We are so excited that Barret & Emily Gosen will be leading our Day Camp program this summer. This duo just wrapped up the 3rd week of Day Camp 2018. They spent the week at Maple Grove Covenant Church telling students about Jesus. They will bring our Day Camp program to 3 more churches this summer: Plymouth Covenant, Crossroads Church, and Bethlehem Covenant.
Barret and Emily are no strangers to Covenant Pines Ministries. The two of them served on staff at CPBC in 2012 and 2013. Since then, Emily has earned a masters degree in adolescent psychology and Barret has worked with youth in a variety of ministry settings. Most recently, Barret has been working with the youth at Community Covenant Church.
The theme for Day Camp this year is “Next Steps,” which was inspired by the Covenant Pines Ministries mission statement. The verse for the theme is John 4:42:
“They said to the woman, ‘we no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’”
This whole story of the Samaritan woman at the well is a story of encountering Jesus and taking a next step with him. She starts by believing that Jesus is just another Jewish man. By the end of the story she is proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah. We want every Day Camper to take a next step with Jesus.
Barret and Emily will take this message to 6 different locations this summer: McGregor, Grand Marais, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Cottage Grove, and Minneapolis. To learn more about our day camps, click here.
We are so blessed with these amazing staff members. Read below to learn more about the exceptional people that God has brought to AC this summer.
Becca
Hi, I’m Becca and I am going to be a Rover at AC this summer! I am currently finishing up my sophomore year of college where I am studying Nursing. This is my second year on staff and I can’t wait for another awesome adventure! Camp is such a great place to learn about God’s love and have fun at the same time! I applied to AC because I love camping and the outdoors. The beauty of God’s creation is so evident in the Boundary Waters and I am super excited for campers to encounter Him in the wilderness. God is going to do amazing things this summer!
Maddie
Hi everyone! I’m Maddie, and I will be a freshman at Bethel University this fall and will be serving as a Rover this summer! I went on two AC Trail trips last year and am so pumped to work on staff! Some of my favorite things are swimming, dumb jokes and Jesus. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me, or this camp.
Jared
Hi! My name is Jared and I am very excited to work as a Trail Guide for AC this summer! I will be a junior next fall at North Dakota State University. I have had the amazing opportunity to go on four trips with AC as a camper, and I hope I can give campers the same amazing experiences I had. I am excited to help others grow in their faith and to see where God will take me this summer!
Emily
Hello, I’m Emily. I have just finished my freshman year at Bethany Global University in the School of Missions. I love the Lord, and I love the outdoors! I will be serving as the Kitchen Supervisor (cook).
Summer 2018 information is now available for Covenant Pines Bible Camp, Adventurous Christians, and Silver Beach Family Camp.
COVENANT PINES BIBLE CAMP
Click below to see Dates & Prices for Youth Camps, Family Camps, and Junior Staff sessions.
ADVENTUROUS CHRISTIANS
Click below for Canoe Trips Rates and Availability for groups and families .
SILVER BEACH FAMILY CAMP
Click below for Cabin Rental Rates and Availability.
In September, we hosted our women’s retreat where just over 100 ladies from all over the Twin Cities area came up to CPBC to enjoy fellowship in God’s creation. This year our speaker was Kyliah Villa from Crosstown Covenant church. Kyliah took games and stories from her children as analogies for our walks with Jesus. She was engaging, creative, and invited good conversations for small group discussions following each worship session. The warm September weekend lent for some quiet paddle-boarding on Round Lake as well as a guided canoe trip on Davis Lake with some of our staff. For me, this weekend fully encompassed some of the best things we do at camp—there were times of quiet reflection outside to be with God, times of fun and laughter, doing childlike things like our Giant Swing and Climbing tower, and many times of good conversation over a cup of coffee or around a fire. And God was so present in all of those places. So thanks to all who chose to take a weekend away from the craziness of fall to slow down at camp with us. Check out some pictures below. We hope to see many of you again next fall!
As a newcomer to Covenant Pines Bible Camp, I’ve heard a lot of talk about our MEA retreat. A lot of people—campers and former summer staff alike—look forward to it as a weekend to enjoy camp once more before winter hits. Many who love CPBC described MEA to me as one of the best retreats we do here at camp. So naturally, there was a lot of anticipation built up for this new program director in her first MEA retreat. And man, it didn’t disappoint.
As just over 100 junior high campers made their way off the busses here in McGregor, my heart was full of a lot of things.
Full of excitement as I so love fall retreats and youth retreats together. These retreats provide an awesome opportunity for youth groups to build community and deepen relationships as they begin their journey through a new year together.
Full of nerves as this was my first experience as the program director at a CPBC youth retreat.
But mostly, full of anticipation for all that I knew God had in store for these two retreats over the extended MEA weekend. Both Junior and Senior High MEA were filled with much laughter, warm hot chocolate and coffee beverages, good conversations, and many games. A highlight of our programming revolved around pumpkins—we launched some full sized pumpkins with a giant trebuchet that some of the staff built and we also played a classic Covenant Pines favorite “whip n’ strip” with pumpkins. The unseasonably warm October weather lent itself to lots of hanging out in the sunshine and enjoying the beautiful creation that God provided. Our speaker for the long weekend was Rebekah Strobel, a youth pastor at Selah Covenant Church in Washington state. She told many stories and spoke about following God “Into the Wild” of our lives. She called campers to live into their identity as images of God, and to have enough faith to “get out of the boat” as Peter did with Jesus.
The MEA retreat is really all things summer camp rolled into a couple of days for each age group. And as I was standing on the steps leading up to Oak Ridge while the Senior High campers played pumpkin whip n’ strip, my heart was so full. I was reminded in that moment that God shows up in every aspect of camp. He shows up in games, worship, conversations, everything. I was reminded of what a privilege it is to get to watch campers love camp and experience God in this place month after month and, hopefully, year after year.
I’m grateful for our youth pastors who chose to take their MEA weekend and partner with us as counselors with their students. I’m grateful for our former summer staffers who jumped in to help out camp and the new program director they hadn’t even met yet. I’m grateful for the people who pray for us often. We can feel those prayers. And I’m grateful for camp; a place where kids and adults alike can experience God in so many different ways. I look forward to many more MEA retreats to come—join us next year!