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Annual General Report 2022 1 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampAnnualGeneral Report2022
Living Beyond The RulesCrow does not want to be among those who get caught up following Codes of Conduct that will decay with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. How can we avoid that? At Crow, we emphasize Living Beyond the Rules. We aren’t going to be experts at Rule Following and ignore the heart - Jesus emphasizes that a transformed heart is the source of righteousness:“Make a tree good, and the fruit will be good. Or make a tree bad, and the fruit will be bad. For a tree is recognized by its fruit.” - Matthew 12:33Living Beyond the Rules means you don’t focus on working hard to make things look “right.” Pouring effort into following strict human rules has an appearance of wisdom, but ultimately, it is of no value. It will not work. There is no power in it. The desire to be righteous is good. But you don’t get to righteousness by gritting your teeth and just trying harder. You get to righteousness by being sustained by God, like a tree. Living Beyond the Rules means living condently out of the overow of a transformed heart.Annual General Report 20222 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampThese people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. ~ JesusA good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. ~ Jesus
3 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampAnnual General Report 2022DIRECTOR OF CAMPING REPORTI spent ve years in Singapore. I never got used to what passes for winter in Singapore: palm trees and temperatures hovering between 28° and 32° C. Every so often, I felt a deep sadness - an ache - to be forced to endure a winter without snow; a winter without snow shovelling. You can miss the hard things; and the hard things can be good things, too.“Jesus learned obedience from the things he suffered.” ~ Hebrews 5:8Every summer, volunteers come to camp to work. They could be reclining somewhere, and instead they choose to come to camp… to work. They come knowing it will be hard. And good.That’s what I want you to know about this past summer at camp: this past summer was good. It was very good. And it was hard, too.It Was Good:If you had told me on 1 June that the summer would unfold as it did, I would have issued both:• The Sigh of Relief• The Fist Pump of Jubilation.You’ll see in the pictures, and the reports - this was a summer of success; lled with a lot of happiness; and a lot of growth in the most important ways. Growth in God’s Kingdom and in Christlikeness and in the Fruit of the Spirit. God provided for us, and protected us. We talked about Jesus, and listened, and learned together about Jesus. It was a safe summer, a growing summer, and - Praise God - it was a normal summer. It Was Hard:There’s a big difference between hard days that will be recounted with laughter, and hard days that you never want to remember at all. Some of the hard days - even as they were happening - I knew would soon make me laugh. Like the day Lacie and I were organizing kids for chapel, and from a long ways off, we heard a loud buzzing. “What is that buzzing?” I joked. “It sounds like an entire squadron of bees!” We got closer to the chapel, and indeed there was a hovering column of honeybees, twenty feet high. On closer inspection, it looked like… maybe TWO squadrons of bees. We shunted the kids carefully into the chapel, keeping a close eye on the bees. I thought to myself: Well, it’s always something. But I knew, even in the midst of that buzzing exasperation, that this was a story soon to be told with a smile.There are other stories from this summer that I am still waiting to tell. They aren’t fun yet; they are still hard. Sad. Stories of campers, carrying big stuff alone, stuff that they were too small to manage. Stories of staff who came to camp with plans for transformation, who saw those plans fail; who tried again, and failed again. I’d tell those stories too, but they’re not ready. Or, perhaps I’m not ready. Even in these hard stories, I still believe in what God has promised, though I have not yet received it: I have only seen the promise from a distance and welcomed it. There are stories still waiting for redemption. Like everything else, it’s a jumble. I write the annual report in the heart of winter darkness, selecting photos that glow with summer sunshine so bright that I sometimes have to squint. I am reecting on summer and anticipating Christmas. I think about that rst Christmas - marked with shame and suffering - redeemed now into a story of beauty. But not easy beauty. Not unearned beauty. Beauty for ashes. To make the exchange, one must bring ashes, and give them over freely to the God who redeems, and makes all things new.The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me,because the LORD has anointed Meto preach good news to the poor.He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captivesand freedom to the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favorand the day of our God’s vengeance,to comfort all who mourn,to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes,the oil of joy for mourning,and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. ~ Isaiah 61:1-3Come meet Jesus at camp. Those who are heavy laden, come. Those bearing ashes, come. Those with stories awaiting redemption, come. Those waiting for good news, bring your stories, and come.~ David Graham, DoC
PIT PAGEPeople read annual reports to learn how their organization improved over the past year. Since I’m not the greatest at writing these reports I chose to write a story. But to keep it somewhat of a report I’m pleased to inform you that CLBC gained nine new, amazing staff members this summer. If you don’t know a whole lot about the PIT program it’s an intense, six-week leadership training program for youth interested in camp ministry. During this time the participants grow very close and so the nal night together is often bittersweet; we’re happy to be going home but sad to leave our new friends who’ve become like family. This year was no different. Our nal evening was spent on an outtrip, overlooking Crowsnest mountain and the surrounding peaks. We ate supper and had something of a graduation ceremony. There were tears, there was laughter but there was also thanksgiving. And as the sun disappeared, the nine kids in our program sat next to each other, in the dark, overlooking a Crowsnest mountain that they could no longer see, singing worship to God. Autumn and I didn’t plan it; it was simply an overowing of gratitude from these teenagers, thanking God for these incredible six weeks at camp. For just as we had studied weeks before in James, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” That’s not to say that PIT ‘22 was perfect. There were sad tears and disagreements, plans that fell through, and even a hydration pack that accidentally got stabbed by a knife, but overall it was a wonderful time. A time of growth, excitement, and challenge. Neither Autumn nor I expected to lead PIT this summer, but God had other plans and, as one of the PITs (Téa) said, “Experiencing God’s joy can happen in the most unexpected ways.” Both Autumn and I agree our time leading PIT ‘22 was unexpected and that it brought great joy. It was a privilege for us to watch these nine teenagers grow and change as they pursued God at CROW and brought His love to the campers. We look forward to watching them make a difference at CROW and in the rest of the world as PIT graduates. On behalf of my amazing co-leader Autumn Kelbert and the ‘22 PIT Crew (Grif, Lou, Leah, Walker, Bubbles/Haley, Ellie, Charis, Sam, and Téa) - Simon Perry
5 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampAnnual General Report 2022Short Squeeze: Our Crow History, A Goat, 3 Babies, and Other ReectionsThe ‘short squeeze’ in Cleft Cave is a doozy. It is a crawl space small enough where people can only shimmy themselves through...in a dark cave…head downhill…with inevitable and unintelligible grunting.In addition to the countless stories of Crow people feeling stuck in this squeeze - sometimes, actually stuck - I remember once a mountain goat hanging out with us at the cave entrance for an entire day, coming within 10 feet of our group at times. There are more stories too. I once remember a mountain goat hanging out with us at the cave entrance for an entire day, coming within 10 feet of our group at times. I also remember a small assembly line at the short squeeze once because I was with some Draxlirs. Draxlirs going through Cleft Cave was nothing abnormal, but the accompanying 3 babies on the trip were. We had a 5-person assembly line passing the babies through. There were diaper changes happening all over that cave! This squeeze with its many stories is steeped in Crow’s history too. Some of our staff recently established a rappel route out of the cave, our COLTS 35th celebration this year did a signature trip through the cave, as did the recent COLTS 2022 group. We have been adventuring in that cave as an organization since the 1970’s.Crow’s programs are short squeezes in people’s lives. Out-trips challenge people. Pooping in the woods for the rst time is intimidating. Being in a cabin for a week with unfamiliar faces presents a social challenge. Deciding whether Jesus is worth following is a costly decision. These squeezes are uncomfortable, especially when it feels like our heads are downhill. But you don’t typically go through Cleft Cave for just the squeeze; another feature is beyond it.At the end of the short squeeze passage is the lofty lookout: A window-like hole in the middle of a large cliff overlooking Andy Good Mountain, Parrish Mountain, and Ptolemy Valley. On a clear day the Livingstone Range is even visible. This lookout is a world-class experience, right here within walking distance from Camp (if you are into long, steep walks). This lofty lookout serves as a metaphor for our programs too. I remember a camper this summer saying the out-trip was an experience way out of his comfort zone, but that he will denitely be back next year. I have also seen many COLTS students struggle through their learning to nd a lofty lookout on the other side. COLTS are intentionally challenged in many ways in order to expedite learning and show them what’s on the other side. I remember another camper once saying “I can’t deal with my current life anymore - I need to know God”. Yes, camp squeezes people, and yes camp offers more than just a squeeze. We know whose image we are made in; we know Him personally, and we get to share Him in our programs. Similar to how people struggle to get through the small squeeze in Cleft cave, people struggle at camp. Whether it is endlessly hiking with blisters in development, or dealing with your faith questions, us Crow folk posit that a life knowing God is the best ‘outlook’ one can have. Past the squeezes at camp, are lookouts; they are always worth it - even through the doozy-ness. Daniel Vanderpyl
Annual General Report 20226 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampFINANCE REPORTTo be honest, I’d rather not. If I had my way, I’d be putting in more pictures, more stories - try to jam in more CAMP into every margin… and in the prime real estate at the center of every page. It’s tempting to pretend that Crow exists in a misty half-remembered Garden of Eden. I’m thinking of a verse:“There’s a lake of stew, and marmalade tooYou can paddle all around ‘em in a big canoeIn the Big Rock Candy Mountains.”It’s a verse, but it’s not a Bible verse. It’s fun to sing along with The Okee Dokee Brothers but it’s really no way to run a business! The hens lay soft-boiled eggs? The wind don’t blow? It just isn’t true. (Particularly the wind part.)Jesus doesn’t live in the Big Rock Candy Mountains. He’s familiar here, in the High Rock Range, in the Flatheads, in the Rocky Mountains, in the real world. Jesus doesn’t ignore nances, or pretend that money is stupid or meaningless. Jesus merely says, your Father in Heaven knows what you need. Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father knows what you need. ~ JesusJesus does not live in the illusory land of the Big Rock Candy Mountains, where food and clothes don’t matter. But he also doesn’t pretend that true success is measured in what you own. We’re working to follow Jesus in this too; to be aware of our needs, but not ruled by them - giving our needs over to God as they arise.The work of camp generates substantial needs. If you and your family have decided to give to Crow, you should do it; cheerfully, not regretfully or because you have to. God loves a cheerful giver. We started this year with $81,095.20 in the bank. We did some renovation projects, and built some water facilities that cost us $109,133.05.We have received donations and contributions of $673,705.02We spent money on people and ministry projects of $707,227.50Government subsidies for wages have ended, but we are nishing the saga of our well and water treatment projects! We have committed to renovating the motel cabins to improve our ability to house short-term staff. All in all, we are in a tight position, but not a dire situation. The money set aside for the motel renovation is ready to be used for that project, with another (approximately) $100,000 of funds remaining to be committed so that this project can be fully funded. Our focus this year is balancing our budget in a world of rising ination, so that we can continue to operate our programs, pay staff, and maintain our facilities, into the future. ~ Mike Oosterhof & David Graham
Annual General Report 2022 7 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampMAINTENANCE REPORT“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”The Maintenance team always has a plan - for the day, for the week, for the year. Then comes inclement weather, lack of materials, volunteer shortage (or surplus), and… plans change.So we prioritize exibility. But we aren’t exible about nishing stuff. There is so much to do, it can be tempting to aim for “good enough”... “functional”... “incomplete but safe.” But we have a lot of pride in work that is nished. Not “nearly nished.” Finished. Some projects (like remediated water wells) don’t get much notice, but they do get nished, same as the visible ones: the waterfront, playing eld, and new playground.This spring, we had 30+ volunteers build a new playground behind the lodge. It’s bittersweet: we’ll all miss the aroma of the septic tanks wafting around the old playground. Many thanks are due: to those running shovels, wrenches and drills; and those in the kitchen keeping us fed. I can’t thank you enough. Special thanks to Marten DeVlieger and Greg Beekman for providing the Know-How (and equipment!). That weekend we removed the snow fence around the playing eld, to the delight of the resident bighorn sheep and mule deer.Other highlights: The Lakefront, where Senior 2 campers tore out old railway-ties, which Mount Carmel Bible School replaced with a limestone retaining wall. Crow Manor got a facelift: new siding and a deck to complement the new foundation poured in 2021! New baseboards and trim were installed in the wooden trailer, as well as a bathroom renovation, and a deck. The Metal Building is nicely organized and functional. We installed sea cans at both Lake and Mountain Site, as rodent-proof/yahoo-resistant seasonal storage. A huge thank you to all of our trade worker friends, and especially Jason Lyons and Andrew Lodge, who have been out to camp regularly, completing a boiler replacement, and a water treatment system; and pulled me out when I got the plow truck wedged in a great tightness. Andrew Bailey helped with vehicle maintenance, and Eric Orr was often around.It’s hard to say what the next year will look like for the maintenance team, but I pray that you will be a part of it. Lots to do: Motel Unit and micro-cabin renovations; water treatment operations; danger tree removals; windows & siding on the Outtrip Room; snow removal… and that’s just what we know about! We rely so much on our volunteers and supporters. Having people coming by to help is so encouraging. Without you we wouldn’t have accomplished nearly as much. Please continue to come by, to help or just for a visit. The coffee is on.Graham Reyburn - Assistant(to the)Facilities ManagerNow to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Annual General Report 20228 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampREGISTRATION REPORT
Annual General Report 2022 9 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampLake Site Youth Camps & OuttripsSenior Skills Camp ( July 7—12)Junior One ( July 15—19)Intermediate One (July 22—26)Senior Two (August 17—23)Youth Outtrip #1 (July 28—August 1)Youth Outtrip #2 (August 4—8)Youth Outtrip #3 (August 11—14)Gladstone Youth CampsJunior Two (July 29—August 2)Intermediate Two (August 5—9)Junior Three (August 12—16)Intermediate Three (August 19—23)Family Camps & OuttripsFamily Camp: Lake Site (July 1—4)Family Outtrip #1 (July 2—4)Family Outtrip #2 (July 9—11)Mountain Family Camp #1 (July 15—18)Mountain Family Camp #2 (July 22—25)Special OuttripsAll Girls Outtrip (July 3—10) - CANCELLEDAll Boys Outtrip (July 17—24) - CANCELLEDSenior Women’s Outtrip (July 28—31)Training & Other ProgramsC.O.L.T.S. (April 25—August 31)P.I.T. (July 12—August 18)Skills Week (June 18—23 )Acclimatization Camp (July 4—6)Summer-Winter Camp (August 24—27)COLTS 35th Anniversary (September 2—5)Overview of 2022 Summer ProgramsWe are so thankful for the opportunity we had to run great summer programs for both youth and for families this year. We more than quadruple our youth numbers from the past two years, though they were still half of our numbers from 2019 and earlier. A big highlight for us this year was nally running over-night youth programs out of our Lake Site for the rst time since 2019 – it sure felt great to have everyone back! Even though our capacity was limited at the Lake Site this year due to our water situation, we were still able to have a total of 151 youth come for our Lake Site programs this summer!Camps lled up at record rates this year due to our capacity being cut in half compared to the pre-COVID and pre-water hauling years. It was especially clear that everyone had missed coming to camps at our Lake Site, as the waitlists for Lake Site programs were by far the longest compared to any of our other programs. We are certainly looking forward to 2023 when Lord willing water will not be a limiting factor on numbers, and we can have even more kids back at camp!To top everything off, it was our second summer partnering with Gladstone Mountain Ranch, and we are so excited that we were able to offer 4 Gladstone Youth Camps that we were able to run for over 140 campers this summer! It was certainly a hit!This summer we were also able to run 3 Family Camps: 2 from our Mountain Site and 1 from our Lake Site. In addition to family camps, we also ran 2 Family Outtrips. So overall for our family programs this summer we had 30 families attend.We once again ran our core training programs, COLTS and our PIT Programs. For our four-month Crowsnest Outdoor Leadership Training School we had 4 participants, and 1 in the COLTS II program. For our 6-week Personnel In Training program we had 9 youth attend.It was also a great year for our outdoor programs. We ran a total of 23 different outtrips for youth, families, adults, and the Personnel in Training Program. We once again ran our Back Country Clean-up event this summer, cleaning up approximately 61 pounds of garbage out of the back country. Another new adventure was starting a partnership with the Great Divide Trail Association, where we have adopted the High Rock Trail portion of the GDT!Overall, it was an incredible summer – and we are so looking forward to bringing you even more incredible camp programs next summer!Be sure to check out our 2023 Summer Camp Schedule!
Annual General Report 202210 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampKat Ferrie“Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp was instrumental in shaping my faith as a camper and then as a volunteer staff. There is no better place to be than nestled in the beauty of God’s grandeur singing his praise at campre, having His word proclaimed and learning to rely on God while doing hard things. The blessing of this place is now being passed onto my own children and their faith is being nurtured too. I am so thankful for what God is doing at Crow.”Dawson LabunCamp has always been a very important part of my life from the very rst year I started going as a camper. Spending last summer cabin leading at crow grew me as a Christian more than any other year before because of camp’s amazing and tight-knit community.Jasper Reyburn, “What a day.”Sarah Kadijk“From the many summers of being a camper, MISPIT 2021, and cooking this year at Gladstone, God has constantly been using Crow to deepen my pursuit of Jesus. Through camp God has provided me with opportunities to rely on Him while out on outtrips, to marvel at His amazing creation, and to spend time following Him alongside others who are also running toward Jesus!”Naomi Luchka“It’s hard to verbalize the impact that CLBC has had on my life because I’ve never been without it. We’ve never had a summer apart. It introduced me to some of my passions, like crocheting and canoeing. It ignited my enthusiasm for the outdoors. It instructed me in how to be a leader, how to manage a group, how to kill 20 minutes of time with six 9-year-olds. But its most faithful impact has been this: It has taught me to come away to a quiet place and get some rest. Sometimes rest looks like running through the forest looking for a ag and sometimes it looks like sitting in at the lake in the hushed yet expectant morning. CLBC has impacted me because it taught me how to talk, trust, and turn to Jesus in the delight and the devastation. CLBC gave direct teaching on this but also held space for me to learn through the experience of living in community.”
Annual General Report 2022 11 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampIntegrationIntegration is a hard word to dene. A quick search yields: “the action or process of integrating” synonyms such as: combination, amalgamation, incorporation, and unication. Probably not a great sign that I needed to look up my job description in the dictionary, but there you have it… It’s a strange job, and unique, and it grows out of what Crow believes the role of camp is.See, camp is great, but it lasts only one week a year. Maybe 6 or 8 weeks if you are volunteering for the summer (that’s a great idea, by the way). But the thing that makes camp special - the community - is gone from this place for most of the year. If you make camp your primary spiritual community… you don’t have a primary spiritual community most of the time.God didn’t institute the Bible camp. God instituted the church. And so we are aware that our role is to serve the church - Crow exists as a service to the church. If you are studying mission at seminary or Bible college they will tell you this ministry is a parachurch organization. If you ask me, that means that when Crow is disconnected from the church, we aren’t doing our job well. And when Crow is doing its job well… we are INTEGRATED with the church. Paul was fond of comparing our Christian lives to a race. He talks about running in such a way as to get the prize. Crow is in a race with the church, but it’s not a race that we are racing against each other. It’s a relay race where we have to pass the baton.The key moments in a relay race are not when Yohan Blake is blasting around the corner, or when Usain Bolt is cruising down the straight away. It’s in the hand off. It’s in their teamwork. That’s what makes a successful relay team, we are on a team together, in ministry together. The point is: in 2022, nearly 25% indicated that they were not connected to a church or youth group. Think about the opportunity that represents! And even those kids that do have a home church - they go home, and their head pastor has no idea that they came to camp, no idea what they learned, where they were challenged, where they grew, how they could better serve. And how are they going to nd out? Well - they are going to nd out when I tell them.There are two big ways that we are working on improving Crow’s INTEGRATION with local churches: We are going to the churches, telling them what we are doing, and asking how we can serve them better. Maybe that means a Crow-run youth night. Maybe it means sharing notes about what we studied during a week of summer camp. Maybe it means Crow doing an announcement during a Sunday service, or giving a talented youngster a place where they can practice their giftings for real, in a live ministry setting over the summer. We want to serve the church well. There are obvious ways that you can help…1. Introduce us to your church. Tell us what their priorities are, what their strengths are. Tell us how we can help your church achieve its piece of the Great Commission2. Refer campers to us through your church.3. Come volunteer. The way we make it easier to work together is by working together.What do you think? I obviously am open to suggestions: after all, I had to look up the details of my job in the dictionary!Yours sincerely,William LuchkaIntegration Coordinator
Annual General Report 202212 Crowsnest Lake Bible CampSentinel Photographywww.instagram.com/sentinelphotography/ Director of Camping:David Graham - david@crowcamp.ca 403-563-5120587-838-9724info@crowcamp.ca Mailing address:Crowsnest Lake Bible CampBox 250 Coleman, AB T0K 0M0 Lake Site Camps Junior One ( July 1—7)Intermediate One (July 10—17)Intermediate Two (July 20—17)Junior Two ( July 30—Aug 5)Senior One (August 9—17)*Senior Two (August 20—26)Family Camp ( Sept 1-4)*multi program campGladstone Youth CampsJunior 1 (July 25-29)Intermediate 1 (August 1—5)Junior 2 (August 8—12)Intermediate 2(August 15—19)Mountain Site CampsMTN JR MINI 1 - (June 30 - July 3)MTN JR MINI 2 (July 5-8)MTN INT (July 11-15)MTN Senior (July 18-22)MTN Family Camp (Sept 1-4)Special OuttripsAll Boys Outtrip (July 2—9) All Girls Outtrip (July 16—23)Senior Women’s Outtrip (Aug 3—6)Junior: Those born in 2014 - 2011Intermediate: Those born in 2011 - 2009Senior: Those Born in 2009-20052023 Summer CampsFront Cover Photo Credit: