Our mission at Covenant Pines Ministries is to encourage campers to take a next step in Christian faith. Every summer, we make a commitment to pray and observe closely so we can witness our mission in action. We recently gathered as a staff to share and celebrate the ways we saw next steps around our four ministry centers this past summer.
Adventurous Christians: There is a group of high school boys that have attended our open enrollment trips since they were in middle school and we look forward to seeing them each year. Now that they are going into their senior year, this was the last year they were eligible to attend the trip. While up at AC, they expressed interest in serving on staff in future years and made the conscious effort to ask to be added to our mailing list AND our Portage Partners list. Though we are sad to see these canoers “graduate on” from attending this canoe trip, it is exciting to see them be thinking about ways they can still be involved as they move on to the next chapter in their lives. Hopefully, they’ll be able to guide you on a canoe trip sometime in the future!
Covenant Pines Bible Camp: There is a family who is very supportive of Covenant Pines who attends often. They have two kids – the older one being very enthusiastic, vocal and involved at camp. Their younger child is a little quieter, more subdued and has been a little more hesitant to participate – until she discovered the SWEAT program. While serving behind the scenes as a SWEAT, she found her niche. At the beginning of the summer, she was signed up for two weeks of SWEAT and by the end of the summer she had attended five. She even emailed our staff asking what the process was to work on summer staff in the future. We love helping campers find the best way for them to experience God while at camp!
Covenant Pines Off Site: In probably the first year in camp history, there was not a single overly anxious, crying camper getting on the bus as it left for camp this summer. There were actually more crying parents than campers…ha! But this actually showed how much of a next step it is for parents to send their children to Covenant Pines. We are grateful for the trust parents place in us to assist in the spiritual formation of their children. We recognize how big of a deal that is, and we’re thankful to help parents take their own next step of the faith journey of their own families. \
Silver Beach Family Camp: This summer, we had a few rotating Silver Beach Directors. Some of them were past staff members or past Silver Beach Directors, and some were Silver Beach families who had an extra week to help out and minister to the families that were up for the week. It was so fun to see families take the next step from attenders to helping other families experience the community of Christ!
