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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

Every time I hear him speak, my eyes start to water, and the only reason it doesn’t turn into a full-on cry is because I’ve heard his story on many occasions.

That is the passion that Aaron Knight brings when he tells his story, and it’s the passion he is currently bringing to an attempt at saving Camp Hargis Christian Camp in Chelsea.

I still remember the first time I sat down and listened to his story for our annual Profile magazine.

It took everything I had to keep in the tears that wanted to pour out of me as he talked about his life of overcoming drug addiction, selling drugs to make ends meet and living in a car in the woods because he had burned several bridges.

He was almost in as dark of a place as you can be on this earth when a car accident changed his life.

The man on the other end of that accident, Charles Diffee, handed him a handwritten letter saying God wanted Knight to have the letter, which talked about spending too much time running from God.

It took some time, but Knight completely turned his life around, giving up drugs and eventually going to Highlands College before becoming a pastor at Chelsea’s Redemption Church.

It was a story that stuck with me and my wife so much that when it came time to choose the pastor to lead our wedding, we didn’t even blink. We knew it was going to be Knight, who we felt came into our lives at that exact moment for a reason.

He put on the most memorable ceremony, and our families still talk about how incredible Knight was before, during and after the ceremony.

It was just a testament to who he is as a person, something he continues to show on a daily basis.

Now, God has presented Knight with his next challenge—saving Camp Hargis.

A camp that has been around since the mid 1960s and was just recently sold, Knight has worked night and day to make sure the worship continues at the camp so many more memories can be made through the Lord.

The land that Hargis sits on was purchased by Eddleman Properties and Doug Eddleman.

Knight was hopeful to at the least be able to build a small house on the land next to the lake, but after much prayer, he knew he needed to save the camp and bring worship for the youth back to the camp.

From there, he went out of his way to get a meeting with the president of one of the state’s largest real estate companies.

After several meetings, the two came to terms on a down payment and cost at the beginning of December 2021.

Knight had to raise $195,000 by the end of the month for the down payment, and he did just that, actually raising more than $200,000 from local businesses in Chelsea.

They were all willing to jump on board with helping, one after another, once they heard about the cause because they wanted to support Knight and his fight.

Like me, they saw the kindness in his heart and the adversity he faced to get where he is today.

Now, he has to raise $1 million each of the next two years to pay for the property, but if his past is any sign, he’ll do it with ease because of the support he has from others and the passion he has to serve the Lord.