Just a few hours north of Lafayette, the Central Conference is blessed to have a camp on the shore of Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. For over 70 years, Covenant Harbor has been a place of refuge, refreshment, encouragement, transformation, and of course, fun!
Our church has a long tradition of sending our youth to Winter Camp at Covenant Harbor, and this summer we’re inviting kids to experience a week of Summer Camp. We’ll be trading in our winter boots and polar plunges for bathing suits and sunscreen! Going to camp in a pandemic does look different than other years, but Covenant Harbor remains committed to high safety expectations for health, cleanliness, and supervision. They will meet or exceed the latest guidelines and regulations from the state and the CDC while maintaining high standards of quality for programming.
We are encouraging kids from ECC to sign up for camp the week of July 18-23, and there are a couple of options, based on age. Students who will enter 2nd through 4th grade in the fall of 2021 have the option for a shorter camp experience from July 18-20. Students who will enter 4th through 6th grade in the fall of 2021 can have a full camp week experience, from July 18-23.
Why should your family consider a camp experience at Covenant Harbor? Time at camp is like no other time in the summer. It’s sacred time set aside for play, outdoor activity, and worship. Students connect with Jesus in ways that are new and powerful. Speakers encourage children in their faith, worship songs draw children into the joy of praising God, and camp counselors become trusted leaders who speak the truth of walking with God through all of life. Many come back from summer camp having had a mountaintop experience with God.
This will be a coordinated effort for our kids from Lafayette to attend camp together. What does this mean? There will be many other kids from many other churches registering for these camp sessions. We will request that kids from ECC are able to stay in cabins together, so that those who attend will see a familiar face at camp. If your family is interested, we will offer transportation to and from camp. Our Children’s Ministry Director, Kristin Mueller, will be facilitating the transportation, and she will stay at camp this week as well. Kristin won’t be in cabins with our kids, but she will be staying in a separate building on camp grounds. She will be there as a resource for our campers if they need extra support, and she’ll be a friendly face, waving to kids outside and at meals, reminding them that they are having an awesome week!
Our younger students will return home with Kristin on July 20, and then Kristin will return to camp on July 21 so that she can continue to be present as a support for our older students. Kristin is also able to bring campers home at the end of the week, on July 23.
Our hope is that we are able to attend camp together and build stronger friendships among the children at ECC. As we return home, our hope is that our families and our church can continue discipling children whose faith has grown through this mountaintop experience.
You can read more about the ministry at Covenant Harbor here. You can read more about Summer Camps for our 2nd through 6th grade students here. If the week we have scheduled doesn’t work for your family, or if you have older students, we would encourage you to still consider Covenant Harbor for a summer experience. There are many different programs available throughout the summer. If you are interested in providing a scholarship or applying for a scholarship, please contact Kristin Mueller.
Pray with us that God would do a mighty work through Covenant Harbor this summer!