October 1, 2026
CLAYTON, Ga. — Camp Pinnacle’s 2026 summer missions focus on Brazil helped hundreds of girls see gospel needs around the world and respond to Christ in their own lives. Karen Pace, a Georgia Baptist Mission Board consultant, reported that 10 girls accepted Christ as Savior, two expressed a desire to be baptized, two were called to missions, and a $4,593 missions offering was taken to support Southern Baptist workers in the Amazon region.
Pace said a total of 528 campers attended the camp, which is owned and operated by Georgia Baptist Women, in 2026 and were served by 32 staff members and 44 missionaries, nurses, and volunteers. Pace added that nearly a fourth of the staff also sensed either “a call to missions or a heightened awareness from God’s Spirit to live on mission and become stronger disciple makers.”
Campers spent part of their summer learning about Southern Baptist missionaries working in Brazil, including their ministry in Manaus and among indigenous people groups living along the river. Pace said campers learned about missionaries serving in remote villages, with little or no gospel witness, and in communities where workers are building relationships, discipling new believers, and helping churches take root.
The missions offering given by campers went directly to help workers in the Amazon region and support projects designed to reach people with the gospel.
Pace said the summer focus centered on three areas of work in Brazil. One was a church planted in a squatter’s community in Manaus where no gospel presence existed before. Another involved an indigenous people group referred to as the “M” people, who live on the river and follow tribal laws and customs. A church now exists in one of those villages because workers have built relationships, shared the gospel, and discipled new believers, she said. Campers also learned about ministry among the peoples of the southwest Amazon region, “where Southern Baptist workers are making Jesus known.”
“There’s not another camp experience for girls in Georgia that strives to immerse campers and staff in a culture for the sake of learning about people groups around the world, their need for Jesus, and how we can be a part of reaching them with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Pace said. “My prayer continually is that God will transform lives each summer and call out our Georgia girls to be the missionaries and leaders across our state and world to make Jesus known.”
As part of Camp Pinnacle’s ministry strategy, some camp staff travel to the area connected to the upcoming summer missions focus. In spring 2026, six women traveled to Brazil to serve among the workers that campers would be learning about and praying for throughout the summer.
Pace said the trip allowed the women to meet missionaries and the people they serve, better understand the culture, and help bring those stories back to share with campers in Georgia.
“Our prayer is that we are able to create experiences during camp of the places and people we are focused on and that campers and staffers would be called to these places and people,” Pace said. “We ask God to use Camp Pinnacle to call girls out to live a life on mission, surrender to full-time vocational missions, and to support the work of SBC missions worldwide.”
Riley Payne, a 2026 staffer who traveled to Brazil, said the experience deepened her burden for the people campers would learn about during the summer.
“Our time in Brazil was so eye-opening,” Payne said. “I can’t wait to teach the girls all about the people groups we met and learned about, and now that I’ve seen firsthand, I have such a heart to pray for them myself.”
The connection between Camp Pinnacle and missions was also evident through those who returned to camp this summer to teach and encourage girls. Pace said one missionary in residence had been a former camper and staffer before serving as a journeyman in Brazil. Having her back at camp to lead and teach about the work among the peoples of the region helped bring Camp Pinnacle’s mission full circle, Pace said.
Another former staffer, who now serves full time through the International Mission Board, also spent several weeks at camp investing in staff and campers while sharing about ministry among the Deaf Affinity.
Allison Harvey, Camp Pinnacle director, said staff members play a vital role in shaping campers’ lives and pointing them to Christ.
“When recruiting and hiring staff, I tell them, ‘Your summer matters for eternity,’” Harvey said. “Here at Camp Pinnacle, they introduce girls to Jesus and teach girls about missions around the world. It is an incredible moment to see the joy and excitement in the staff when one of their campers trusts Jesus as Savior and Lord or hears the call from God to live on mission. God is using these young women on staff to impact eternity, and I have a front row seat! Praise the Lord!”
One field worker in Brazil told Pace that the partnership with Georgia Baptist Women and Camp Pinnacle will help future missionaries and disciple makers.
“We had a great time working with the six ladies that came to Brazil,” the field worker said. “We are grateful for Georgia Baptist Women and love that they take the Great Commission seriously and are investing in the next generation of Kingdom workers.”
In addition to the girls’ summer sessions, Camp Pinnacle also launched a new ministry opportunity this year with its first adult women’s camp, The Gathering. Women ages 19 to 82 participated in camp activities including pottery, archery, kayaking, and beading. They also heard from missionaries, played camp games, roasted s’mores, and worshiped with music led by the camp staff worship team. Stephanie Bennett, a women's ministry consultant with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, served as Bible study teacher.
Pace said women left excited to return next year and bring friends. She also encouraged girls and women who want to explore what God is doing in their lives and around the world to attend future Camp Pinnacle opportunities.
Camp Pinnacle’s 2027 summer missions focus will turn to Canada, giving girls another opportunity to learn how God is at work there and how they can join Him. More information is available at camppinnacle.net.
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