Nathan Moore is the Program Director here at Camp Joy. You can often find him leading music, organizing games, and driving camp’s speedboats. He also oversees camp’s IT network, dabbles in auto mechanics, and has a hand in a number of other departments here at camp. He and his wife Helen have two children, Viola and Grayson.
What brought you to Camp Joy?
Camp Joy has always had a special place in my heart. I remember being 8 years old and coming to my first Junior camp. It was an amazing experience… except for being dared to lick a nine-volt battery and being dumb enough to do it! I came to junior camp almost every summer until my family and I went to South Africa as missionaries.
I didn’t come back to Camp Joy until I was 16 years old, as a member of the Operations staff. I learned a ton. I don’t consider myself to be the handiest person, and I didn’t have any experience doing a lot of outdoor work, so that summer was a huge stretch for me.
I returned as a counselor in the summers of 2011 and then 2012. While working on Operations staff taught me a lot about manual labor and working on the little things, counseling taught me to wholly rely on God. I had campers tell me that they knew they were bitter but they didn’t care. For the “little MK” who always did what he was told when he was told, this was a shock. I really had to give God my life and let Him be in charge. By the summer of 2013, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be on Camp Joy’s program staff. That summer taught me initiative and being willing to jump in and do what needed to be done. There were many times when my supervisor was nowhere to be found, and I had to be able to give myself things to do and take care of items that popped up. All these summers taught me life lessons that looking back, I am very grateful for.
After college, I thought my time in camping was done. I had served in every department that a guy could… except kitchen. I had been asked by a couple of people if I would be interested in working full time at camp, and I dodged that question every time. I never could have imagined how God would work. In early 2016, I was approached by several individuals about coming on full time staff at Camp Joy. I had several talks with the director, and I decided that God wanted my wife and I to leave our ministry in Georgia and volunteer at Camp Joy. Why volunteer? Because the director was my father! There were those that were concerned that my coming on staff could be viewed as nepotism, and by volunteering my time and my talents, I could prove to everyone that I could handle the job of program director. I have been on full-time staff since summer of 2017, and I could not be happier with where God has us. Camp Joy is such a great place to work, and I look forward to continued years of service if God allows.
What’s your favorite part of working at Camp Joy?
It’s hard to pick just one thing that I love about working here. As employees, we enjoy a high amount of camaraderie amongst one another, so that is definitely something that I enjoy. Since taking over as Program Director in the summer of 2017, I have enjoyed learning a lot of new skills such as auto mechanics (not great at that yet), IT, and the ins and outs of my own job description. I also enjoy the challenge that each day and group brings: getting to do skits, driving a boat, and so much more! It’s always an adventure!
What is something you have learned while at camp?
I’ve learned so much since starting out here. I guess one thing that I have learned and am still learning daily is relying completely on God for everything. God is in control and control is something that is very hard for me to relinquish. And yet, when I do, I am amazed at the results that come in. God always works things out far better than I can.
What is one of your favorite parts of your department?
I like to run what laser tag games I can, as well as driving the speedboats that we have. I also love being up in front of people and helping to make their time at Camp Joy the best it possibly can!
