Bible Camp, Where Transformations Happen

It’s summer, and for my children, husband, and me, that means Bible camp. I didn’t grow up attending Bible camp regularly, although I did go once, for a long weekend in the fourth grade. I was not impressed. I liked the singing. And the Bible verse (Romans 12:21 and I still remember the actions, thank you very much). And I liked the counselors. But the games and the dorm-style sleeping, no, thank you.

Fast forward to me, age 24, in need of a summer job before starting seminary in the fall. The church I attended then was closely connected with a Bible camp. People talked about Covenant Park Bible Camp all year long. They seemed obsessed. I needed a job, and so I applied. Desperation proved a strong motivator.

The camp soon offered me the position of program director. I accepted with no idea of what I was getting myself into.

The night before staff training, my grandmother died in Colorado. I waved goodbye to my parents as they left without me for the funeral and I drove the hour to camp with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Upon arriving, I pulled my car in front of the dining hall, parked, and sat for a moment asking God to work a miracle. His plan for my summer didn’t excite me. And then, even before I said, “Amen,” someone knocked on my window.

“You must be Gretchen. My mom told me all about you. I’m so sorry about your grandma.” That’s how I met Amanda.

I soon met the rest of the staff and, to my surprise, liked them. That first afternoon I found myself assigned to the dining hall cleaning crew, washing rough wooden walls and staring at past Honor Cabin plaques. On two of those plaques, I spotted my uncle’s name. Amazing. I’d forgotten that my uncle attended this camp in the 1950s.

I guess this place is in my blood, I thought. Maybe I belong here, after all.

As the summer progressed, I fell in love with Covenant Park. I loved the faded orange cabins, the games, the staff, the food, the lake, the camaraderie, and especially the campers. I loved singing and praying with the kids. I loved performing skits and raising the flag each morning and doing cabin clean-up checks. Before the summer even ended, I decided I wanted to work there again.

The last camp that summer was a college and career weekend camp. There, in front of the fireplace in the dining hall, I met Colin O’Donnell. I wasn’t too sure about this young man at first. But I came around. He proposed to me in the dining hall a year later and we married there the following year.

The motto of Covenant Park Bible Camp, Where friend meets friend and both meet God, fits. Bible camp is, indeed, a place to make friends, play together, and sing silly songs. It’s a place to learn about God—to see His handiwork in nature, to memorize Bible verses and internalize truths, and talk about deep concepts all in a context of love, acceptance, and fun. Here, hearts soften. Here, children, teens, and the people who lead them further transform into the people God wants them to be.

If you would, please pray for the camps in your area this summer. Pray for the staff and the volunteers, and pray for the campers. Pray for safety and for health, for sunshine and for rain. Pray for the drivers who bring the kids, sometimes traveling for hours. Pray for the speakers, that they listen to and proclaim the Word of God. Pray for ears to hear those words and respond to them.

Yes, there may be mosquitoes and sunburns and homesickness. There will be kids like me who don’t like the games. But I came around. It just took a little time. Bible camp offers an unparalleled opportunity to meet God in His world and to meet friends.

Almost makes me wish I was a kid again.

Gretchen O’Donnell is an island girl living on the prairies of southwestern Minnesota with her husband, two youngest children, and two argumentative cats. She never expected to stay in Minnesota, but Bible camp changed her life for the better and so she stayed. Gretchen does freelance writing for her local newspaper and also writes a weekly faith-based newspaper column, The Disheveled Theologian. She loves telling stories of her ordinary life to help people see the theological truths in their own everyday lives.