Brad Dickinson sold his 1971 Volkswagen just to make the deposit for Faith Baptist Bible College. He planned to stay one year. Maybe two at most.
Thirty-nine years later, he’s still drawing from what he learned in those Ankeny classrooms—though now he’s applying those lessons as the director of Camp Fairwood in Wisconsin, where he’s been serving for three decades.
“I wanted to go one year, and then it ended up being two, and then a third and then fourth, and then ended up going five years,” Brad laughs, remembering how his plans kept expanding.
The Reluctant Student Who Found His Calling
Brad didn’t exactly jump at the chance to attend Faith. When his youth pastor suggested it, Brad’s first response was a firm “oh, no, no, I don’t think I could do that.”
But his youth pastor knew exactly what to say: “It’s a lot like camp, only it’s full-time.”
That changed everything. Brad had loved camp as a junior and senior in high school. The idea of camp life year-round? “I said, ‘Okay, I’m all in.'”
Still, those first months at Faith were tough. “The first three months were rough. I was homesick. I didn’t understand how to study, how to take tests.”
But something beautiful happened. The professors worked with him. Other students came alongside him.
“After about four or five months, I just couldn’t get enough. I was like a thirsty sponge. I couldn’t wait to get more education.”
God’s Recalibration of Brad’s Plans
Brad came to Faith thinking it would be “a good place to learn the Bible” and serve as “a discipling tool” in his life. He wasn’t thinking about full-time ministry.
But during his sophomore year, something shifted. “I really sensed that God was calling me into full-time ministry more than just punching a clock and putting in my time in a secular job. Nothing wrong with that. But I just sensed God calling me to do something different.”
That sense of calling became undeniable. “I just had that sense of calling from God that nothing else would satisfy.”
There was also a benefit to that unconventional fifth year: “I met my wife, so that was a huge benefit. Not that I was searching actively, but God in his sovereign plan led Marcella my way.”
After graduating in 1984, the Dickinsons stayed in the area while Brad worked for three years to pay off school debt. The Dickinsons also had their first child, and then they moved to Silver Lake Community Baptist Church, where Brad served as associate pastor for seven and a half years.
The Path to Camp Fairwood
Brad’s connection to Camp Fairwood started naturally. His church brought youth groups there three or four times a year. They participated in work weekends. When the previous director left, the board had a question: Would Brad consider being the next director?
That was thirty years ago.
“What I love about camping ministry is it’s so varied,” Brad explains. “It includes a lot of things that a church would be involved in like worship and teaching, discipleship, evangelism.”
He chuckles about the unexpected skills camp ministry has required. “I didn’t aspire to be in a restaurant, but camp has a lot of restaurant similarities too.”
But through all the varied responsibilities—youth ministry, recreation, food service, administration—the focus remains clear. “Our whole focus and purpose is to see campers have an excellent Christian camping experience in which they can come to know Christ as their Savior and then grow in him through God’s Word and a godly staff.”
Faith’s Lasting Foundation
When Brad reflects on how Faith prepared him for ministry, he points to something fundamental: “Faith prepared me for ministry first of all to make any ministry that I’m a part of biblically focused. It’s got to be of the Word and it’s got to be focused on Christ.”
That foundation has shaped everything at Camp Fairwood. “Our goal and focus here at Fairwood is to make Christ number one and His Word number one. Our whole reason and goal is to honor and glorify Him.”
The practical lessons have been just as valuable. Ministry at camp has taught Brad “a lot about working with people.” It requires “a lot of organization, a lot of recruiting, a lot of training individuals.”
But perhaps most importantly, camp ministry has taught him flexibility. “You have to be flexible and kind of roll with things as you give God permission to be sovereign—He is sovereign. And we just have to acknowledge that.”
The Discipleship That Made the Difference
For Brad, who came to Christ as a sophomore in high school, Faith was exactly what he needed as “a pretty green and immature believer.”
“I needed that discipline of being in the Word and studying, doing the papers, reading all those assignments, doing the busywork. But it was huge for me.”
The relationships made all the difference. “The things that helped me tremendously were my professors. They would meet with me if I had a question. My upperclassmen, I remember my RA being willing to help in any way possible.”
Without really knowing it, these people “were the disciplers in my life that helped teach and train me in the Word of God. And that was huge for me.”
His Message to Future Students
After decades in ministry, Brad has strong advice for young people considering Bible college: “It’s absolutely vital for young people to go off to college, especially Bible college, and get a year at least under your belt to learn the Word of God.”
That foundation “will help set a pattern, a focus for your life no matter what you’re doing.”
But it’s not just about the academics. “I think it’s just tremendous to be with other people in that setting and to not only be immersed in Scripture, but the fellowship there is tremendous. The fellowship, the encouraging sessions, the lessons, the classes; the chapel sessions are so uplifting.”
From a reluctant student who sold his Volkswagen to afford the deposit to a seasoned ministry leader who’s been faithfully serving for three decades in one place, Brad Dickinson’s story shows how God uses our willingness—even when it starts small—to accomplish far more than we ever imagined.
To learn more about the ministry at Camp Fairwood, visit their website, www.campfairwood.org.
