Winter Retreat Calendar Changes
We have made some significant changes to our 2021 Winter Retreat Calendar. We typically have offered rental retreats for small groups, but have made the decision to open camp up to families and individuals.
Adventurous Christians will offer two different retreat formats this winter. Family Wilderness Retreats where you can enjoy camp with your family and our Solitude Retreat that are focused on individual reflection and spiritual formation.
| Family Wilderness Retreats | Solitude Retreat |
| January 15-18 | January 8-10 |
| January 22-24 | |
| February 5-7 | |
| February 26-28 | |
| March 5-7 |
All of these retreats will follow COVID-19 guidelines, as it is our number one priority to provide a safe and healthy retreat experience.
Registration and details for these retreats will be available on December 1st, 2020. We will post updates on our website and social media pages.
If your church or group is interested in hosting a retreat at Adventurous Christians, that is still possible. Reach out to Lina to discuss availability and details
We are planning camps and canoe trips for Summer 2021!
What are plans for Summer 2021?
Covenant Pines Ministries is in the midst of planning for Summer 2021. There are still many unknowns and details to work out, but we will share with you what are planning on as of now. More details will be shared as they are finalized.
Adventurous Christians
We are planning to run canoe trips with limited capacity. We will stagger arrival and departures on trail for different groups
Covenant Pines Bible Camp
We are planning to run summer and youth camps this summer at a reduced capacity.
Programs & Transportation
Both AC and CPBC will need to offer adapted programs this summer to follow COVID-19 guidelines. Camp will look different in order to be safe and healthy for all, but we know it is possible!
Transportation will NOT be provided to camp in Summer 2021.
Registration
Adventurous Christians
Canoe Trips Registration is set to open November 20th through the AC office. Email Lina to get stared.
Covenant Pines Bible Camp
Registration will go open on January 11th. This is a delay in registration from previous years. We are taking some extra time to plan to make things go as smoothly as possible. With limited capacity, we expect space to fill up very quickly, so please plan to register early. Thank you for your patience in this!
Calendar & Pricing
Covenant Pines Ministries is still working on finalizing pricing for camps and canoe trips. Registration costs for Summer 2021 will be available on our website the first week of December.
Adventurous Christians
Click here to see the 2021 Canoe Trips Calendar.
Covenant Pines Bible Camp
Click here to see the 2021 Summer Camps Calendar.
We thank you for your patience and flexibility as we navigate how to best prepare for Summer 2021. We will post updates to our website and social media pages as they become available and include changes in our monthly newsletters.
Seeing the Big Picture Campaign Reflection
Take a step back.
When we do that, we gain a perspective that we can miss when our focus is in close. In July, Covenant Pines Ministries launched the Big Picture Campaign to raise $250,000 prior to December 31st. In essence, this was an attempt to step back from the day to day details of our COVID19 decision making and gain a better perspective on the financial health of our ministry. I’m thankful for the many individuals, families and churches who have responded. We have made progress, but still have a ways to go.
The COVID crisis has forced all of us to step back in different ways. I have appreciated the time to reflect on the ministry impact of CPM. As a former camper and counselor, I’ve thought of the many ways my life has been shaped through CPBC. From early childhood memories to hearing a call to ministry to being mentored as a young staff member, camp has shaped who I am.
As the picture above shows, on a sunny day in July, I was able to gather with my two predecessors: Mark Cairns and Bruce Peterson. Mark and Bruce represent 41 years of leadership for Covenant Pines. In 1973, Mark (who is also my father) was hired as the first Year-Round Camp Manager. I tell people that he was hired to run the summer ministry and winterize the property. In the Fall of 1977, our family left and Bruce Peterson arrived. During the next 37 years, camp would grow and expand exponentially in both facilities and breadth of ministry.
These two men represent years of care and investment in Covenant Pines Ministry. They also have cared for and invested in me throughout my life. And that is the Big Picture I want to remind us all of today. Yes, camp is a group of buildings located on certain pieces of property, but it is so much more. It is campers exploring the Boundary Waters for the first time. It is families slowing down enough to talk about faith matters. It is a junior high boy feeling God nudge them towards ministry. It is the summer staff of guides, cooks, counselors and life guards talking about Jesus with campers.
As you reflect on the Big Picture of CPM, I encourage you to envision the way God used staff, scriptures, worship, prayer and creation to shape you and your family. The Big Picture of CPM is Changed Lives.
To learn more about the Seeing the Big Picture Campaign, visit here.
For the past 12 summers, I have worked at some form of summer camp. Each morning I have been greeted by little voices and prayers and my days have been spent making sure young campers have the best experience possible. This summer, for the first time, my summer camp wasn’t filled with students running around, playing games and worshipping Jesus. At first it seemed impossible to imagine what Covenant Pines could even look like without Trailblazers, SWEATs and a full summer staff of college students. But much like everything else in this COVID-19 world, we had to pivot, adjust, be creative and trust that God would work.
One weekend at one of our Summer Getaways, I got the chance to catch up with a couple that I worked with on summer staff “back in the day.” They now have two children, and told me how excited they were to come up to camp. They explained to me that the two weekends we have traditionally offered for Family Camp never worked with their schedules, but this allowed them to come up to Covenant Pines in the summer – something they have always loved. We made jokes about how they packed their cars with more stuff for the few days they were here than they did for an entire summer on staff and how tie dying t-shirts is like riding a bike – the technique will come back to us. It brought me so much joy to witness this young family enjoying time together at a place that is so special to them – and it was a gentle reminder that the pivots, adjustments and creativity we had spent so much time discussing earlier in the spring would come to fruition. God was at work.
That following Monday, I was looking through our evaluations from the weekend and stumbled upon my friends’ response. I was immediately struck by the generational impact that Covenant Pines can have. When asked the question, “The mission of Covenant Pines Ministries is to encourage campers to take a next step in the Christian faith. How did you experience Christ at camp this weekend?”, my friend responded with this, “It was a joy to see our kids enjoying camp and looking forward to being at camp on their own some day. It is our hope that camp can be a place for them to encounter Christ and grow in their faith as it has for us. Being together as a family in such a special place is such a blessing.”
Sure, Summer 2020 was different. I was saddened to not be surrounded by campers….but I gained a new appreciation for the ways we at Covenant Pines can minister to families.This was such a helpful reminder for me to notice how God is continuing to work in this unique and challenging season of life. As 2020, COVID-19 and the pivots continue, I know God will continue to reveal to us new ways to appreciate and honor Him.
Greetings from AC! It has been an unusual summer for us up here on the Gunflint Trail. Our hands and minds have been busy looking and working ahead even as we miss the hustle and bustle of canoe groups every week.
With a small summer staff we devoted our efforts to rebuilding our Office and Sauna that burned down last summer. So far we have poured the concrete foundation and put up framing for the walls of the Sauna. We see God’s provision in each step of this process through everything from blocks of good weather, volunteers coming to help and materials arriving. It’s exciting and encouraging to see progress being made on this project and we are looking forward to closing in the buildings in the next couple of weeks.
Besides construction, we have been working on setting ourselves up for success by getting a head start on maintenance projects and making COVID-19 plans. Often in the summer months we don’t have time to devote to maintenance projects, so we are taking advantage of these warmer months to get lots of work done. In adjusting to a new normal with Covid-19 we are making plans for how to run fall and winter retreat safely. This unusual season has given us an opportunity to work behind the scenes and prepare for our next season of ministry. We are praying and hoping for God’s heart to guide us as we make decisions now about things we don’t know about yet or have control over in the future. Please pray with us about wisdom and future plans.