“Building up the Body of Christ for service to the church and witness to the world!”
Sometimes the simplest of questions can be the most difficult to answer? That’s exactly what happened two years ago when our Strategic Planning Task Force began to discuss why we have Camp Luther.
Our camp was purchased in 1946 by the North Wisconsin District LCMS as a place for the children, youth and families of our 222 congregations to be built up in the Christian faith. Facilities had been rented for years, but it was decided it was time to have a place of our own. So, the original purpose of Camp Luther was to serve our people, LCMS Lutherans in the north Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. For the most part, that remains our purpose to this day.
But other questions arose. What about those who use the camp that aren’t Lutheran? How does that ministry fit within our purpose. The task force recognized the fact that Camp Luther does serve groups and individuals outside of district and denomination. In fact we seek out and encourage that involvement. We value the involvement of those groups and individuals and they through their involvement help to support the mission of our camp.
Our mission statement was then dramatically expanded in its scope, and we began to use the term “Body of Christ” to describe those we serve. (I Cor. 1:12) Its a term in scripture used to describe those who believe and follow Jesus. “Body of Christ” can be used to describe the whole Christian church on earth or when just two or three are gathered together in His name. (Matt 18:20)
Next we began to wrestle with the Great Commission. (Matt 28:16) As an organization we want to reach out to the lost in this world, to those who don’t know Christ. But can we do that if our mission is to serve Lutherans and others who already believe? So we considered other Lutheran institutions. We began to ask, why do we have Lutheran schools? Why do we have Lutheran universities? How does that fit with Christ’s Great Commission?
In time we began to realize that Camp Luther’s mission is not reach the world on its own. Instead, its mission is to build up, encourage, and assist those whom we minister to, in doing the work of service and evangelism. Just like our schools and universities prepare young people to do God’s work in this world, its when people come to Camp Luther, are built up (Eph 4:12, Col 2:7) and encouraged in the faith, and then leave with a newly refreshed and renewed faith, that God’s Word is spread through camp. Camp Luther fulfills the Great Commission through the Christians who visit this place and then leave on a mission to share the Word of God with their families, friends, and community. Our camp, Camp Luther, exists to help, assist, enable, build up, and encourage.
All of those thoughts came together in the following purpose statement for Camp Luther: “Building up the Body of Christ for service to the church and witness to the world!”
The word “for” is key to all we do at Camp Luther. Every camp, retreat, and facility is intended to build up the Body of Christ so that individuals depart with a new focus of service and love. And deep down we hope that each person has gathered enough strength and courage to share the love of Jesus Christ with someone who doesn’t know him yet.
That’s why we have a camp.
What are your thoughts? Post a message below and tell us why you think the church needs a place like Camp Luther.