Christian Harbor Youth Camp has changed my life. My junior year of high school, my friend was showing me all of the notes she had received in her encouragement jar from high school week at CHYC. She went through and talked about every one of her friends there and I saw the community of believers that she had. I had gone to the camp once in middle school, but went already telling myself I didn’t want to be there so I didn’t let myself enjoy it. The summer after my junior year (2020), I was ready to give it a proper try and I was excited, but then COVID hit and camp was cancelled. Though disappointing, God still provided an opportunity for me to meet more of the community, because a lot of them started attending my youth group! The following summer (2021), it was my last chance to attend high school week and so I went! It was one of the best decisions of my life. That week I was called into full time career-based ministry and I was introduced to an amazing community. That same summer I was invited back to serve as a Cabin Mom at 4-5th grade week and that started a long and continuing journey. The summer of 2022 I was a cabin mom for about half the summer and the following was when I started as a full-time counselor. I’m now planning to start my third summer as a counselor and from the summer of 2020 to now, camp has been a huge part of my faith walk. One thing I love about camp are baptisms I get to witness every year. Last year I got the privilege of baptizing three girls. There is nothing quite like that feeling. God used camp to guide my career, provide my college housing, give me some of my best friends, grow my discernment and leadership skills, get me out of my comfort zone, and ultimately He’s used it to teach me to lean on Him and let Him empower everything that I do. Christian Harbor Youth Camp has taught me how to be a vessel of Jesus’ love and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
~Cassie Giwojna
“CHYC is the main reason I chose the path to go to biblical schooling. It provided me with amazing Godly friends that always support me and point me in the right direction. It gave me a network of amazing Christian people all throughout Wisconsin that give me a sense of comfort now that I live away from home.”
~Trevor McGinnis
“CHYC has had a very big impact on my life. I have gone there since I was a young boy and it was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I made so many life long friendships there and I plan on helping the camp out as much as I can in the future. God is truly at the center of this camp, and it changed my life forever!”
~Russ Zylstra
“Christian Harbor Youth Camp is the closest you can get to Heaven on earth! You are surrounded by the love of God. Entrenched in His amazing and wonderful creation. There is a constant Christian fellowship in activities, games, crafts, programs, meals, campires and so much more, from sun up to sun down. The love and inspiration of community is unmatched. The hardest part of camp Is leaving at the end of the week knowing you have to wait another year to come back.”
~Blayne Powell
“I’ve been coming to CHYC for many years and it’s always been a highlight of my summer. Each year I’ve gone, I have experienced a time of deep connection with God that challenges me to keep intentionally growing closer to Him outside of camp. I always feel rejuvenated and Spirit led during my time there which pushes me to go deeper in my relationship with Christ. I’m so grateful for the time I’ve spent at camp over the years and the opportunities I’ve taken to volunteer and bless other people with the same experience I was given!”
~Hannah Carpenter
“Christian Harbor Youth Camp changed my life. I wasn’t raised in a Christian family, and I wasn’t taught about Jesus growing up. Camp gave me the knowledge that I needed to live as a Christ-follower and the family to support me in my walk. I’ve learned so much about how to live as a Christian and so many people I met have made such big impacts in my life. Last summer I was baptized at camp and it was the most amazing thing that’s happened in my life. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I’d never been to CHYC.”
~TaliAnn Donahue
“Camp has provided me with a place where I can feel at peace and in God’s presence. I’ve never felt more connected to Him than when I am at CHYC, surrounded by other believers. In addition, camp has provided me with my best friends. Friends who put God first and truly care about you as a person as well. It’s full of selfless people who all love Jesus. Christian Harbor Youth Camp has been a miracle for me and for others.”
~Mitchell McGinnis
“I had heard about the camps at CHYC before I even began my faith journey. I heard of the great times everyone had at the camps learning about God and who He is and what He wants of us and how wonderful it was getting to see friends that they hadn’t seen all year. I finally went about a year into my faith walk and was fully ready to be baptized at this point in my life. I got baptized the first night of camp. Wow, what an awakening, shaking experience. I really can’t describe what it feels like to have the Holy Spirit rushing into you as you’re being pulled our of that water, but my life was forever changed the day I chose to allow Him into my life for eternity. CHYC isn’t just a fun time with friends with mentions of God. CHYC is God’s people coming together to celebrate, worship and give glory to His many, many blessings. I don’t plan on ever missing a year at CHYC. It’s where you can see God work through people’s lives and in people’s hearts. It’s an experience you won’t forget. Also you will take the knowledge you gain and the love of God you receive with you and out into the world when you leave! Thank you to all who attend, work, and volunteer at theses camps! You’re doing God’s work, you’re opening eyes to Jesus, making minds curious, dedicated, loyal, fixated, you’re helping God change people’s lives year after year! Be the light He wants us to be! Plant seeds everywhere.”
~Molly Zylstra
“How has CHYC impacted my life? I grew up there in many ways. I was a local boy from the Sheldon/Conrath area. My grandfather, uncle, father and many other relatives worked to help build it. Our church always supported it financially and with projects as well as being deans, staff and volunteers. I went to camp as a youth every year I could. I have been to weddings, receptions, birthday parties, anniversaries and family reunions at camp. I met lifelong friends at CHYC. I met my future wife at camp as well. I may have more fond memories of camp than anywhere else in the world. It is a place that I have shared with my children, and I hope some day with my grandchildren. It has natural beauty and sweet peace that welcomes you and makes It home. It’s campfire songs still play in my mind. Most importantly, it is a place of God. A place where the spirit calls to the hearts of those who enter. I was thankfully raised by a family of faith and attended church my whole life. But camp is where I first called out to Jesus-where I truly felt the power of His love and acceptance. A place where faith was all week long; evident in every activity and shining brightly in men and women who loved their lord and loved all his children. Even the hard ones to love. It is a place where I learned how big the “church” really is and how that faith family is a gift from God. I have witnessed more baptisms and people giving their lives to God at CHYC than any other place. It has been blessed to facilitate some of those. It is truly aptly named. “Christian Harbor.” For it is truly a place of harbor in the storms of life for so many children and adults as well. But not only a place a shelter, but also a place where a multitude of lives have set sail in faith in service to our Lord Jesus Christ. How has CHYC impacted my life? Blessing beyond measure. It has been my Harbor and where I met the captain of my soul.”
~Chet Cooper
“What does Christian Harbor mean to me? I don’t know exactly what Heaven will be like, but to me Christian Harbor is a lot like Heaven. When I get there, time and dates mean nothing to me. World news, weather, TV and radio don’t seem important when I am there. The joy of being with other brothers and sisters in Christ, are high on my list. I mainly go to camp for the children who don’t know about Jesus, and the love Christ has for them and the love Christ has for me. I want to pass that love of Christ to others. It has always been an honor and privilege to be able to teach children about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also like to hear what the kids have to say about who Jesus is, and how He fits into their lives. I like to be able to teach on the pontoon boat and to see the bald eagles each year. I am grateful that all my children were able to attend camp each year, and got see my grandchildren attend as well. I am very grateful for the vision the med had 60 years ago to create this camp along this body of water, the place I believe God had chose for his Glory to be revealed. Camp makes me feel like a kid myself and the fun I have there is tremendous. If I have any talents, I know my God gave them to me, and he gets all the glory. When I was working, my vacations were spent each summer at camp, now that I am retired, I get to spend more time at camp. Last summer my wife and I got the opportunity to do some cooking for the camp, another opportunity to praise God and show the Love of God to all. So, In closing I would highly recommend being a volunteer at camp, because once you do it, you will want to come back each year. Thank you for allowing my wife and I to serve God in this way, and with God’s blessings be able to be at camp for many more years.”
~Brother in Christ, Dale McGinnis