Outdoor Ministries Website 

Enjoying and caring for God’s creation through camping experiences has long been part of the ministry of our district.  The Outdoor Ministry Commission plans for these experiences for members of our district through a variety of camping and other events. 

New Developments

We have had two woodcutting days at Woodland Altars. Ten people with four chain saws were ready to work Saturday, January 28. Three hazard trees were felled and/or cut up; two were in the Family Camping Circle and one at Heritage Lodge. Additional cutting was done on the trails to the prairie from Heritage Lodge. No wood was split due to the lack of a splitter. The second day was Saturday, February 5 with only five people present. Two additional people arrived at new. The three trees dropped in January were split resulting in over 3 cords split and stacked. This wood will be used to supply supplemental heat to the lodges and chalets as well as wood for Summer Camp campfires and cooking fires. There will be one more wood cutting day on Saturday, April 28 when we hope  to have a wood chipper at camp to chip up the tree tops that cannot be used for fire wood.

The Ohio field office of the American Camp Association (ACA) holds an annual conference in January. This year’s key note speaker talked about staff and staff training. It was an opportunity to learn of games other camps are using, weekly camp goals and how you can use your instinct and intuition when hiring camp staff.

At the February Southwest ACA cluster meeting Jim Boland, Wilmington College Pyle Peace Center director, gave a presentation about bullying. Jim is a resource person we will use at a future time when training volunteer staff about bullying and how to recognize and stop bullying before getting out of control.

The weekend of February 17 – 19 was a big weekend at Woodland Altars. Fifty-three (53) men heard Fred Bernhard shared with us from Jeremiah encouraging us to Run with the Horses when it comes to sharing our faith with others. Next year’s retreat is being moved from February to the first weekend in March with Nick Beam being the presenter. The exact date is March 1 – 3, 2013.

It is an exciting time of year for Outdoor Ministries. Camper and counselor registrations are being received. The number of volunteers registered to be counselors and deans for this year’s Summer Camp is up. Presently we have 10 counselors, four deans and 2 specialists registered. Fifty-nine camper registrations have been received as of February 28.

Summer Camp Schedule

Bible Study Curriculum