We have had a busy spring at Covenant Pines Ministries as we prepare for a summer full of ministry. Our spring has included some staffing transitions, the Worship Center Groundbreaking, new furniture and more in the midst of the usual summer preparations. As we look to summer ministry, we would appreciate your prayers for our Full Time Staff at CPM. We work hard all year round, but summer ministry is our bread and butter. It comes with great joy but also very hard work!
Below is a list of ways you can be praying for specific full time staff members this summer.
Pam Lofgren, Foodservice Director, CPBC: You can pray that Pam would have sustained energy in the day in and out of the inner workings of the kitchen as the kitchen staff strives to sustain all the campers through the ministry of food. JOY, even when the feet hurt, LAUGHTER, when there’s a kitchen blunder, and a lifetime of memories created with my kitchen staff as we serve and work alongside one another this summer in the name of Jesus.
Jared Jensen, Operations Director, CPBC: You can pray that Jared will become acclimated to his new role well, and is able to keep up and learn during a busy season.
Matt Braun, Camp Director, CPBC: Matt would love prayer to be able to balance the needs of our campers and staff while at the same time managing the construction of the new worship center well.
Dave Cairns, Executive Director, CPM: Dave would appreciate prayers in regards to fundraising efforts around the Next Steps Campaign, working with the contractor to best steward our gifts, and encouragement of camp directors as they lead their staff.
Matt White, Camp Director, AC: You can pray that Matt would have a good balance of needs. His own, staff, campers, buildings. Knowing when to do which thing so he can have peace.
Lina Swanson, Guest Service Director, AC: Lina would love prayers to be able to find rest in the middle of the busyness.
Holly Abramson, Director of Marketing and Off Site Ministry, CPM: You can pray that Holly would smoothly adjust to the new schedule, rhythm and busyness of summer ministry while remaining present and balanced with her family.
Thanks for joining us in prayer as we enter into a big season of ministry! Please also be praying for our campers, summer staff, volunteers and everyone who makes camp possible over the next few months. It is our deepest desire for God to work through us so we can encourage campers to take their next step in Christian faith.
On Saturday April 15, we braved the cold and rain for a significant day in Covenant Pines Bible Camp history. We have now officially broken ground on the new Worship Center! A small group of people gathered at Covenant Pines as we worshipped, prayed over and sacredly and ceremoniously broke the ground that the Worship Center will be on.
As many of you know, plans for a new Worship Center have been discussed at Covenant Pines for almost 50 years, it feels surreal to finally begin construction and see the vision come to life. Camp is blessed to move forward with this project and we ask for your prayers as we take our own next step in CPM’s future.
Construction will begin this week at camp and continue for about a year. We have plans in place to ensure that the impact to camper and guest experiences are limited. However, the location of the Worship Center will be very visible when you enter camp – so things will look and feel different!
Official Groundbreaking Photo:
Nicole Thompson (Station 19; Architect), Sarah Verdoorn (CPM Board), Matt Braun (CPBC Camp Director), Shawn Johnson (BJ Baas; General Contractor), Tim Gosen (CPM Board), Sara Sosa (CPM Board), Todd Joing (CPM Board), Dave Cairns (CPM Executive Director), Bryan Schmidt (CPBC Facilities Director).
Covenant Pines Bible Camp Staff:
Pam Lofgren, Bryan Schmidt, Erin Burkstrand, Casey Kongla, Matt Braun, Lexi Schafer, Mia Schaller, Matteo Sosa and Jared Jensen.
Past and Current Camp Directors
Bruce Peterson (1977-2014), Dave Cairns (2015-Present), Mark Cairns (1973-1977)
This is an exciting time for us at Covenant Pines Bible Camp! We look forward to celebrating with the entire Covenant Pines community when we dedicate the Worship Center in Spring 2024. Stay tuned for more details on this event in the coming months.
Hello friends,
The season is getting ready to change! You can almost feel the potential in the ground. I am meeting this spring with a mix of excitement and urgency. I feel the excitement of all the potential that the summer season holds and also know that we need some of His human mission partners to join in and be part of the blessings and challenges. As of the writing of this note, we have 1 of a desired 5 Guides committed for the summer. To be clear, God does the lasting work so a big part of me is at peace with letting Him do these things in His own time. But there is also the part of me that knows the reality of what an understaffed summer looks like. In the end my hope is to have the right staff here to make the most of the potential God has prepared. To have hands enough to water, till and plant in the ground we are given.
With all that said, as I have thought about the summer, I have been drawn to Galatians 6:2-5.
“2. Carry each other’s burdens and in this way fulfill the law of Christ. 4-5. Each on should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves, without comparing themselves with anyone else, for each one should carry their own load.”
Each paddle group has so many opportunities to help and lean in to each other, to carry each other’s burdens as verse 2 encourages. They get to not just talk about it but show it with the physical emphasizing the relational. Each participant also gets to do physical activities with their own hands in a new environment where what they do is noticed. Since it is so immediate they get a chance to experience verses 4-5. They can see and test how they respond and end up with pride in how they have grown through it.
Camper Experience Goals:
Here is what we hope for our participants.
- To be seen (noticed for who they are now and who they could become).
- To be shown glimpses of Jesus in the different parts of the adventure including Nature (Creation and their physical selves), the Group (giving and receiving encouragement and problem solving), Self (self awareness and thoughts about Jesus’ character).
How we accomplish these goals
The Guides plan and manage the group’s interactions with different wilderness skills, with the environment, and words of encouragement so they have very full experiences to contemplate and discuss. The process of working through these events and feelings lead to growth for both the group (Galatians 6:2) and the individuals (Galatians 6:4-5).
Guides
Our Guide staff will be equipped and trusted with skills, training, support, certifications, and a lot of hands-on time facilitating/teaching as a leader in the wilderness. Our hope is that they are just as served as the groups they care for. We find that staff who are serving well, are supported well, and consciously adding value to themselves through the process have the best experiences for themselves and create the best experiences for their groups. There is sacrifice involved with any leadership endeavor but it is also rewarding in a way that other jobs are not. The leadership skills are also very transferable to many other spaces.
If you know anyone who has a passion for Jesus, wilderness, leadership, service, and learning – encourage them to contact us. They can email me directly, or learn more about working at Adventurous Christians, here.
Last month we shared stories about changed lives at Covenant Pines Bible Camp from our Senior High MEA Retreat. Our vision at Covenant Pines Ministries is to change a life. Of course, we envision campers when we think about this – but they are not the only ones having their lives changed. Summer staff members for years and years have shared about how working at camp has transformed their lives.
About a month ago, I received an email from a friend, Alex. It had been a few years since I’d heard from him and was happy to see the email pop in my inbox. Alex and I worked on summer staff for a few summers together and he spent a year at camp on Ministry Staff while I was the Program Director. Alex did not grow up at camp and didn’t have a Covenant history or background; he had first heard about camp from a friend from college, Tate, who encouraged him to apply to be a counselor. Alex was studying at the University Wisconsin LaCrosse pursuing a degree in Exercise Science and was on track to be a Physical Therapist…until he spent a couple of summers at Covenant Pines.
The email Alex sent was sent to a few of us on staff here at CPM, and he was writing to share with us that he had completed seminary and that was going to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He thanked us for the support in ministry we had given him at camp, and wrote in his email,
“The summers I spent at CPBC (2012 & 2013) completely transformed my hopes, dreams, and desires for life. And the year I spent on ministry staff (2013-14) taught me so many valuable lessons regarding ministry, especially that the work is not always fun… it can get messy! Oh how important it was for me to learn that lesson at a young age…”
This story is just one of many. I’m sure many of you reading this relate to Alex and can share your own ways how spending a summer at camp changed your life. Not everyone who works at Covenant Pines or Adventurous Christians will change their life to be in ministry – but some will. And some will meet their best friends or their mentor, some will heat from God in a way they never have before.
We are hiring for summer staff at both Covenant Pines and Adventurous Christians now. Can you think of a young adult or two that could benefit from a summer with us? Now, I mean it…can you make it a point to reach out to these individuals and send them our way? You never know…it could even change their life.
To learn more about working at Covenant Pines Bible Camp or Adventurous Christians, click here.
Our mission at Covenant Pines Ministries is to encourage campers to take their next step in Christian faith – whether that be introducing Jesus to them for the first time, a camper feeling compelled to return to church, saying yes to a mission trip…we aim to meet campers of all ages where they are at in their faith journey and encourage them to take that next step. Our vision statement is to change a life. We want your experience at Covenant Pines to be one that is unique and leaves an imprint on your heart – changes your life.
At our Senior High MEA Retreat at Covenant Pines Bible Camp this past October, the Saturday morning chapel looked a little different than the typical service. Our speaker, Sam Randall, invited students to share brief “faith stories” or “God moments” from their lives. This practice allowed campers to become familiar with sharing parts of their faith journeys, but also created a space where campers could relate to one another and realize they weren’t alone. It was a moving morning of sharing, and many students talked about how they’ve seen God through their mental health struggles, addictions in their families, social pressures at school and more.
Three students in particular shared about how Covenant Pines had shaped their spiritual formation. One camper from Bloomington Covenant shared that he didn’t necessarily have a major “moment” in his life where he felt a shift in his faith, but that the previous summer at camp had shaped him. On Next Steps night, his cabin mates were sharing their struggles, sharing their faith stories, and he felt compelled to listen and encourage his friends. He knew God had gifted him to be a good listener and a good friend; and that was revealed to him at Covenant Pines.
Another camper shared that he had never been particularly religious or spiritual, but has been invited to Covenant Pines by a friend. The chapel sessions admittedly were a little overwhelming, but at one point throughout the week a staff member had led a breakout session on worship through music. The time was more reflective and allowed campers to worship God through music in whatever form felt comfortable. This camper said for the first time, he felt freedom to worship in a way that made sense to him. He took these practices home and still worships through playing instruments.
Finally, a camper got up and shared that Covenant Pines was the first place where a true Christian community was revealed to her. She had attended camp before and had fun so continued to come, but one week at Senior High Camp, it was made clear to her that the people at camp were different. They supported her, encouraged her and allowed her to be herself. The community made her take her faith more seriously and want to continue to pursue Christian friendships more deeply outside of camp.
These are just a few snippets of stories shared by these students. We are fortunate to have heard these stories shared and feel encouraged that God is working through the ministry of Covenant Pines! We look forward to hearing more stories this summer – we’d love for your camper to join us. Click here to register and learn more about summer at Covenant Pines Bible Camp!