Friendship House campout blends mentorship, enjoyable

Friendship House campout blends mentorship, enjoyable

Published 3:33 pm Wednesday, April 1, 2026

A gaggle of boys from Bainbridge and Donalsonville spent their spring break with the Friendship House of Jesus, tenting, cooking over fires, and enjoying ping pong close to Lake Douglas.

The two-day campout had a easy theme: boys want males to grow to be males.

“The majority of our kids come from broken families,” Joshua Paske of the Friendship House mentioned. “Our whole vision at Friendship House is to restore the broken family, showing them what fatherhood looks like, what a husband looks like.”

Paske defined that Friendship House usually plans spring break actions that present youth constructive examples. At the campout, he mentioned actions akin to archery and a scavenger hunt supplied alternatives for the boys to be “providers and protectors.” They additionally arrange their very own tents, an image of them sooner or later offering shelter for his or her future households.

“Create the experiences that produce life-changing results — that’s part of what we’re doing,” Paske mentioned. “Without these opportunities, without these experiences, who knows what happens to our youth?”

Bainbridge Church of God youth pastor Roman Perez, Bainbridge Friendship House director Johnny Payne, Donalsonville Friendship House director Justin Gravlee, and Rural King supervisor Brian Debusk all volunteered their time to function male mentors.

“[Boys] can learn through mistakes, or they can learn through mentors,” Paske mentioned. “And my message is, choose mentors.”

However, Paske mentioned not sufficient individuals are creating alternatives for boys to have an alternative choice to “the streets and the screens.” He referred to as on different males to step up as mentors.

“Find a way to build a relationship in the life of a young person,” he mentioned. “Be a mentor to where they don’t have to make the mistakes that you’ve made in your life, and be consistent with that relationship.”

To study extra in regards to the Friendship House of Jesus, go to friendsministriesga.org.