Faith Hosts Representatives from Nearly 30 Camp Ministries for Fall ENLIST Event

October 20, 2023

ANKENY, Iowa–During the nine o’clock hour on the morning of October 17, the gymnasium in the Nettleton Center at Faith Baptist Bible College was abuzz with conversations among camp ministry representatives and Faith students.

These camp representatives hailed from camps across the country, and they came to campus to participate in Faith’s fall ENLIST event. The purpose of this two-day event is to provide opportunities for camp directors to recruit staff for the upcoming camping season from among the Faith student body. 

This year, nearly 30 ministries from 14 states were represented at the event. Not surprisingly, given Faith’s location, representation was highest from states in the Midwest, such as Iowa (five camps), Wisconsin (six camps), and Minnesota (three camps), but staff members from camps from states on the east and west coasts were also eager to recruit students. 

Several ENLIST attendees have had a relationship with Faith that extends back decades. For some, however, ENLIST has created a means to renew that relationship. Paul Cayot, for example, is Director of Victory Ranch (Moreno Valley, California). For years in the 1980s, Faith ministry teams served for a week at Victory Ranch, so Cayot relished the opportunity to be on campus again to recruit students for staff positions. Several current students have worked at Victory Ranch recently, and Cayot is hopeful these students will use their experiences at the camp to encourage others to serve there for a summer. He said the experience is mutually beneficial: “We want Faith students to serve with us, and we want our campers to become Faith students.” 

For other camp directors, ENLIST 2023 was their first experience with the event. Both Thad Berrey, Program Director of Anchorage Christian Camp (Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina), and Allen Cover, Program Director of Pioneer Bible Camp, (located in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah) were first-time attendees, and both were impressed with the event and thankful to interact with so many students. 

Berrey and Cover are both relatively new to their positions. Berrey took over as program director one-and-a-half years ago after 20 years in pastoral ministry in Georgia. Cover stepped into his current role in May 2023, after time in Houston as a business owner and church planter. Both men are eager to invest in the spiritual lives of their staff members this summer. Berrey noted that he still has a pastor’s heart and enjoys shepherding staff. Cover, too, explained that he sees his role extending far beyond directing camp programs. “I’m looking for staff who want to minister but who also want to be mentored,” he said. 

The heart for discipleship these men manifested is representative of the directors who attend this event, and their focus on mentoring others who will in turn mentor campers is simply one reason ENLIST is attractive to directors and students alike. 

Faith faculty and staff regularly encourage students to give at least one summer of their lives to camp ministry. It is fulfilling for camp directors and us to see so many students pursuing opportunities to serve at camps from coast to coast. 

If you have never participated in ENLIST and would like to showcase your camp at next year’s event, contact Larisa Rodman, Guest Relations Coordinator, at guest@faith.edu. 

Here is the list of camp ministries that participated in the 2023 ENLIST:

  • Amazing Grace Baptist Camp: Ottawa, KS
  • Anchorage Christian Camp: Lake Waccamaw, NC
  • Appanoose Ministries: Plano, IA
  • Bass Lake Camp: Winnebago, MN
  • Camp Chetek: Chetek, WI
  • Camp Eden: Golden, CO
  • Camp Fairwood: Westfield, WI
  • Camp Kanesatake: Spruce Creek, PA
  • Camp JIM: Pillager, MN
  • Camp Joy: Whitewater, WI
  • Camp Manitoumi: Lowpoint, IL
  • Camp Utibaca: Ephraim, UT
  • Iowa Regular Baptist Camp: Ventura, IA
  • Ironwood: Newberry Springs, CA
  • Ironwood Family of Camps (Camp Assurance & Camp Grace): Newberry Springs, CA
  • Lincoln Lake Baptist Youth Camp: Gowen, MI
  • Northland Camp: Dunbar, WI
  • Pioneer Bible Camp: Liberty, UT
  • Raccoon River Bible: Camp Scranton, IA
  • Red Cliff Bible Camp: Pinedale, WY
  • Solid Rock Christian Camp: Mount Vernon, IA
  • The Wilds Christian Camp: Brevard, NC
  • Trail Ridge Camp: Hillsboro, WI
  • Victory Academy for Boys: Amberg, WI
  • Victory Ranch Moreno: Valley, CA
  • Whispering Cedars: Genoa, NE
  • Wildwood Hills Ranch: St. Charles, IA

Lydia

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