Raising servant leaders at Jesse Ketchum
For Ethan Castro, summer means service. This past summer was not his first year serving at Sonshine Day Camp at Jesse Ketchum. In fact, it was his fourth year.
Ethan, a university student and aspiring teacher, grew up at Stone Church in the heart of downtown Toronto, at Yonge and Davenport. During COVID, health concerns had kept him at home for two years, disconnected from his church and community. The summer of 2022 was a breakthrough in his faith journey.
That same year, Toronto City Mission (TCM) opened a site at Jesse Ketchum, hosted by Stone Church. TCM was running its first Sonshine Day Camp in the community and Ethan’s youth leader invited him to serve as an intern. Serving at camp became his motivation to leave the house again, reconnecting with his faith and community. Little did he know this would become his summer ministry for the next four years.
What keeps Ethan coming back is the joy of witnessing the growth in campers and God’s work in the community. Seeing the kids’ growing excitement for the camp, especially for the Bible storytime and small group discussions on faith, showed him God’s transformational power in their hearts.
Over the past four years, he witnessed the outreach efforts bear fruit and flourish. In his first summer, he remembered a “good day” at camp meant having about 18 children. Some days, only four kids showed up. Just a few years later, Sonshine Day Camp at Jesse Ketchum was serving between 38 and 58 kids daily—a reflection of both the community’s growing need and the positive impacts of TCM’s work.
This year, with three years of internship experience, Ethan stepped up as a Co-Director, leading the camp alongside Outreach Workers. In his new role, he helped support other interns and delegated tasks to them, and supervised teen leaders from TCM’s Teens Leading Community (TLC) program. Ethan has known some TLCs since they were campers in his first summer. Seeing their growth has been one of his greatest joys. One teen in particular stood out—*Jordan.
Ethan had already spotted Jordan’s leadership potential back in his first year. “He loves camp, he loves being with other kids, and I know that when he’s old enough, he probably will step into being a TLC,” he said. His hunch proved right—Jordan became a TLC last year.
Shifting from camper to leader was not easy, as Jordan had to trade play time for responsibility and learn to serve the younger kids. Jordan’s first year as a TLC came with some growing pains. Ethan admitted that they had some difficulty with him last year.
This summer, however, Ethan saw a transformation. Before camp began, he encouraged Jordan to see it as a fresh opportunity for growth, and throughout the summer, he witnessed him rise to the challenge. He was proud to see his willingness to step up and even act as a role model to other new TLCs, he said.
Ethan was proud not only of Jordan but of other returning TLCs. They came back ready to serve—and to serve well. This year, the TLCs were given opportunities to lead games. Ethan could see the genuine care they had for their role when they asked for feedback after leading a game. If they felt like they did not give their best, they would even ask for a second chance.
For Ethan, seeing how much God is working in the children’s hearts without his direct influence was a humbling experience. He said being a Co-Director has been a blessing for him as he has witnessed how much the teens have grown into their leadership roles, showing a genuine heart to serve and the eagerness to keep learning.
*All names of program attendees have been changed to protect privacy.