As a week at camp in the summer draws to a close, many campers begin to feel a bit sad. Perhaps it’s because they lost at Capture the Duck and they’ll have to wait a whole 360 days for a rematch.
Maybe it’s because they only went down the Zip Line nine times and their goal was ten. Or it could be that they made a new friend and just realized that he or she is on the other bus. But most often the reason campers come down with a case of “camp sickness” is because they’re going to miss their counselor.
The role of the counselor is the most important factor in making the camp experience positive and memorable. We take that very seriously and strive to hire the best. We pick the people that are good role models, great mentors, and lots of fun. One of my favorite things I get to do is listen to stories from campers through interviews, letters, or casual conversation. Sometimes the stories are silly. Sometimes they’re eternally significant. One consistent element in every story is the impact of the camp counselor.
One camper, Rachel, stands out to me. I asked her to answer this question, “How has camp had an impact on your life?” She had much to say. Of course she mentioned passionate worship and challenging messages at Chapel. She mentioned great conversations with friends and unforgettable adventures. But what she emphasized the most were her counselors. She told me a story about when she was in fourth grade. She was walking around her church when a woman stopped her and asked, “Rachel, do you remember me?” Rachel replied that she did not and the woman said, “I’m Megan, I was your counselor at Covenant Pines when you were in second grade.” Rachel was shocked that Megan would remember her when she couldn’t remember Megan. It turns out Megan went to her church (something we often do on purpose when creating cabin groups). Rachel is now in high school and Megan lives in a different part of the state. But Rachel says that Megan is still one of her biggest role models and is someone she still goes to for advice and prayer. That relationship all started at camp in second grade.
Rachel told me about another counselor she had in Middle School. Rachel stepped off the bus that week with no clue who her counselor would be. She sat on the grass with the other campers and watched as, one by one, the counselors got up to announce who was in their cabin. Group after group was announced. Some of the counselors that Rachel remembered from past summers had already come and gone. Some of her friends had been called and were already off bonding with their new cabin. Rachel began to worry. Until a bubbly blonde-haired gal with a cheerful smile got up. Her name was Sadee. This enthusiastic counselor was new to Covenant Pines so Rachel didn’t recognize her from previous summers. But when Sadee called her name, Rachel felt a sense of peace. Over the course of the week, Rachel and Sadee had lots of great conversations, some were light and casual, others were deep and meaningful. On Saturday afternoon, the busses pulled up and Rachel was ready to leave when Sadee pulled her aside and asked if she could pray for her. It was the first time in Rachel’s life that someone had prayed for her one-on-one. Sadee asked for God’s help and guidance over specific things that Rachel had mentioned throughout the week. Rachel was amazed that Sadee remembered all of those things and was touched by the way Sadee presented these concerns to the Lord. Rachel told me that she will never forget that moment.
These are two fairly small moments in Rachel’s life. She probably doesn’t remember whether or not the girls won Capture the Duck when she was in Megan’s cabin. Most likely she’s forgotten who the speaker was the week she was with Sadee. But Rachel will always remember these two small moments. She’ll remember because Megan and Sadee showed her that they love her. Through these women and these moments, Rachel experienced the love of Christ. That’s what we strive to do for everyone who comes to camp. Sometimes this happens through the big stuff like worship or sermons. And sometimes it happens in these small moments. We’re in the process of hiring our counselor team right now. Please pray for our future counselors that they would have the eyes to see these small moments and the wisdom to seize them. If you know of anyone who might want to join our team, tell them to visit our employment page and fill out an application.
~Tate Randall, Marketing Director
Last Friday night at 7:43, Covenant Pines Bible Camp was quiet. You could stand outside and easily pick out distinct sounds. Rustling from pesky Oak trees that refuse to let go of their leaves. Scampering squirrels that seem so busy all the time. Crunching snow under the boots of the few staff that were making last minute preparations. Perhaps the distant horn of a train as it passed through McGregor.
But 7:44 another sound was added to those; the sound of a yellow school bus crossing the Davis Lake bridge. At 7:45 all other sounds were drowned out as the bus doors opened and 50 screaming elementary students rushed out into a 48 hour adventure called Trailblazer Retreat.
The adventure started with dinner in Oak Ridge and then ice breaker games in Bald Eagle Lodge. After the ice was sufficiently broken, we sat the campers down and told them about our theme for the weekend. The theme was based off of Psalm 121, which is a beautiful Psalm about a God who “will not let your foot slip.” The psalmist paints a beautiful image of a God who always watches over us and helps us through our challenges. “Climb On” was the title and our meeting room was decked out with mountain decorations.
The next day was jam packed full of games and activities. We ran, we searches, we climbed, we tubed. Take two minutes to watch the video at the bottom of the page and see for yourself!
Campers came from many of our Covenant Churches; Sanctuary, Faith, Plymouth, Community, Maple Grove, and Crossroads. Joining them were volunteers and church leaders from those churches. The purpose of the retreat was to provide these leaders with an opportunity to bond with their students. The staff here at Pines took care of all the messages, devotions, worship, and games so that these adults could simply pour into their students. At the end of the retreat our Marketing Director, Tate, got to interview a handful of the campers and ask them about their experience. All of the campers mentioned three things: fun, friends, and God. Those are the three goals with every youth retreat; that kids will have fun, make friends, and learn about God.
Join us at next year’s Trailblazer Retreat!
Click here to see pictures from the retreat.
For the past two months we’ve had some new staff members with us and we thought we’d introduce you to them! Nate Hutchins-Peterson (HP) and Phillip Bestland (Flip) joined our Ministry Staff team in early January.
HP grew up coming to Covenant Pines Bible Camp. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call camp his favorite place in the world. He grew up at First Covenant Church of St. Paul, attended North Park University for two years, and worked at camp for two summers on our maintenance team. Recently he transferred to Hennepin Tech where he has been studying diesel mechanics. Part of his work at Covenant Pines is helping to fulfill his internship requirements for school. In just a short while he’ll be switching to part time so that he can finish his classes. We’ll miss him during the week, but we’re glad that he’ll still be around on the weekends! HP enjoys heavy metal music, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, penguins, and Taylor Swift.
Flip attended Minnehaha Academy and Buffalo Covenant Church as a young lad. For college he went to Bethel University and studied theater major. For the past four summers he has worked on our maintenance staff. For three of those summers, he served as our Assistant Maintenance Director. As a member of our Ministry Staff team, Phil uses his maintenance knowledge to help keep our facilities in working order and he is using his theater skills to enhance our programming. Recently he used his acting skills to portray a character named Alpine Everest, a famous Scottish mountain climber, at our Trailblazer Retreat (pictured right). Flip enjoys anime shows, Xbox One, frisbee, and sleeping.
We feel extremely blessed to have these two men on staff with us. They add so much joy and silliness to our year-round community. Consider volunteering at camp to spend some quality time with these young men!
There are three main goals we have for a camper during a week of camp.
1) They have fun
2) They make new friends/grow closer to old friends
3) They learn about God
The beauty of camp is that these three things happen almost automatically. The formula is simple: 50 summer staff + love for Jesus + passion for youth + gorgeous natural environment = AMAZING WEEK. However, bad things can still happen. Homesickness can creep up, kids can get injured, a cabin mate might say something mean. Weeks can be ruined. We’d be naive to think that these things are always just bad luck. Our former Executive Director, Bruce, would sometimes say “Satan doesn’t like what’s going on here.” We face the reality of spiritual warfare everyday. Perhaps more so during the summer months when children are growing closer to Jesus all the time.
This past summer there was one camper who really impressed the staff with his resilience to these attacks. His name was Nick. From the moment he stepped off the bus, Nick was beaming. Everyone noticed Nick’s smile. The grin never left his face. He was so excited to be at camp and ready for what God had in store for him. But the “bad luck” started almost right away. During the cabin bonding activities at the low ropes course, Nick got really dehydrated and had to lie down. His counselor got him the water he needed and Nick was back to 100% before dinner. Nick kept his smile the whole time. The enemy couldn’t ruin his day.
Later that night, Nick was stung by a bee. Then, he was stung again. Then again. In total, the poor kid was stung 5 times. But as the nurse was addressing his stings, Nick was smiling. His resolve to have a great week and meet God was not diminished.
The next day, Nick got an ear infection. The day after that, Nick got an eye infection. Then, during a game, he was kicked in the head. If that wasn’t enough, another camper was playing with some small rocks (something that he’s not supposed to do), Nick got caught in the crossfire, and received a blow to head. The enemy seemed determined to give Nick a horrible week. But after each and every one of these unfortunate events, Nick simply shrugged it off, beamed his memorable smile, and ran off to continue his play.
At the end of the week, Nick – like many other campers – was sad to go. All of his misfortune throughout the week had not changed his opinion of this place. Before he got on the bus, he hugged his counselor and said, “Thanks for the best week of my summer!”
Pray for Covenant Pines
While such a large number of unfortunate events is unlikely, injuries happen at camp. Nick’s resolve to have a great week cannot be ignored, but there is an unsung hero in this story; you. You and everyone else out there who has ever prayed for the ministry of Covenant Pines. There is power in prayer. Those prayers have protected children on these grounds every summer since 1954. The prayers keep kids like Nick safe from physical harm. They also give our counselors energy and patience. They allow speakers to hear God’s voice as they deliver their sermons. They give camp leadership wisdom as they make tough decisions. Your prayers, and God’s grace make camp possible everyday. Thank you for praying. Please continue to do so as we prepare for this summer and also as we continue to minister to guest groups every week.
Watch the video below to see what summer camp is like. Register for a summer camp today!
We’re excited that there’s a new Church in the Cities! It’s called Genesis Covenant Church and we asked their head pastor, Steve Wiens (pictured) to write just a short blurb about what’s going on so far at their church. They’re kind of liturgical and their coffee isn’t that bad! You should check them out.
“Genesis Covenant Church is a new church plant that meets at Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park. The people who started Genesis are betting the farm that God is still inviting all of us into new beginnings, sometimes even out of tragic endings. We believe the truest thing about Jesus, and about Christianity, is that we are being made new, over and over again. We are in the process of cultivating a community of ordinary people who hope to be characterized by things like simplicity, restoration, sacred rhythms, delight, and attentiveness – to God and to each other. One of the things we’re most grateful for as a new church plant is the generational diversity we’re experiencing. We are young and old, we wear dockers and tattoos, and we are learning from each other all the time. You can check us out at our website www.genesiscov.org, or feel free to drop by some Sunday morning at 10:30am at Sabes.”
~Pastor Steve