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Reflections Fall-Winter2024-2025A New Season. Same Mission. Key changes mark an exciting new chapter in the story of Spruce Lake Ministries1. MARK SWARTLEY TRANSITIONSCEO Mark Swartley announced that, after 19 years of service at Spruce Lake, and 38 total years of executive leadership in some form, he will remove his CEO hat on January 1, 2025, to become our CFO (Chief Financial Ocer). As CFO, he will monitor this transition while having more time to dedicate to his wife, Jackie, their three adult children and their families, all of whom are asking for their dad’s seasoned entrepreneurial advice for their growing businesses.2. STEPHANIE GEHMAN, NEW CEOThe board has appointed Stephanie Gehman, current Youth Ministries Director, to become the new CEO of Spruce Lake Ministries, eective January 1, 2025. God has worked through this ministry in so many ways! And He has clearly prepared each person He has chosen to lead this ministry. Board president Quincy Longacre, Mark Swartley and Stephanie Gehman all spoke at the Fall Reception in October; their testimonies follow....Believing that God is God, indoors and out, and that His children should know Him in both places, we dedicate this property to be a place where young people and adults, living together as a family learn, experience, and know Jesus through praying and playing...and to engage our culture with the good news of Jesus Christ. To this purpose we dedicate this property, O Lord. 1963 Dedication19 years of Explosive GROWTH:n Transformed facilities: Spruce Lodge, Mountain View Gym, Youth Campusn Purchase of Spruce Mountain acresn Acquisition of Pinebrookn Development of a new generation of leaders committed to the future of Spruce Lake Ministriesn A quadrupled budgetn A sustained average growth rate of 11% per year since 2012n Hosting 47, 928 souls in 2023 (from 20,564 in 2012)7 qualities of godly LEADERSHIP:n Rooted in servicen Guided by God's Wordn Marked by integrityn Empowered by the Holy Spiritn Visionaryn Courageousn Multiplies othersQuincy Longacre Board President>>More NEW SEASON on next pageStephanie GehmanMark Swartley

New Season. Same Mission. > from page 1Board President Quincy Longacre:Thank you for your commitment to Spruce Lake Ministries! The Spruce Lake Ministries stakeholder community has been ever faithful, and God has rained His blessings down. In the past 19 years, Spruce Lake Ministries has experienced explosive growth (see cover) by providing a place where people can come to have their lives transformed by our Lord and Savior. That is the passion we all share.During those 19 years there was a constant push to identify what’s next? How can we push this ministry to another level? For that pursuit to be successful, passionate leadership and a robust team-oriented culture is mandatory. That starts at the top, with the many talents of Mark Swartley and his passion for Jesus. It is clear to me that Mark checks all seven boxes in the list of godly leadership qualities (see cover).Mark is now choosing to focus his time, energy and talent on his family. He has been the lifeblood of this ministry for 19 years, and we are sad to see him go! But we also arm and applaud this decision. The Lord has called Mark into this ministry, and now He is calling him out. The board is excited to welcome Stephanie Gehman as our new CEO eective January 1, 2025. Her organizational leadership skills are a perfect match for the next chapter of the Spruce Lake story.”Outgoing CEO Mark Swartley:I have a heartfelt calling to ministry with ‘my 12’ defined as my wife, three children, their spouses, and five grandchildren.I have given my all as an executive for 38 years. The first 19 years were in the insurance/finance industry, building a company from my father’s garage that grew into a division of a publicly traded company. I devoted the second 19 years to the ministry of Spruce Lake, its team and community. I do not regret one moment given to this ministry—we have been so richly blessed by the community of Spruce Lake, I cannot begin to explain! Now I am honored to begin serving my children and their businesses as dad, brother in Christ, friend, mentor and coach.As we enter this new season with my family, Spruce Lake Ministries is also ready for a new season:1. We need to catch our breath after 19 years of amazing growth;2. We must balance our operational model with all we’ve been blessed with, and stabilize processes and systems;3. We have established our next generation of leaders. Now it’s time to give them running room alongside our seasoned leadership team.Directors Jonny Tice, Richard Brewer, and new CEO Stephanie Gehman already have years of experience at Spruce Lake as campers, counselors, program and team leaders. God has envisioned and prepared each of them for their leadership roles in this new season!”New CEO Stephanie Gehman:I am honored to be the future CEO of Spruce Lake Ministries. God has been preparing me for this role for over a decade!My husband, Jesse, and I met while working at Wilderness Camp in 2006-07. Those three years are among God’s greatest gifts to me. Jesse and I married in 2010 and worked in summer camp leadership together in 2011. When we returned home, the calling grew distinct: ‘You’re not done at Spruce Lake.’ LEADERSHIP TEAMTheir Leadership Experience at Spruce Lake Ministries:“““STEVE Ykema Facilities Director21 yearsJULIE Siegfried Human ResourceDirector, 11 yearsBRIAN Brawley Food Service Director, 18 yearsJONNY Tice Spruce Lake Director, 10 yearsRANDY Gaumer Director of Pastoral Ministries & Discipleship8 yearsLEAH Beaton Executive Assistant, 1 yearDAVE Trout Advancement13 yearsGORDY Martin Vice President of Sales, 11 yearsKATHY Bergey Finance Manager19 yearsRICHARD Brewer Pinebrook Director, 12 yearsTINA Christensen Environmental Services Director, 1.5 yearsHeaded by our CEO:

True North AdventureBlessings!NEW high ropes course + laser tagA new high ropes course is being installed inside Mountain View gym. While planned when the gym was built, the project was put on hold until now. Youth coming for IGNITE weekends January through February will be the first to use it! It will also be oered to guest groups during the year.Also in 2025, laser tag will be a new amenity at Spruce Lake. Kids and adults love this fast-paced tag game! It can be played in groups of solo players or as teams of up to 50 people. The equipment is portable and easy to set up indoors or outside.Spruce Lake Outdoor School transitions to new programSPRUCE LAKE OUTDOOR SCHOOL began in 1987, and for 37 years served the Christian school and homeschool communities with impactful, nature-based curriculum and adventure programming. We thank each one who helped grow this program into a life-changing, highly anticipated experience for thousands of students!At the close of the 2024-25 school year next May, the original program will transition into TRUE NORTH ADVENTURE, similar in content and purpose but dierently structured. TRUE NORTH ADVENTURE is a three-day, faith-based outdoor experience for students of all ages. Participants from multiple schools, youth or family groups will focus on activities most important to them and proceed at their own pace. In the evenings, everyone will gather for an inspiring message and time of worship.For information or to reserve your group, call 800-822-7505 x 151.Mark’s TIMELINE:n Full time until Spring, 2025n Monitor the transition for 12-24 monthsn Later, hopes to serve on the boardn That means Mark is with us for almost 11 more years, just in dierent rolesn His long-range plan? To support Spruce Lake Ministries for the rest of his life!Mark Swartley, CEOSpruce Lake MinistriesStephanie, continuedPlease support us as we transition together. This is God’s place, the harvest fields where He graciously allows us to serve. He is not surprised by change, and sees clearly the future for Spruce Lake, and for each of us. Thank you!sprucelake.org/true-north-adventureBut, as young professionals and parents, what that meant wasn’t clear. It was simply a dream the Lord placed on our hearts.We both began work as athletic trainers, which was fulfilling to us. Later, I worked for the Coordinated Health hospital system, which was bought by LVHN (Lehigh Valley Health Network), where I became Director of Sports Medicine Programs, overseeing 80+ athletic trainers at 40 or so contract locations. I enjoyed my work, but the acquisition and integration period to LVHN was dicult. God began to rekindle the dream!Then Mark invited me to join Spruce Lake’s board in January, 2022, which was a joy! Every decision was filtered by our ambition to point people toward Christ; this was not my experience in the corporate world! God kept revealing more of His plan, and we began hearing the call, ‘you’ll work there very soon.’ But—I was still working for LVHN...should I quit or hang on? ‘Don’t quit, finish strong,’ I heard God say.God opened the door to Spruce Lake through my layo from LVHN in October, 2023. In January, 2024, I was hired as Youth Ministries Director at Spruce Lake. It was the perfect position! My husband also had absolute confidence in the Lord’s call and in me.”Now, as I move into my new role as CEO, I want to be God’s instrument for His work; I pray that I can provide another 19 years of faithful service to the Lord!”

Ministry Impact Experienced time for family and renewal in Christ:“We enjoyed lots of family time in a safe environment. That was relaxing and much needed in this crazy world...we love being able to step away from the hustle and bustle of life & focus on renewing our hearts and minds on Christ while being refreshed! Thank you!” —PINEBROOK, BFC FAMILY CONFERENCE, JULY 2024Encouraged to achieve excellence:“Our sixth graders have been challenged all year socially, physically and mentally to achieve a high level of excellence. Through the team-building and group activities, our students worked to endure dicult situations and become closer as a group. We loved our Outdoor School teachers! They were fun, relatable and wonderful examples to our students.” —Christian School from NEW YORK, MAY 2024Filled with gratitude for refreshing, beautiful, safe space:“This is year 47 of coming to Spruce Lake on Memorial Day Weekend. Always an amazing time of relaxation and fun out in God’s creation. We seniors enjoy watching the younger generations continuing to enjoy Spruce Lake. Asking a seven-year-old grandchild if she had a good time, she said, ‘I want to come every year!’ Her words are that of our entire family. Thank you for a beautiful and safe place for families to be refreshed.” —SPRUCE LAKE, MAY 2024Beauty and peace provide respite:“The gift shop is always full of such lovely things! I am just so grateful to the Lord for you all and for this special place that He has used over and over in my life as a respite from busyness and as a place where I can be at peace and hear Him speak.” —Spruce Lake guest, MAY 2024Appreciates the supportive experience at Day Camp:“Pinebrook was truly a great experience for our daughter! We loved that the focus of Christian beliefs was emphasized! All the sta were supportive, responsive and caring to our daughter.” —PINEBROOK DAY CAMP, 2024Saw Jesus through fun, music and kind counselors:“My daughter loved it all, but especially the kind counselors, the Fireside songs that were so joyful, getting prayer from her counselor during invitations, and seeing her best friend accept Jesus!” —SPRUCE LAKE OVERNIGHT CAMP, 2024Soul was fed through food prepared with care:“One of our group has been involved in camp ministries for 20 years. In her experience, she has never encountered food as clean, tasteful, and well-presented as what is oered at Pinebrook. Thank you for your outstanding service!” —PINEBROOK Guest Group, JULY 2024Here, the bond that ties our local and worldwide Christian family together will be strengthened...this property will provide a spiritual setting which will strengthen our Christian walk...this property will be used to inspire and build up the local church and its leaders....To this purpose we dedicate this property, O Lord. 1963 Dedication