Ever since he was 7 years old and attended Kids Camp, Tate Randall has maintained that Covenant Pines Bible Camp is his favorite place on Earth.
Since that day in 1997, Tate has made the trip into the Minnesota wilderness almost every summer of his life to spend a week at his second home. For the past six summers, we have been blessed to have him as part of our Summer Staff. He has served in a variety of roles: a counselor, Worship Director, Day Camp Coordinator, and Audio/Visual Tech.
We were excited that Tate was interested in pursuing camp ministry after he graduated from UW-La Crosse with a degree in Education. So Tate was hired to join the Covenant Pines team as a seasonal intern last year.
This past January Camp Director, Matt Braun, approached Tate with the idea of creating a new full-time Marketing position at camp. Tate was very interested and in July it was made official. Tate will help create promotional materials, develop our website, manage our social media, and bring new groups to camp.
Tate has this to say about his new position:
“I believe in the power of Covenant Pines. This is the first place where I had a significant encounter with Jesus and it changed my life. God continues to do that here for many people, every year, in every season of ministry. I think this new position boils down to one goal: bring more people to camp. It’s not about not about money, it’s not about bigger retreats, and it’s not even about relaxing or having fun. I want to bring more people to camp because, when you’re here, you will experience the love of Christ. Some days I can’t believe that God has put me here for this. I’m so excited! And I should probably say something like…follow us on Instagram or Twitter! Or like us on facebook! Or how about all three?”
It’s our hope that this new role will help create more effective communication with our Churches, bring new groups to camp, and keep us engaged with campers and guests throughout every season of the year.
For nearly 20 years Silver Beach has been the best kept secret at Covenant Pines Bible Camp.
Many families have come summer after summer to experience God together as a family in our beautiful north woods setting. With the construction of White Pine a few years ago, and the development of new single-family, four-season cabins on the lake, Silver Beach has grown to become a vital part of our year round ministry.
To give this growing ministry leadership and direction Covenant Pines has hired Angie Sampson as the new Silver Beach Director. Angie grew up at Anoka Covenant attending camp and was a little surprised herself when God called her to be on summer staff 2 years ago with her family. After two summers, Angie and her family Josh (a teacher in McGregor), Ethan (13), Max (8), and Tessa (6) are all joining our year round ministry team. Camp is grateful for Angie’s creativity and attention to detail. In addition to role at Silver Beach, Angie will also serve as our Guest Group Director. Her gift of hospitality and her warm spirit are a welcome addition to our camp family. We are grateful for Angie and the entire Sampson family and excited to see how God will continue to use them as they embark on this new ministry adventure with us.
Angie has this to say about her new position at camp:
“I would never have guessed, as I approach 40, that God would call me to camping ministry at Covenant Pines. But what a humbling honor it is! Having spent the last two summers at Silver Beach God has placed a burden on my heart to help guide families, as He sees fit, to reconnect with each other through Him and the beauty of this place. And what a gift it is to be a small part of that here at Covenant Pines year round. I also have enjoyed working with our churches and other groups that we host here at camp in the non-summer months of year. What a blessing to help plan their stay here from conception to loading their cars and to heading back home. It has been a blessing to see what God has done in our family of five as He has prepared a way, for not just me, but the rest of my family. Providing a teaching job for my husband, Josh, right here in McGregor and already some new friends for our three kids. God is so good and so faithful. We feel blessed beyond words to become apart of the Covenant Pines family!”
1. Confront a Bear
Okay, not literally though. Real bears can be scary if they’re facing you down in the woods, but we’re talking about the figurative “bears;” things, people, or places that are scary to confront or do in our lives. Maybe you’ve never joined an athletic team because you’re scared you might not be good at it. Or maybe you’re scared to talk to certain people in your school because you’re afraid they won’t like you. Don’t live a life of fear! Try something new this year – whether that be joining the basketball team or sitting by someone you don’t know at lunch.
Extra Credit: Deuteronomy 31:6.
2. Experience God Outside of Church
Do you know what the Church is? God says that we are the church; the body of Christ. In other words, we as Christians, together, make the body of the Church with Jesus as the head. Some people may automatically think that church is a building with painted windows, hymnals, pews, and a pastor. While that is what some church buildings look like, it’s not what we should think of when we think of church. Church can be at any time – it’s the body of Christ (us) coming together in one place to learn and worship God. So this school year, try to be involved not only in church on Sunday, but go to your church’s youth group, or be a part of your school’s Young Life. Being a part of these programs will not only be fun, but you will strengthen your relationship with Jesus by learning and experiencing Him.
Extra Credit: Ephesians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Matthew 18:20
3. Try Applesauce in Your Mac-n-Cheese
Go on and try it! Putting applesauce in mac-n-cheese might sound a little weird -maybe even a little silly, but it’s a little taste (no pun intended) of not taking life too seriously. Somehow along the way, it has become expected to get more serious as you get older. However, God wants us to enjoy life and everything He has made! Don’t hop on that train; don’t take yourself too seriously. If you’re at Youth Group or Young Life, they’re probably going to ask you to do something silly, like feed someone cheetos with your toes, or get up in front of everyone and play a game. Just go for it! So much joy comes with not worrying about what others will think of us.
Extra Credit: Ecclesiastes 3:9-14
4. Get Free Ice-Cream
Your family, however it may look, is a blessing. This year, make time for your family. You have your friends and that’s a great thing, but don’t forget about good ol’ ma and pa. Even though it may not feel like it all the time, your parents love you. The school year can get crazy pretty fast, so don’t forget about your family! Take initiative to do something with them, whether that’s making cookies with your mom, playing a card game with your dad, or having the ‘rents take the family out for ice-cream, (tell them Camp says it’s okay). School and friends will come and go, but your family will always be with you. Make your family a priority, today.
Extra Credit: Psalm 127:3
5. Eat more Carbs
It’s scientifically proven: Carbohydrates give you energy. We all have experienced when we don’t get enough food, our bodies feel bad and don’t function very well. It’s the same with our spiritual lives. If we don’t get enough food or “bread,” (as God refers to it in the Bible), our connection with God gets fuzzy, and can cause us to not function in a way that honors God.
Ask yourself this question: “What do I do that makes me feel close to God?” Maybe it’s listening or playing music, or painting quietly in your room. Maybe it’s reading a verse in the Bible every day, or going through a daily, weekly, or even a monthly devotional. This school year, make the decision to spend time with God daily. Being a Christian is about being IN relationship with Christ. Just like we want God to be involved in our story, He wants us to be involved in HIS story too – and that begins by making God a priority.
Extra Credit: Matthew 4:4
The transition between summer and fall is difficult for us all. Perhaps your pace and pattern of life changes a little bit as kids go back to school, sports startup, and Wednesday night Church activities are back in full swing. The transition up here at Covenant Pines is just as crazy. This fall has been a whirlwind of fun events already and we’ve only just begun! Here’s a look back at our September.
Guest Groups
After hosting a very large youth camp from Colonial Church in Edina, called Camp Pryo, we had a grand total of 4 hours before First Covenant Church of St Paul came up for their family retreat. First Cov kicked off our season of hosting guest groups. For those of you who don’t know, Covenant Pines is owned by about 40 churches from all over the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. On any given weekend in the non-summer months, at least one of those churches is probably up here at camp. Our churches use this beautiful place in McGregor, MN to retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life and come up North for a brief breath with God.
In just one month we’ve already hosted First Cov St. Paul, Roots Covenant Church, Brookdale Covenant Church, and Crosstown Covenant Church. We also had the privilege of hosting the annual CRIM Retreat (Covenanters Retired in Ministry). The group was blessed to sign hymns and hear Jay Phelan speak on his book Essential Eschatology.
Program Retreats
In addition to hosting guest groups we also plan and run our own retreats. We call these our Program Retreats. This fall season is chalk full of them! We’ve already had our second annual Homeschool Retreat, Women’s Retreat, and Retired Adults Retreat! We put a great deal of energy and love into preparing for these events. Some of our best are coming up in the next few months!
MEA Fall Retreat is in Mid October. The Junior High retreat is the 15th – 17th and the High School retreat is the 17th – 19th. Students will have a chance to relax, play, worship, and grow closer to God. Kevin Farmer, the Head of Admissions and Family Ministry at Hope Academy, will be speaking to both age groups. He is passionate about seeing young people grow in their relationship with God. Click on either of those links above for more information and for registration. Check out this video to get a feel for what MEA is like
After our Youth Fall Retreat we have our wonderful Quilter’s Retreat. Women from all over Minnesota come with all of their Quilting supplies and creative passion. For 4 glorious days these women get to do something they often can’t; be messy. When quilting at home you have to worry about what’s going on in the rest of the house and the cleanup of your project when you’re done. At the Quilters Retreat, we take care of everything and you don’t need to cleanup until you go home at the end of day 4. So come and let your mess spread! The retreat is November 6th-9th. Register online.
The weekend after Quilters Retreat, November 14th-16th is Men’s Retreat – or Man Camp as some of the guys like to call it. This retreat is an opportunity to connect with other Men, worship together, and play in the great North Woods. It’s hard to find an extended period of time to simply relax and be vulnerable with other men. The core purpose of this retreat is to do just that. We’re excited to hear from the Pastor of Crossroads Church, Phil Print, and his son-in-law Sten Carlson. Sten is a Pastor at Cedarbrook Church in Menomonie, WI. When we’re not worshipping and listening to Phil and Sten, we’ll be trap shooting, hunting, grilling, reading, playing cards, climbing, playing basketball, and eating lots of bacon and steak. Seriously, the food is great. The more daring men have a tradition of going off our Rope Swing for a little polar plunge. Men’s Retreat is definitely one of the highlights of the fall. Sign up before October 15th to receive the earlybird discount. Register online!
In between all of our Guest Groups and Program Retreats, we’re finding ways to improve camp for all of the folks who come to experience the love of Christ with us. Believe it or not, we’re already planning for Summer 2015! We have a theme and a verse decided. Watch our Facebook page as we give clues about what the theme will be. The big reveal will be at the MEA Fall Retreat.
Thank you for caring about what’s going on up here at CPBC. Stay tuned for the October newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to really be in the loop with Covenant Pines news.
For the past several months Covenant Pines has been searching for a new Program Director to organize and lead the summer program as well as the Fall & Winter retreats.
Camp Director, Matt Braun, along with Executive Director, Bruce Peterson, have selected Holly Larson to fill this role. Holly says that she is “very excited and humbled about the opportunity I have to serve God, camp and people at Covenant Pines Bible Camp.”
The rest of the Pines staff are very excited to keep Holly at camp in this full-time role. The end of this summer as well as our upcoming retreats are sure to be a blast with Holly’s creativity, motivating spirit, and her amazing singing voice while doing dishes.
The Story
“Camping ministry over many years has become a huge passion in my life, and I am looking forward to continue to put my passion to good use.” ~Holly Larson
Growing up as Covenanter in the Twin Cities, Holly was all but required to attend Covenant Pines as soon as she was able to do so. In 1997, six-year-old Holly Larson stepped off the bus and into her first experience at camp. Her passion for this ministry has been growing ever since. She continued to attend every single summer and even applied for our Junior Staff program while she was in High School. Using her experience as a Junior Staffer, she applied for a Summer Staff position after her first year of college. After two summers of running the Craft Hall and two summers of being the Summer Program Director, Holly could not help but consider the possibility of full-time camp ministry after graduating from Bethel University. While praying and discerning about how to best use her degree in Education and her skills in programming, God made it clear that He wanted her to give camp a try.
For the past two years, Holly has served as the Assistant Program Director, learning the ins and outs of Covenant Pines and increasing her love for the ministry of both summer camps and retreats. When the Program Director position opened up, Holly once again turned to prayer in order to discern God’s desire for her life and the Camp leadership did the same. A few weeks ago, the decision was made.