Jeremy & Carolyn Holt

My name is Jeremy Holt, and I am currently serving as Interim Camp Director of Youth Haven. I served with KMM from the years 2015-2019 while still a single man. I met my wife, Carolyn, while camp counseling at Youth Haven Bible Camp. Her parents, Daniel & Julee McIntosh, served with KMM from the years 2012-2020 and still actively volunteer at Youth Haven. I am originally from St. Cloud, MN, and caught the camp bug pretty early on, serving at Camp Good News and Evergreen Bible Camp in MN throughout my teens and early twenties. Daniel had served with Camp Good News in the 1980s, so we actually met through CGN’s Facebook page! Though we had never met in person up to that time, he was the one who invited me to come down to Youth Haven that first summer in 2015. As the Lord would have it, I ended up tying the knot with his daughter in July of 2021! It’s funny how things go! I studied Christian Ministry and Spiritual Formation & Discipleship at Crown College in MN and Moody in Chicago. I first heard about KMM at Moody back in 2010 during Missions Conference when Pastor William Owens and Brad Quackenbush spoke in breakout sessions. Carolyn studied Bible and Counseling at Moody and Trinity Theological Seminary out of Evansville, IN.  

We are serving at KMM, because while Eastern Kentucky is rather rustic, mountainous, and beautiful in geography, sadly, it is very broken, impoverished, and in decline both socioeconomically and spiritually. Many of the typical problems of inner cities are very prevalent here, including rampant drug abuse, joblessness, family breakdown, welfare/widespread government dependency, and even hunger. Several young people need intervention, guidance, and mentoring. The Lord has broken our hearts for this particular region. We feel called to serve in one of the counties in which a 2014 New York Times study ranked the livability as one of the nation’s “top ten hardest.”

While Eastern Kentucky is part of the traditional “Bible Belt,” many churches are inward-focused, struggling, and having trouble reaching the next generation. Many mountain people do not understand what it means to truly be born again or have a personal relationship with Christ but, rather, are caught up in ritualistic traditions.

More than anything else, these youth need to know about the hope of a Savior. The Lord has opened up doors for ministries down here that plant seeds in the lives of nonbelievers, ministries that focus on evangelism and harvesting, and discipleship-focused ministries that all work together to bring someone through the entire spiritual life-cycle of being a new convert. The goal is to make disciples who will make disciples!

A wise saint of old once said, "The hour is desperately dark; your flame is needed." Though we feel inadequate, fearful, and hesitant at times, we have decided to answer God's call as a married couple to continue pursuing mission work as our full-time vocation! We are excited to participate in an ongoing Christ-centered mission effort with a special focus on ministries reaching out to at-risk youth. Please pray for us as we seek to be a bright, shining light in some of the darkest corners of our country. My prayer is that Carolyn and I can bring our education, years of camp experience, and passion for discipleship together to provide enthusiastic and effective leadership this summer and perhaps beyond! We would appreciate your prayers for us as we tackle this new endeavor! I’d like to thank KMM, again, for entrusting this opportunity to us! We hope we can make you all proud!