Wishlist
We have been feeling very encouraged from all of the generous donations we have received on the Wishlist!
Kevin’s exact words when moving the small raft to the Waterfront last week were “I love these pallet forks!” We’ve also been having a great time playing Spikeball with the Purdue students, and finished making the maple syrup which we will be selling in the Canteen this summer. Thanks to all who continue to support our ministry with these gifts! You can see all of the wonderful donations we’ve received on our Completed Wishlist page.
Fall Volunteer Weekend
We welcomed a lot of people to come and help us with a variety project here at Covenant Point!
Some of those projects included: helping put a new roof on Cedar Lodge, new curtains in Pine and the Nature Building, cutting firewood, putting together retreat mailers and repainting the basement of Cedar Lodge.
We are so thankful for all the help we received this volunteer weekend and continue to receive year to year!
[fsg_gallery id=”15″]Yurt Construction is Finished!
Here is a video of our recent construction of our back forty Yurts. We are still working on fully winterizing them with wood stoves, and building bunk beds to accomodate guests, and this construction marks an exciting step forward in our Wilderness Ministry.
The yurts will resource our trips program by providing new housing for briefing and debriefing with groups before and after a trip. Having additional space like this will allow us to: 1) serve new groups in a set-apart area while other housing at camp is full (ie, while Purdue University is here), 2) run simultaneous trips during the summer, whereas in the past we’ve run one trip at a time, and 3) provide a new experience of camp for interested groups – like family campers, scouts, youth groups, etc. To learn more about what a Yurt is, visit www.yurts.com
We have many opportunities to get out into God’s Creation through our Trips program. Learn more about Trips here.
Yurt Building Timelapse from covenant point bible camp on Vimeo.
Chuck Frasier Memorial Campaign Exceeds $500,000 In Pledges
Overjoyed by the excitement and generosity of giving to the Our Next Step of Faith campaign, we are pleased to announce that in conjunction with the first annual Chicago 5K & Half Marathon, and the faithful giving of over 300 donors, we have now exceeded the $500,000 mark for pledges toward our $600,000 goal! The funds raised thus far have fully paid for and completed construction of the new directors home, re-established connection with many members of the Covenant Point community, established the (growing) Chuck Frasier Memorial Internship Endowment Fund, and welcomed our first official Chuck Frasier Memorial Intern, Kim Steiner.
The director’s house was completed in time for the Stroms to move in on June 8, just before the summer season of ministry. A dedication and prayer-service over the home was conducted during a summer family camp (pictured below). Courtney Strom, wife of executive director Erik Strom, offers this about the Stroms’ transition to the new home:
“It has been such a gift to be in this home, and have a space to ourselves – a place that allows us to rest and be a family, to welcome guests, and to minister to the summer and year-round staff. My favorite moments this summer were when we hosted two breakfasts for the staff, and all the times our high school work and kitchen crews came over to hang out and reflect on their time serving here. We all enjoy when people stop by to get a tour of the home, but maybe especially our youngest son, Emmett! He loves to show off his room and entertain our guests, so stop over for a tour! Thank you for your support of the wonderful ministry of Covenant Point through this special effort.”
At this point, $97,000 remains toward meeting our $600,000 goal, and every dollar given at this point will go directly to the endowment of the internship program, with the end goal of sustainably supporting two year-round interns to serve, learn, and lead our ministry in new and exciting ways. If you have not yet given to the campaign, please consider pledging or giving a one-time gift to invest in the lives of young leaders and our ministry for years to come!
Batavia Men Volunteer to Build Yurt Platform
Fall is in full bloom, and we are looking forward to over 120 women coming this weekend for the Covenant Womens Retreat to hear Kris Causton share God’s word, and worship together.
This past weekend, we were blessed to have 11 men from Batavia come and stay at camp. While they were here they spent time in devotion with eachother learning more about what it means to be a leader in their church, and building platforms for the yurts that we are building in the Back Forty as part of the expansion of our trips program. We are purchasing our yurts from the pacific yurt company in order to have more year-round capacity to house groups that we are outfitting for wilderness experiences in the beautiful creation that surrounds us here in the Upper Peninsula. As you can see from the pictures, the yurts will be tucked nicely into the woods surrounding the Back Forty field.
Many thanks to the men who made this possible. More pictures to come once the yurts arrive.
Purdue Office Renovation, and Wish List Fulfillments
Despite the light dusting of snow we received two days ago, spring is in the air at camp, and summer camp is right around the corner! We recently received a new Jetboil camp stove, yet another need fulfilled from our Wish List page. Check out the various needs that our staff have compiled and please give as you are led; it brings us great joy to see gifts arrive in the mail as you can tell by our excited staff members!
Preparations for summer camp are underway, and over 70 Forestry, Wildlife, and Fishery students from Purdue University will be arriving in just over two weeks for their 5 week practical course. This year we have been hard at work preparing a brand new office space in the basement of our infirmary, complete with new wireless internet access, and private office space for the Teachers Aides and Professors to do grading, and tutoring. Mike Johnson from Grace Covenant Church in Iron River volunteered many hours in helping us with this project. We are very grateful for his help and expertise!
Hardwood flooring has been laid on the first floor of the new directors home, doors have been hung, and appliances have been ordered. The home is being built as one part of our current Next Step of Faith Campaign, which seeks to endow our internship program with $300,000, and raise another $300,000 to build an onsite directors home to continue the legacy and commitment to long term leadership of former director Chuck Frasier, who passed away suddenly in November of 2010. Learn more about the campaign, and get involved today.
The Earth Ball Lives!
Our earth ball was in sad shape three weeks ago . . . but not any more! Time-worn and well-used, the earth ball has been a valuable asset to the Mainland for many years, but the time finally came for a new inflatable bladder. We posted about this need on our “program wish list” page, a place where we post needs for our program, operations, and information about scholarship donations. Within a few weeks, a friend of covenant point donated the $160 to purchase the new bladder and today we blew it up for the first time and had a celebration!
This donation is a beautiful example of the many ways that we are indelibly linked to those who support us through praying for the ministry, telling families and students about camp, or donating funds for projects. There are many ways to get involved. We are currently 75% of the way to completing the Next Step of Faith Campaign, and there are resources around our site to learn more about our Wishlist, or how to Become a “Friend of Covenant Point”
Thanks for your support!
Chuck Frasier Memorial Campaign Update
The new directors house is coming along nicely. Drywall is up, and painting should be done before next week thanks to Al Louria, a painter friend of Covenant Point who has donated his time this week to paint the entire house! We are so thankful for the generous gifts of the many friends and supporters in the Chuck Frasier Memorial Campaign. Thanks to generous donations we have raised $435,318 of the $600,000 we are looking to raise for the building of a directors home, and the endowing of our internship program.
Here is an excerpt from a testimony of one of our previous interns. Download the full testimony here
“Covenant Point nurtured my faith, specifically my calling toward full-time ministry, by giving me a place to serve God’s people and better develop my gifts for ministry. It was also the perfect place for God to speak into my life. Life at camp was hectic at times, but there was plenty of space for conversations with staff as well as with campers that helped to shape my life. While serving, God used the camp staff to nurture my calling, and eventually lead me to seminary. He also used my time at Covenant Point to develop a passion to minister to God’s people in a camp setting.”
-Matt Braun | Associate Director, Portage Lake Bible Camp
We are humbled by the sacrificial giving that we have received from supporters of Covenant Point. If you have not yet joined us, please watch this video to learn more and pray about a way you can become involved. If you have already given there are still ways that you can get involved: share the vision of the campaign with a friend, host an optional giving dinner, or consider giving monthly to the campaign.
Our Latest Blessings | Gifts & Donations
First, an updated Campaign total: $428,293
Click Here to Learn More About Our Next Step of Faith
In the past few months we have been very blessed with gifts from various organizations and individuals. In total we received: filing cabinets, a flying scot sailboat, a new soundboard, and 10 cords of wood for heating. All were blessings and answers to prayer that came just at the right time and we extend love and gratefulness to all those involved in the donations of these excellent gifts that will better equip us to do the work of the Kingdom.
The Stories: God’s timing is amazing. We were anticipating purchasing a new sound board in the near future, and then we received word from a friend of camp that there was a nearly brand new sound board waiting for us in an office. After our office renovation this fall, we were looking to purchase new filing cabinets to better organize our office space, and about three weeks ago another friend called to tell us that filing cabinets were on their way. Sailing has had a resurgence among our summer programs in the past few years, so it was exciting news when we heard from a former staff member that there was a sail boat(big enough to hold a full cabin group!) in his drive way that had been donated by a seller on craigslist who decided to give it away instead of making a profit. Lastly, we were ecstatic to learn that a significant amount of seasoned wood(enough for at least 1 full winter!) had been donated to help us get ahead on our heating costs.
All these gifts were generous displays of people who gave in faith and in support of the ministry of Covenant Point. Thanks to all who gave. If you are interested in learning more about ways to give, consider becoming a Friend of Covenant Point, or visit our Gift & Projects Page or email us with things you are interested in donating.
Our Next Step of Faith Update
$425,893 – Updated Campaign Total
We are incredibly excited by the new number of donations. What a blessing to see the support of Our Next Step of Faith! We’ve now passed the two-thirds mark for total pledges, and looking ahead to the finish line. If you haven’t joined the Covenant Point community in this campaign, learn more by clicking here.
Here are few pictures from the building site. Today, our builders put up the trusses for the garage with the welcome help of a crew of volunteers from our Christmas Family Camp!
