Outdoor ministry folks are a different breed.
Show me a camp executive director or staff member, and I’ll show you someone who fell in love with Bible camp as a kid. The passion gets into their blood and they can’t shake it. And these folks will hold a fire in their heart for outdoor ministry even into their retirement years.
I can’t justify calling myself an outdoor ministry buff. I only attended Bible camp once in my youth when I was still going to church, and I don’t remember much. … Well, except the leather work. I remember spending a lot of time in that craft cabin. I wonder, was it really a good thing to allow 9- or 10-year-old Devlyn to handle hole punches, hammers and alls and the burning tool?
No, not much outdoor ministry cred here.
But thanks to some really open-minded and gracious actual outdoor ministry buffs, I’ve been grafted into the fraternity through an opportunity to serve on the board of Pathways Ministries, owner of Camp Emmaus outside of Menahga, Minn. and formerly several other northern Minnesota outdoor camps.
Today, several dozen current camp staff, former camp staff, former campers, pastors and board members gathered to celebrate Camp Emmaus’ 90th anniversary. The morning kicked off with a 5K run/walk around the grounds, a coffee hour (of course, we’re Lutherans!), a lakeside worship filled with a ton of camp Bible songs and a camp-style lunch of hot dogs, burgers and potato salad courtesy of some fine Lutheran camp cooks.
Normally, a work obligation on a Saturday morning involving a 90-minute one-way drive would likely seem like a drag. But tonight, in reflection, I have nothing but a smile on my face because the day was … simply lovely.
From the corny camp prank stories to the blessed reunions of campers who were there during the same years too the joy of the current crop of teenage camp counselors boisterously belting out camp songs long after the adults left the worship service … all of it was simply lovely.
I don’t know the statistics about how many kids are attending outdoor Bible camps these days. My perception is that numbers are dwindling and many outdoor ministries are suffering. But, admittedly, I could be wrong. I draw this conclusion mostly on assumptions and what I know from our Pathways operation. And I find this a shame.
I had time today to take a mug of black, hot Lutheran coffee out on the main lodge’s deck that overlooks Morgan Lake, a natural spring-fed lake surrounded by the camp, and just take it all in. Waiting for those who participated in the run/walk to return, there was ample time to bask in the unusually cool August morning. There was the whisper of the wind through the trees, and the sun dappling on the rippling water and the sounds of laughter and joy all throughout the campgrounds.
While I didn’t grow up a Bible camp regular, now in my older years, I absolutely get the pull of the beauty of such a sacred space. Sitting on the deck, warm mug in hand, it was easy to dream about giving up parish ministry to take on a camp director’s job out in the woods some day!
Our Pathways Ministry is fighting hard to keep Camp Emmaus open for generations to come. It’s just an entirely different ministry model for kids. So much more immersive. So much more community oriented than Sunday school and confirmation. A setting in which kids can grow through exploration of the outdoors, time away from their adults and among a caring and passionate staff who will help them explore their faith in a loving setting.
I want Camp Emmaus to be there in the coming years when we have grandchildren. I hope that I’ll be able to introduce them to an experience I never had. And I hope that they can grow to love it as much as the folks I hung out with today. Because this 90th anniversary party was special.
Sending up a prayer that outdoor ministries still have a long and joyful future ahead of them! Amen.
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