Our Director of Marketing and Off Site Ministry at Covenant Pines Ministries, Holly Abramson shares a message about about practicing our value Embrace Healthy Change. This is the sixth and final in a series where we will be sharing how we at CPM live into our six core values.
Embrace healthy change
I have spent seven years full time and 11 total summers working for Covenant Pines, not including the years I attended as a camper and junior staffer – you might say I like the place! Camp is one of those places that people, including myself, have deep, emotional and spiritual connection to, as we often experience pivotal moments in our lives there. This is all a positive thing, of course, but sometimes I have noticed in myself that this deep connection can cause hesitation for change. I tend to want things to stay the same – the way that I experienced them when I was a kid, or a college student on summer staff.
As I have grown as a professional and a leader, I’ve come to realize the important and delicate balance of making changes that improve our ministry and making changes just for the sake of making them. The core value, Embrace Healthy Change at CPM is one that I feel is difficult at times but necessary for a flourishing ministry. This value is one that is ongoing for us to live into, as we process changes all around us – in churches, in students, in culture, etc. Healthy conversations and prayer help us embrace this, along with wise decision making and responses. We’ve recently done this to make a change within CPM that I am happy to share with you today!
When Covenant Pines Ministries rebranded in 2008 we had four ministry centers – Covenant Pines Bible Camp, Adventurous Christians, Silver Beach Family Camp and Covenant Pines Day Camp. For the past few summers, our Covenant Pines Day Camp program has needed some reevaluation and with COVID-19 we put a pause on the program. When I was hired in 2019, my title of Director of Marketing and Off Site Ministry insinuated that I would oversee the Day Camp Program, but also any other ministry events that don’t happen on site at either of our three ministry centers. With our Day Camp Program needing a pause, and my role already being Director of Off Site Ministry, it only made sense to rebrand this ministry center. We are happy at Covenant Pines Ministries to introduce a pivot in our fourth ministry center – Covenant Pines Off Site!
Covenant Pines Off Site includes all ministry and events that happen away from Covenant Pines Bible Camp, Silver Beach Family Camp and Adventurous Christians. You will start to see this new logo pop up on CPM materials and on our website. We’re excited for this fourth ministry center to expand beyond just Day Camps and include other events and opportunities for people involved with CPM.
So, what happens to Day Camp? To be honest, we’re not quite sure yet – we’re still figuring that out. The beauty of Covenant Pines Off Site is that it can include Day Camp in the future if that is something we see as a fit for our ministry. Those conversations will be happening in future, as I’ve got to embrace a healthy change of my own happening in my personal life. My husband Miles and I are welcoming a baby boy into our family sometime in early September! The future of Day Camp and the planning of other exciting Off Site Ministry events will happen when I am back to work sometime in November 🙂
To read our previous value highlights, click below:
Reflect and Cultivate Diversity
Open, Honest, Direct Communication
