lord will help us overcome our fears and then we can enjoy the journey with Him. We share this with the people on the course and then they zip down.”

Along with the obstacle course and zip line, the campground also houses a pavilion, treehouse, volleyball courts and areas for canoeing and kayaking, among other things. Tent camping also is available, complete with showers and bathrooms.

“The whole camp is a place for people to come, slow down and rest while getting to experience the Christian fellowship and the gospel,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes’ vision with the campground is to change the culture by reaching kids.

Hosting camps

“We live in a time where families are falling apart and so many people are hurting, and so we are offering the campground as a place of refuge,” Rhodes said.

So far the church has hosted two camps, one for youth boys and the other for girls. Each camp lasted a few days and kids were able to engage in Bible studies, have times to be open and vulnerable with their leaders and enjoy the activities the camp offers.

Rhodes said the camp has been a tremendous blessing to his church and the community and is open to anyone interested in using it. Churches or groups can rent the campground for the day or weekend.

For more information, visit www.cottontonbaptist.org or call 334-855-4726.