Camp Wapo is Celebrating 75 Years!

Seventy-five years of creative, vibrant, loud, messy, fun, challenging, heartfelt ministry. All because a few people trusted in God’s faithfulness and followed the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

It started with a local banker, Clifford Olson and a local pastor, Olaf Brasath and their dream to start a bible camp. Upon learning from Olson that the resort on the peninsula was up for sale, Pastor Brasath gathered a group of sixteen pastors at the site. Standing along the lakeshore they immediately agreed to purchase the property. Those 16 pastors contributed $1,000 each for the purchase of the land and in 1948 welcomed their first summer campers. A camper from that first summer remembers the registration fee for the week was $5, plus a couple of canned food items that were used in the week’s meals.

Less than ten years later, Ham Muus and his partners were inspired to take their own leap of faith and start a camping ministry called Wilderness Canoe Base. They welcomed urban youth to Fishhook and Dominion Islands on Seagull Lake where they ventured on canoe trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

What an amazing legacy they launched by their strong faith!  I am filled with expectant hope for the future of this ministry – thanks to God’s abundance and your generosity.

Together, we are witnesses to the magnitude and impact of camp ministry. Our kids untangle from technology and other stressors, experience nature, quiet and wilderness. They discover their gifts and hear over and over that they are named and beloved children of God. They make friends and build healthy relationships in community with others. They can breathe and sing, worship, paddle and play, and be who they truly are and were meant to be.

I invite you to consider a special gift to celebrate 75 years of ministry at Camp Wapo! I firmly believe that outdoor ministry opportunities like the ones offered at Camp Wapo, Wilderness Canoe Base and Ox Lake will continue to be critical for the future of the church and our communities. Help us continue to inspire faith in the wonder of creation and community for another 75 years!

Gratefully,
Heather Eggert
Executive Director

PS – Just click here to make your gift to celebrate 75 years of Camp Wapo!

PPS – Help us celebrate on August 6th with a bluegrass concert featuring Monroe Crossing and lunch. Click here for more details and to RSVP.