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This year at Pine Lake, we witnessed how God uses this place to restore people—body, mind, and spirit. Throughout 2025, stories of campers, families, churches, and pastors came to camp to rest, grow, and fellowship, and left with those needs met!

Summer Camp was filled with holy moments—campers growing in confidence, purpose, and the knowing that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Summer theme: Psalm 139: 13-14). Dads & Kids Weekend created space for families to reconnect without distraction, building memories around campfires, canoes, and worship. Even long-standing traditions like the Camp Sale brought our community together in generosity, joy, and purpose!

Mission-Driven:
Each summer, we see kids hungry for guidance from positive role models to help them in a walk with Christ. In a world full of noise and distraction, Pine Lake Fellowship Camp is that place! Here, campers and guests can slow down, hear God’s voice, and discover purpose. Camp offers a combination of Christian role models, discipleship, adventure, teamwork, and time in God’s creation to shape their lives. “My child came home closer to God and more confident in who they are,” shared one parent.

Another parent shared that her children grew in confidence and loved the thrill of the zip line. One counselor’s simple influence was measured after camp when his camper got a haircut in the same style as him! Camp can be measured in many ways but ultimately…

The Impact is Real!

Since 1966, thousands of campers have attended camp at Pine Lake. This legacy continues today as we celebrate 60 years of ministry in 2026. One summer volunteer returned to camp for the first time in 25 years and remarked, “I was overwhelmed with joy, memories, and the presence of God.” Thank you for making these moments possible.

More Impactful Moments in 2025:

• Scholarships: A record 56 campers received scholarships totaling $8,800. Thank You, donors!
• Restoration: One local church scheduled 80 personal retreats for staff to pray, rest, and plan.
• Summer Camp: 314 Campers attended Overnight & Day Camp! 34 campers made decisions to follow Jesus Christ!
• 4,000+ overnight stays from campers & guests at Pine Lake, including 6 new guest groups!
• Camp Sale –Supporters rallied and raised over $29,500!
• New Staff: Russell & Kyra Kennedy joined our year-round staff as Suzanne Opel and Joslyn Broome left to begin new careers. Thank you, Suzanne & Joslyn!

Looking Ahead: Two Key Needs

1. Raise $25,000 to end the calendar year.
Donations provide 30% of our annual budget. Today, we are two-thirds of the way there! Your gift will help Pine Lake begin its 60th year on strong footing.

Donate

2. Launching “60 for 60!”
Pine Lake celebrates 60 years of ministry! To mark this milestone, “60 for 60,” is a yearlong effort to welcome 60 new monthly donors to Campfire Keepers.

Monthly gifts of $12, $30, $50, $100, or $200+ provide steady support that fuels summer camp and sustains retreat ministry.

Become one of the first “60 for 60” partners!

I want to be a monthly donor!

Thank you! Your generosity and prayers empower Pine Lake to carry forward the mission of reconciliation with God, nature, and one another. Thank you for being a part of the work God is doing at camp!

With Gratitude,

Matt Graybill
Executive Director

VIEW 2025 Camp Sale Photo Album

(Updated: 10/16/2025)

Camp Sale 2025 is a wrap — and what a day it was!

Partnered with beautiful weather, stunning quilts, and delicious food, hundreds of friends and supporters made their way—some from across the country—to the 42nd Annual Camp Sale at Pine Lake Fellowship Camp. Whether they were local travelers or part of the faithful few who drove over 1,000 miles, all came together around one purpose: to rally behind the mission of Pine Lake Camp.

The baked goods table was nearly emptied by noon, while the aroma of jambalaya and seafood gumbo—thanks to Jonathan Bunn, Wayne Comardelle, and crew—filled the air. Friends from decades past reunited and shared stories of summers gone by, while current campers played games and enjoyed time at “their favorite place in the world.”

By 1:00 p.m., anticipation filled the air as the auction began with dozens of lots up for bid. The 2025 Camp Quilt, a stunning piece pieced by Carrie Geil and lovingly stitched at the Camp Quilt Retreat in April, sold for $1,000, making it the highest-priced item of the day! So many hands and hearts came together to make it possible.

As of October 8, 2025, Pine Lake Fellowship Camp has raised over $27,500 toward our $28,500 goal. We thank God for His continued provision!

“I’m amazed at the way God continues to provide for camp,” said Jonathan Bunn, maker of the superb jambalaya. “There is no other explanation for the blessing that Camp Sale is to PLFC.”

A Reflection of Faith and Gratitude

I’ve been re-reading the book, A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen. In it, he writes:

“Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission.”

That’s exactly what Camp Sale is all about. Every quilt stitched, donut rolled, ticket sold, and bid placed is an act of partnership in God’s mission through Pine Lake—a ministry that helps people be renewed and reconciled to God, nature, and one another.

We are deeply grateful to every volunteer, donor, baker, and bidder who made this year’s event possible. Your service and generosity are tangible expressions of God’s love. THANK YOU!

Matt Graybill
Executive Director

CAMP SALE: By the Numbers

• Total Raised: $27,500 (and counting!)

• Camp Quilt: $1,000 (highest item sold)

• Quilt Sales: $6,022.50

• Registered Bidders: 45

• Winning Bidders: 33

• Lunch Tickets Sold: 130

• Donuts: ~50 dozen

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Watch and Celebrate!

• VIEW 2025 Camp Sale Photo Album
• WATCH the Auction Livestream Replay
• DONATE Toward the Final Goal Here!

Online Auction Results

The Online Auction was held from Oct. 1-8 and raised over $1,300.00 to contribute towards the Camp Sale total! Check out some of the fun stats below! 

by Matt Graybill, Executive Director

Challenge Course at Pine Lake

Last month, a small group of middle school-aged boys came to Pine Lake to participate in a team-building session on the challenge course. We began with warm-up games and gradually moved into more physical challenges on the elements. I was astonished at how quickly they jumped in and accomplished their goals.

After each of the four elements, we paused to debrief through open-ended questions.  Their self-reflection was deeper and more insightful than most groups. One young man said, “Sometimes you go through things that are difficult, but you have to keep moving forward.” Another added, “My teammate was falling, so I had to steady and catch him.”

Why was I so surprised by their success and responses?

You see, I was aware these boys came from difficult backgrounds. Subconsciously, I had expected the session to be quite difficult to facilitate. I was guarded and ready to be a “hard-nosed” facilitator, ready to push for rule compliance and prod for engagement. But that’s not what they needed. And that’s not what they gave.

In just two hours, these young men set goals, encountered communication breakdowns, struggled to work together—and then overcame those struggles on their own by refocusing, listening, and leaning on one another. At the end of our time together, I felt like I was the one who learned the most.  What was the foundational element of their success?

Vulnerability.

Patrick Lencioni, in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, writes that the first and most foundational dysfunction is the absence of trust. “The fear of being vulnerable prevents team members from building trust with each other.” These boys had already worked through the first and hardest piece: the willingness to be vulnerable. There was no posturing. No pretending. They were only themselves.  As we walked to the first challenge, and along the way, they began to share pieces of their stories of homelessness, loss, and trauma.  That’s not usually something you share with someone within the first 10 minutes of meeting someone, but I felt closer to these guys because of their honesty.

2025 Summer Staff

Over the past year, we’ve been preparing and building a summer staff team to serve over 300 campers this summer. And over the past two weeks of training and campers arriving, we have witnessed this team connect with one another on a deep level.   Any team must have the courage to be vulnerable—to share not only our personal and collective highs, but also our lows, and to lean on one another when we’re not at 100%. Praise God for bringing these 2025 staff together and their courage to share this experience together.

And Scripture also reminds us about the importance of teams:

• “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9 10
• “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

Please pray for our 2025 summer staff team.  That we would continue to be a community that builds on trust in our relationships with others—fueled by Christ-centered vulnerability and the purpose of carrying the message of Christ forward!