SAN CLEMENTE : Church Camp Mixes Surf and Scripture

Surfboard at the ready, 9-year-old Nathan Yeomans dug his toes in the sand, plucked at his wet suit, wrinkled his nose and incredulously repeated the seemingly silly question.

“Would I rather be here than Sunday school?” the tanned, blond youth said, leaning against his board. “This is a lot more rad than sitting down and doing schoolwork.”

That was the consensus last week of 42 other kids attending Ocean Hill Community Church’s surfing summer camp, whose theme might be something like, “Gimme that ol’ time religion, but give it to me on the beach.”

“That’s been a philosophy of mine, give the kids a learning environment that’s fun,” said Susan Turner, child ministry coordinator for the church. “It works great.”

This summer marks the third year for the one-week surf camp, with attendance this year three times that of the first camp, church officials said. Part of the reason is the modest cost of the full-day camp--$20 for children in grades one through six.

But the real secret behind the camp’s success, said Richard Yeomans, Nathan’s father and the church pastor, are the role models provided for the children.

Yeomans, a director for a national Christian surfing group, brings in top amateur and professional Christian surfers to teach campers that religious values and riding waves are compatible.

“These people really show the children the fun of surfing, and at the same time, they are real Christian role models who take these kids under their wing and show them by example,” Yeomans said.

Part of the week is spent on the road, visiting a local surfboard manufacturer and attending the surfing hall of fame in Huntington Beach. The last day of camp was celebrated Saturday with a family barbecue, highlighted by a surf contest for the children.

In the preceding week, camp leaders started each morning with a brief pre-surf sermon.

“We give short lessons on practical values,” Turner said on Friday. “Then we challenge them.”

“For instance, this morning we asked them ‘What is love?’ and we narrowed it down to a few virtues like patience, caring and kindness,” Turner said. “The challenge today was for them to show kindness on the beach--sharing your Boogie Board or letting another child use your wet suit if they didn’t bring one.”

On an isolated stretch of San Clemente beach last week, camp counselors were hip-deep in choppy ocean, showing a group of campers the fine art of body boarding and body surfing. About 100 yards away, Yeomans, a 20-year veteran surfer, was showing how to paddle in pursuit of the perfect wave.

As a modest, 3-foot wave began to rise, 10-year-old Nathan Schreiner stood on his board, wobbling like a duckling on its first flight. Seconds later, he crash-landed in a swath of foam. But he stood up immediately, dark hair plastered over his forehead and a big grin stretched across his face.

“I was here last year, and I want to come again,” he said. “This is way fun.”