Our featured Camp Musician this month is Carly Escoto!
Carly first got involved with Young Life in high school. Her soccer coach was a leader in the greater L.A. area. She met the Lord at Woodleaf when she was 14 years old and went on to serve as a WyldLife leader, on work crew, on summer staff, and volunteered as a Young Life leader while in college.
While serving on summer staff at Woodleaf, Brandon Heath told her, “you have a voice.” At the time she didn’t have any intention of singing in front of people but if Brandon Heath said so, it just might be true. She was encouraged to start praying about it and from there started to write and perform her own music.
Carly first started serving on summer camp assignments as a volunteer program director, then eventually helped lead music and shared original songs with campers. She recently completed her 10th summer assignment and 7th as camp musician. Carly spends lots of the year singing at weekend camps, staff/leader retreats and her local Capernaum club. She feels connected to almost every part of Young Life because she has lived almost every aspect of it.
Carly says, “I am blown away by the way the Lord moves through this ministry. Obviously, God can do anything through anything, but truly my life would not be anything like it is, and I would not be the woman I am if it weren’t for Young Life. I met the Lord through Young Life, I learned how to serve, met my husband, formed the closest relationships I’ve had to this day, found my calling, watched my parents get brought to the Lord, heck, even where I now live is because of Young Life… God has been so good to me through this ministry. There’s nothing like it, and I feel incredibly privileged that my gifts found a home within it.”
Carly’s album, Light the Dark, is available here.
Visit Carly’s website.
Follow Carly on Twitter: @Carly_Escoto.
Follow Carly on Instagram:
Email Carly to play at your Young Life camp or banquet.
Here’s a video of Carly at Woodleaf this summer.
What other Area Directors are saying about Carly:
“Carly is a ’tried and true’ camp musician with an extensive history of serving the mission of Young Life. Time after time I have heard from Speakers and Camp Directors of their appreciation for the way in which she weaves her gifts into the flow of serving kids and leaders with excellence and passion. Carly has a unique capacity to connect with kids from every walk of life. In the West, we have an amazing opportunity to walk alongside kids that represent a broad spectrum of ethnicities and cultures. I have personally had the opportunity to see her in action on multiple occasions and would highly recommend her!”
-Alberto Cuellar, Missionwide Cultural Intelligence Training Coordinator and Mission Executive for Special Initiatives, Diversity, Information and Projects.
“Simply put, Carly is the real deal. She gets it, lives it, embodies it. . . Our Assigned Teams throughout the years have been consistently impressed and grateful for her talent, servant heart, spirit, energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism. She truly comes to each assignment with a ‘serve first’ kind of posture, thus why teams fall in love with her. I pray that we will have 10 Carly’s in the next 5-7 years in the Southwest!”
-Angel Ruiz, Field Ministry Vice President & National Latino Director
“Carly Escoto is a gift! Carly has a very natural, genuine, and approachable style both as a musician and a person. Carly understands Young Life and teenagers and is gifted in using her musical abilities to help break down barriers and connect others to Jesus. Carly and I have worked together on many assignments and each time I am with her I walk away excited to be in this mission alongside of her. She is a beautiful person and her music is a reflection of her thoughtful, engaging, and fun spirit.”
-Kristy Fox, South Coast Regional Director
You can see other Young Life camp musicians here.
