Feature
An Outdoor Oasis of Faith and Fellowship
Lakeview Ministries in Seymour, Ind., provides a place for children, teens and adults to build relationships and be refreshed in the Word of God.
Gravel crunches as cars pull into the parking lot. The haze of gravel dust mixes with the tang of bug spray and the fresh scent of crushed pine needles. On the nearby dining hall porch, the crash of tumbling jumbo Jenga blocks is followed by squeals of delight, while the unmistakable aroma of camp hot dogs wafts through the screen door.
It’s camp time.
A Family Weekend
A whole mess of families have gathered, as they do every August, at Lakeview Ministries in Seymour, Ind., to be refreshed and renewed in the Word of God before heading back to the hustle and bustle of a new school year. Lakeview Ministries, at one time a modest Lutheran summer camp, now operates year-round as one of the largest camps in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). This LCMS Recognized Service Organization hosts over 2,400 children every year, not to mention additional groups and organizations who use its facilities for retreats.
The August family weekend at Lakeview Ministries is packed with activities. It starts with campfire time. Rousing songs around the fire, skits, and reflections on the Word of God prepare the families for the weekend to come. Game time follows. Whether dodging around each other in a game akin to capture the flag or during a crowded dinner in the dining hall, it’s a weekend the families won’t soon forget.
The next day dawns, and they’re up and at it again. The family weekend is less structured than many other programs at Lakeview. They give families plenty of opportunities, but little is required. Families could come and simply enjoy being outside. Or they can go canoeing, ziplining, fishing or any number of other activities.
The only set times are for Bible study. The camp counselors gather the families, pass out a Bible study, set the stage for what’s being discussed, and work with parents to guide their children through the study of God’s Word. Parents interact directly with their children, taking time to read and study God’s Word together.
The August family camp is just one of the many events happening at Lakeview Ministries throughout the year. In fact, the pace of life and the scope of the camp’s service to the church is astounding. David Vandercar, executive director of Lakeview Ministries, feels this keenly: “I feel a little like I’m holding on for dear life while God is making things happen.”
The Horse Barn
Dedicated in 1963, Lakeview Ministries started as a small camp on a Lutheran lake to “provide Christian experiences of growth, inspiration and recreation in an outdoor setting,” Vandercar explained. And for many years, the camp contentedly ran as a small summer camp.
The transition to a year-round, full-featured camp for Lutherans of any age began when a former director asked the Lakeview Board of Directors about building a horse barn.
Dan Kiel, a longtime supporter of the camp, offered something else: a strategic planning session, which led to two minor tweaks of the mission statement that brought massive changes. Lakeview decided to provide Christian experiences of growth, inspiration and recreation for people of “all ages” in a “year round” outdoor setting.
The camp went from serving 40–60 campers a week during the summer of 1997 to a camp that can now serve up to 240 campers a week — 120 at each of its two locations. The original camp now serves younger students; the second, newer camp serves older students and includes high-adventure elements, such as a climbing tower, a fleet of mountain bikes, rope swings, a “blob” floating in the lake and a high ropes course.
Trying Times
The year 2020 brought new challenges — and opportunities — to Lakeview Ministries. Due to COVID lockdowns, camp leaders were facing an $800,000 deficit. They made adjustments and reduced expenses to bring the shortfall to $400,000. Then they put out a call for support to local Lutherans, who stepped up. Lakeview received nearly double what they needed to cover the shortfall.
The pandemic revealed other fault lines. In fact, it uncovered issues that lurk in many summer camps: overworked full-time and summer staff, struggling with any number of mental and spiritual health issues. During COVID, “we instantly went back to working 40-hour-per-week jobs … and it opened our eyes up: ‘This is what life outside of 100 hours a week looks like,’” Vandercar said.
As a result, camp leadership established policies to protect the staff. These policies limit the number of consecutive weekends staff can work. In addition, the camp intentionally does not rent out its facilities for a few weeks each year in order to give staff a break.
They also addressed mental health concerns. “Everybody that works in youth ministry has seen an increase in mental health issues over the last 10 years,” Vandercar explained. “It was impacting our summer program, because our summer staff … were having struggles with anxiety and coping with high stress.” Lakeview contracted with Concordia Counseling, another LCMS Recognized Service Organization, to provide counseling services to summer staff.
Many members of the summer staff go on to serve the church in full-time ministry positions. “We know burnout is a problem among church workers, and we want to encourage our staff members and model what healthy service to the church can look like,” Vandercar said.
The summer staff see and appreciate Lakeview’s care for workers in both big and small ways. Connor “Tiki” McLaughlin said that even the small things make a difference: “They give us slightly better meals every now and then; they give us the opportunity as staff on certain nights to hang out and decompress a bit,” he said. “During summer camp, there’s one weekend called ‘Staff Unity’ where all the staff are off for the weekend, and we all hang out together to grow closer to one another.”
A Focus on Relationships
These relationships are a key part of Lakeview’s growth. Parents see it. Staff focus on it. And these become opportunities to share the love of Christ in Word and deed. Patrick Downey, a local Lutheran who visits the camp with his kids multiple times every year, noticed this: “When [the children] come back from Lakeview, all they talk about is the counselors and the relationships they made. That is one of the core things that we look at and focus on.”
Drew “Pogo” Handloser, a staff member at Lakeview, shared a common story. A friend “forced” him to come to camp, and he fell in love with it. “From the counselor I got to the junior counselor that was with him — I just loved going back with all my buddies and friends, and eventually [I] became a junior counselor,” Pogo said. And the rest is history; he hopes to continue serving at a camp in his future career. It all began with the friendships he formed at Lakeview Ministries.
These relationships also become opportunities to share the Gospel. Again, Downey said: “The counselors and the staff members are all really open about their faith and very excited to be here.” He’s seen this not only in his own children, but also in the fruit borne among other campers.
Not long after the August family weekend, Downey related a recent interaction he’d had with a representative of a nearby public university. The representative was speaking with students at the Lutheran high school where Downey works, and she shared how the “seed of her faith had been planted as a junior staff member at Camp Lakeview” and now she also encourages college students to stay connected to Christ.
The sights and sounds of summer camp doubtless evoke many fond memories of time spent in God’s glorious and awe-inspiring creation. And while the benefits of spending such time away from the digital clutter of our modern world are certainly beneficial for the mind, that’s not the most important aspect of the work of LCMS summer camps. For Lakeview Ministries, Christ sits at the heart and center. And through Christ’s giving, the fruits of this work are growing.
Learn More
- Learn more about Lakeview Ministries
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Rev. Roy S. Askins
Managing director of Editorial and Theological Content for LCMS Communications and executive editor of The Lutheran Witness.
