Bishop Current visits Outdoor Ministries
By Bishop Amy Current
One of the most common questions that I hear from members of congregations is “Where are the young people?” Well, I found gaggles of young leaders this past week at three Iowa Bible Camps. These leaders are faithful, wise, energetic, and committed to creating a space for kids to encounter God’s love and God’s creation this summer. They are not lost or missing but thriving and excited about God’s love and sharing it with others. These young people welcomed me into their staff training to hear about who they are and how God called them to the work of ministry at EWALU, Lutheran Lakeside, and Camp Shalom. (I wasn’t able to Riverside Bible Camp this year but hope to visit next year.) Our Synod is well represented at each of these camps by summer staff, board members, campers of all ages (turns out you can’t age out of bible camp anymore), and congregations and individuals who generously support these vital ministries.
Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (LOM) is a network of 208 Outdoor Ministries that welcomes 425,000 people annually throughout the ELCA. This is amazing evangelism, hospitality, and faith formation throughout our church. Our Southeastern Iowa Synod congregations celebrate relationships with many LOM sites (close to home and farther afield).
If you haven’t been to a Bible Camp for a while, or ever, they are places set apart that welcome people of all ages to discover the love of Jesus and revel in the beauty of creation in nature and also in community with day camp (onsite or at your church), sleepaway camp for elementary through high school, family and intergenerational camp, varied abilities camp, special interest camp (night, sailing, house boating), and year-round retreat opportunities or use of lodges, etc. Each of these camps welcomes all people and gives special attention to at-risk kids, kids on the margins, and families with economic challenges creating partnerships and opportunities for all to have a camp experience. Bible Camps are models of balancing tradition, vision, and innovation. I believe Bible Camps are assets to be celebrated in our church and I want to lift up and give thanks for the visionary leaders, board members, year-round and summer staff, campers, and families and congregations/donors that support this essential ministry that transforms lives with the love of Jesus.
I encourage you to support Outdoor Ministries, especially our Iowa camps. Here are some ways you can be involved:
ask youth in your congregation about their favorite camp story
send a note to campers from your congregation (MAIL is A FUN GIFT AT CAMP!)
tell a story about your camp memories to your family, at church coffee, or to a neighbor
consider a gift of money to your congregation to send kids to camp
consider a gift of money to a camp
plan a visit to a camp – Intergenerational camp, family camp, spring workday, plan a retreat, take a tour
sign up to volunteer as camp staff for a week in July at EWALU (contact: program@ewalu.org)
send a thank you letter to a staff person from your congregation or simply to the staff to let them know you are rooting for them and thankful for their work at camp
pray for our Bible Camps/Outdoor Ministries giving thanks for their partnership in faith formation in the lives of people of all ages
invite a summer staff person to consider if God may be calling them to a life of ministry as a pastor/deacon
thank your pastor/deacon/youth director or volunteer for making camp an opportunity for your congregation
