THE STORY OF
CAMP IN THE COMMUNITY
2011
CITC BEGINS
Camp in the Community (CITC) began as an outreach ministry of Camp Wesley Woods (CWW). Founder and Director, Whitney Winston worked at CWW for 13 years and during that time had spent one summer working in inner-city ministry. That summer she met children she knew she would never have met at CWW or most other summer camp programs. Because camp has the potential to be a place of transformation and growth, she felt that children like these who were not able to attend camp should be given the opportunity.
Two churches, Bybee UMC and Mountain View UMC, are identified as partners for the mobile summer camp program. The first-ever CITC summer camps are a success, with 77 campers in attendance.
2012
THE MINISTRY GROWS
Camp was offered at 7 churches, serving 299 campers. Over the next four years camp continues to grow in sites and number of campers.
2016
BECOMING IT'S OWN CAMP
In the summer of 2016, nine churches hosted and a total of 401 campers experienced camp through the CITC program. After summer, Wesley Woods determined that they could no longer afford to offer the program. The CRM Executive Director, Randy Pasqua, felt that the program was worthwhile and began seeking options for the future of the program.
In August of that year, Whitney Winston was asked to become the CITC Director, as it would become the 5th camp under the umbrella of the Holston Conference, though funds were not yet in place.
2017
EXPANDING REACH
Because CITC expanded to become its own camp under the umbrella of the Holston Conference, and could now serve any district throughout the conference, there would be a need to offer more weeks of camp.
The number of host sites served doubled from 8 in 2016 to 16 sites in 2017. That summer 851 campers were served, and the Junior Counselor program was expanded.
CITC got it's own logo, and office space at the Holston Conference Office.
2020
CAMP IS WHERE THE HEART IS
The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 forced all Holston Conference camps to cancel their summer programs.
In response, CITC developed the Camp is Where the Heart Is camp kit program. Each kit contained materials and instructions for a week of camp activities and devotions. The kits were distributed by partner churches and ministries.
A small staff, and many volunteers worked out of Whitney Winston's garage to create 1400 kits per week, for 9 weeks.
TEAM GROWS
With growth each summer, the year-round work of running camp continued to increase. In the February 2020, CITC hired its second year-round employee – Assistant Director, Haleigh Davis.
2022
THE STEAM DREAM
The summer of 2021 brought back in-person camp. And CITC was awarded a grant by the United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministry to create a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Music) activity trailer to visit it's sites each week of summer.
THE BUNGALOW
In the spring of 2023, CITC received an unexpected blessing, when the Bungalow Church building became the new home for camp.
Previously, CITC had a single office at the Holston Conference. The new space came equipped with a kitchen, office, living, storage, and housing space. It allowed camp to host it's own summer staff, and host trainings.
SITE FOUR
Once again, CITC expanded to serve more campers by adding a fourth site each week of summer. Camp's largest staff to date included 31 members.
2023
2024
FAITH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Camp in the Community introduced the Faith and Community Engagement Coordinator role to help churches build lasting connections beyond camp. This position supported year-round engagement by providing resources, coaching, and outreach strategies. Through training and partnerships, it empowered churches to continue sharing God’s love long after camp ended.
10 Years of Camp In the Community
On November 1, 2026, CITC will celebrate ten years as its own camp under the umbrella of the Holston Conference. What began as a summer outreach of Camp Wesley Woods has grown into a year-round ministry partnering with churches across the conference to bring camp close to home.