Epic Drama Finale: Summer Camp 2025

Feb 264 min read

THIS SUMMER: Get ready for the epic finale of the Primetime Prophecy Trilogy at Camp Wakonda's Summer Camp. The camp drama has become a feature over the past couple of summers. Read on to find out why you can't miss it in 2025!

After the summer of 2022, Pastor Zack started dreaming up a play about the story of Jonah--specifically with the idea of incorporating chapter two of the book (which is usually forgotten about). In chapter two, there is a beautiful poem about Jonah passing from life to death and back to life again (whether literally or figuratively). The vision was that, in the mornings, there would be plays about the life of Jesus, and in the evenings, there would be plays about Jonah. They would intersect so that the same Jesus would feature in both. Jonah's death and resurrection would be a foreshadowing of Jesus' later death and resurrection. While Jesus died on the cross in the morning play, he would appear again in the final evening play as a Savior who conquered death for Jonah--who died for him, even though he was a selfish prophet. The end result was a Jonah who came to repentance for his sinful ways and came to know Jesus on a personal level. He no longer was trying to be best friends with the rebellious King of Israel, but was ready to tell him the truth about how he needed to get the kingdom back on track.

Photos from 2023's Wake Up Call

The play, which stylistically ended up incorporating modern ideas (like fashion and social media) with the biblical story, ended up connecting well with our staff actors and our camper audience. However, something unexpected happened during that first play (entitled Wake Up Call) in 2023: viewers fell in love with a side character named Steve. Steve is a false prophet who has a huge social media following (#SteveNation) and who only thinks about himself and how he can ultimately suck up to the king and improve his position on the social ladder. He makes fun of the true prophets and doesn't care about truth. But Joshua Case, the camp staff who acted as Steve, brought an air of "cool" to the character, and the audience demanded more Steve. So the idea came about that we would have a sequel to the play in 2024, and in that play we would put Steve through the ringer so that he came out a better person at the end of it.

Posing with the newly minted #SteveNation shirts, summer of 2023

The 2024 play was called Back to the Garden and it featured the same Jesus from the 2023 plays (the illustrious William Ramos), who returned to the scene to take the Prophet Steve (who now has a successful late-night television slot, thanks to his past conniving) on a time-traveling journey. On this journey, he discovered the origins of sin, came to understand that he was a sinner, and realized that Jesus was his friend who died for him. At the end of the play, he was resolved to give his life to Jesus, and ready to go back to his own time period and start spreading the Gospel around the kingdom. That brings us to our 2025 play.

Photos from 2024's Back to the Garden

William and Joshua will be back to play Jesus and Steve in the final episode of our trilogy--entitled The Big Shakeup. In this installment, the two (now converted) prophets--Jonah and Steve--join forces with their contemporaries: Amos and Hosea. They all work together to convert the unrepentant King Jerry 2.0 (Jeroboam II), to no avail. Historically, during the reign of this king, God sent an earthquake as judgment upon the kingdom. This was specifically prophesied by Amos, and there is ample archaeological evidence of this earthquake. Therefore, in the play, two archaeologists in the modern world will be looking at evidence as they narrate the events that happen as the main plot of the drama. In the end, our team of prophetic heroes will learn about working together, staying strong during times of persecution, and how ultimately God has the final judgment when it comes to world events and stubborn leaders who lead their followers astray.

William and Joshua, playing the time-travelling Jesus and Steve, summer of 2024

If you haven't seen the first two plays, and you want to come to camp this summer--that is ok! Each play is written to be a stand-alone story that will be enjoyable to anyone, regardless of having attended previous summers. But it is cool to see the enthusiasm that our campers and staff have for coming back each summer to catch the next installment of the continuing saga.

Campers posing with the (newly converted) Prophet Steve

"No one has done a play about the reign of King Jeroboam II," said Pastor Zack of the production, "Let alone a trilogy of plays...let alone at camp." It's a unique story that helps kids to be able to dig deep into lesser-studied portions of the Bible (while mixing in well-known stories like Jonah, Adam and Eve, the Flood, etc.). The story incorporates dialogue about archaeology, original Bible languages, prophecies made and fulfilled, the Great Controversy narrative, sin and redemption, rebellion and repentance, and much more. It's wrapped up in a fun package that helps kids and adults alike to connect with the material, but underneath that layer is a deep dive into core Christian and Adventist values, as well as practical lessons for Christian living. There are few places where you can be moved to laughter and tears, all while experiencing an Adventist take on Bible stories that are applicable to kids' lives in 2025: but that's just what you'll get at Camp Wakonda. We can't wait for you all to come see it!