History
God began to speak to Gary Gilbertson, the founder of Prepare Ministries, for many years about the bible verse Genesis 24:63, "...behold, the camels are coming." He taught on it and yet didn't have a full grasp of why this verse was so specific for him. However, after pastoring a church in Northfield for nearly thirty years, in 2000 he began to get an answer. It was then that Gary felt the Lord caling him to out of pastoring to something new. He resigned from his position and began to seek the Lord. It was during this time he was asked by students from Mankato State University to mentor them. Out of this mentorship a campus group grew and developed. Soon friends of the original group asked Gary to speak at their campuses, and Gary found himself traveling to other campuses. It was during the 2001 school year Gary took the name Prepare Ministries and with volunteer staff member founded Prepare Ministries.
The Name of Prepare Ministries
John the Baptist, dressed in a camel haired coat, prepared the way for the Lord's first coming. Now in this time we are equiping students and young adults to prepare for the Lord's second coming. While we don't know the exact time or day of the Lord's return, it is in this waiting period that we are to prepare ourselves for His second coming.
The Reason for Camels
While this is more complicated then a one paragraph answer, the quick answer is that it comes from the verse Gen. 24:63 and the story of John the Baptist. The camels in Genesis brought a bride for Isaac. John the Baptist, who dressed in camel skins, ushered in the first coming of Chirst, the Bridegroom. In this way camels represent the coming of a treasure, be it a bride or the Bridegroom; therefore since we desire to bring in the second coming of Christ, camels seem to be an appropriate icon for the ministry. If you are interested in reading more about this, click here to read a booklet about the camel / Bridegroom vision.
"...and, behold, the camels were coming."