Lake Oconee, Georgia
Crappie Camp
Lakepoint Church
About This Camp
The Lake Oconee Crappie Camp began the weekend of Oct. 7-9, 2022. It was the brainchild of Lake Oconee fishing guide Mark Smith. Although Mark has been involved with 30-30 Ministries since 2016, he’s always shared with 30-30 Ministries that he had a desire to serve more.
Hosting your own Camp certainly falls into the category of serving more, and that’s exactly what Mark set out to do. He put together an impressive team of six boat captains and the necessary cooks to make the first-ever Lake Oconee Crappie Camp flow smoothly. Devotions and meals were hosted at nearby Denham Creek Farms, and a CAMO Sunday service was held at Lakepoint Community Church, Mark’s home church. Beginning with the 2023 Camp, Lakepoint Community Church and Evergreen Homes & Development came on board to co-sponsor the costs associated with facilitating the Camp.
Camp Managers
Mark & Lilly Smith
Mark Smith, a full-time fishing guide on Lake Oconee, has been involved with 30-30 Ministries since 2013 when he began taking 30-30 Ministries’ volunteers fishing as a way to thank them for their services. For several years, Mark was feeling God’s call to get involved with 30-30 Ministries in some way, but it took a little while for God to open that door.
Then, on June 8-10, 2018, Mark stepped out of his fishing comfort zone as a result of being asked to guide at the first-ever 30-30 Ministries’ Shark Camp. It was that weekend when Mark was hooked on 30-30 Ministries. After that, he brought his wife, Lilly, on board for a meeting with 30-30 Ministries to ask how they could be more involved together. As it turned out, Lilly is excellent with administration and order, while Mark has great people skills, making them the perfect Camp Manager team.
Mark and Lilly visited a few Camps and served in different capacities, but their first official weekend as Camp Managers took place the weekend of Jan. 24-26, 2020 at the Taliaferro County Rabbit Camp. They now manage several Camps and even host their own Lake Oconee Crappie Camp with their home church, Lakepoint Community Church.