For over 20 years, Nazarene lay people have volunteered their time with RVs on a Mission (ROAM), serving across the United States at Nazarene campgrounds, churches, and compassionate ministries projects.

ROAM was organized in 2003 by a group of Nazarenes who had served with non-denominational organizations and felt led to start an organization to do similar work for the Church of the Nazarene. According to Ruth Kile, a volunteer with ROAM, there are 43 active projects across 24 states.

Projects can range from serving at a Nazarene campground to pitching in on disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of hurricane and tornado devastation. Kile says tasks include helping with construction, renovation, and grounds maintenance at camp, as well as food service and working in thrift shops. If volunteers have physical limitations, ROAM will happily accommodate and find appropriate tasks.

“The volunteers enjoy devotions and worship services together, potlucks, game nights, and sightseeing,” Kile said. “We quickly become family.”

Projects provide full hook-ups for the RVs of ROAM volunteers. Some campgrounds offer onsite lodging in apartments or cabins for those who do not have an RV.

Camp ministry and meetings have long been an important part of the Church of the Nazarene. There are currently more than 40 operating campgrounds owned by the Church of the Nazarene in the United States, some of which utilize ROAM for volunteer work and service on site.

One of those campground projects is the Salyer Lake Conference & Retreat Center in Minco, Oklahoma.

Salyer Lake is one of the newer Nazarene campgrounds, starting in 1996. Camp Director Ken Hembree has been at Salyer Lake since 2007 and says he’s had three to four groups of volunteers with ROAM yearly.

“They bring their expertise, and their willingness to work has helped us in everything,” Hembree said. “Some of them have expertise in [construction] trades, and that’s a great blessing. I’ve got one couple; they’re both retired chemists and are just willing to do whatever‘s asked, from planting flowers to washing dishes, organizing the maintenance barn...”

Kile says volunteers work in shifts, four days a week, for six hours at a time, with some variation depending on whether they are traveling with family or friends.

Hembree says that now that Salyer Lake’s traditional camp season is over, camp groups attend on the weekends, and ROAM volunteers will help out then, too, instead of during the week.

“It’s wonderful having people that desire to do ministry, probably different than they’ve ever done it, but in their later years in life,” Hembree said.

Salyer Lake’s size and newness mean the staff don’t have as much support as some of the larger Nazarene camps. Hembree said the support from ROAM volunteers means they can run self-supported, which is a benefit to the sustainability of Salyer Lake.

A sustainable financial future means that places like Salyer Lake can continue to be a place where students and adults alike may find salvation and grow closer to God through camps and retreats.

“For a start-up like ourselves, we struggle with staff because we don’t have the financial backing and the facilities to host multiple groups at a time,” Hembree said. “Having people willing to pitch in and do anything has been an incredible advantage.”