Summer Camp is underway!
Dear Lakeside Supporters,
Summer Camp is Underway!
This is our favorite time of year, though LBC is always busy with church rentals, weekend retreats, various workshops, and Bible studies. Lakeside has been a beacon of light in our world for 60+ years and continues to share the gospel with a culture that is quite confused and darkened in their thinking. Summer camp is so, so good for kids!
Here is the latest news from LBC. During this last year we fixed our roads, fixed our boat and replaced its upholstery, replaced our large dump truck, obtained a used pickup truck, enhanced the look of the chapel, and installed a brand-new espresso machine. We’ve hosted hundreds of people here during the fall, winter, and spring as part of rental groups and weekend retreats. Recently, we’ve purchased a couple of small trailers for our summer staff housing needs. It’s been a busy off-season!
Additionally, I’ve been meeting with church leaders from around the Puget Sound area. I’ve been asking them to consider three things:
Can we tell their church about Lakeside? During their services, we set up a Lakeside kiosk in their lobby so we can tell people about the camp and the opportunities to serve here. It takes almost 600 volunteers to run a camp like LBC: cooks, nurses, cabin leaders, worship leaders, speakers, facilities workers, etc. We’re trying to expand our reach to more and more local churches. If your church might be a good spot for us to visit, please let me know.
Would they consider adding Lakeside to their Missions budget? It costs around $1000 per camper to run this camp. (The cost of insurance and food alone is unbelievable.) Campers pay about 50% of that amount when they come to camp. We have a dozen or so churches that include LBC in their Missions support and their donations pay for about 25% of the price per camper. Individuals donate the other 25%. If your church might consider putting LBC on their Missions support list, please talk with your pastors/leaders and advocate for us. Please let me know who I should contact for a conversation.
Would they like to be engaged in a higher, “Director Level,” of the ministry? This church would consider Lakeside to be one of their primary missions/ministries, and they would commit a representative to sit on our Board and help make LBC better, securing its direction for the future. If your church might be a good fit for LBC in this area, please let me know.
Some of the other changes we’ve made in 2023 include:
Water Line – The water line from our well to the main dining hall was reworked, taking a lot of time and resources. We plan to replace the lines to other buildings beginning in October.
Volleyball Sand – Over time and from weather, sand gets crystalized, making it very hard on the feet and body. Through a new contact for the camp, we replaced the rough sand with true beach volleyball sand. Volleyball enthusiasts will love it.
Pickleball Nets – Instead of the thin, light nets we’ve had in the past, we installed firm, competitive ones. You’ll immediately notice the difference. We’re also planning to repave the courts with a Plexi Pave (red/green) product.
Queen Mattresses and Furniture – Great Wolf Lodge remodeled their rooms and offered us free and drastically reduced items. Thanks to Daniel Jensen’s hard physical work to make it happen, we have 17 new-to-us Queen mattresses and a bunch of rustic, log wood furniture pieces around camp.
New Tables – We replaced our wood tables (most of them damaged and marred) with light, durable plastic ones that are much easier to put up and tear down.
Waterslides – Our iconic slide has been replaced with two safer, sturdier, waterpark-type slides, in use as I write this. Hopefully, like the last one, they too will last 45 years!
Further Needs:
Handymen that would come to camp and help with some minor-moderate remodeling work: painting, flooring, etc.
Repairs to our vehicles. The estimate to repair our white van is $2500 for replacing tie- rods among other things.
Main public bathroom remodel. Estimates run from $15,000 to $50,000 depending on how extensively we’d like to remodel. I would like to redo the floor and replace most of the sinks, toilets, and showers. We’re constantly fixing those units.
So, let me finish by asking you to consider any of the above, but also consider giving support to send a child to summer camp. For $28 a month, LBC could continue to offer scholarships, improve our camping experience, and subsidize the whole summer camp effort to keep LBC vibrant and affordable. Donate at www.lakesidebiblecamp.org. You can also scan the QR code or see the Text to Give instructions at the bottom of this letter. No matter how you do it, we’d appreciate you adding Lakeside to your charitable gifts list. There is no better use of donation dollars than summer camp! It’s truly life changing.
We hope you are well and that we will see you up at camp sometime this summer!
Ed Kelley
Executive Director
Lakeside Bible Camp
253-334-2385 (c)
360-341-4170 (o)
executivedirector@lakesidebiblecamp.org
**Your gift may be rolled into another project if there are excess funds or if this project lacks the funds needed to move forward.