Planting, Cultivating and Growing

The following program is sponsored by evangelical life

Ministries. Welcome to engaging truth, the manifestation of God's word and the lives of people around us. Join us each week. As we explore the impact of his message of spiritual renewal from the lesson of forgiveness forges in the crucible of divorce, to the message of salvation, learn by an executioner from a condemned killer to the gift of freedom found in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. This is God's truth in action.

Good evening, and welcome to engaging truth on your host bill Pruitt. Our guest is Aaron Litman of, uh, Lutheran outdoor ministries of Texas, better known as camp loans, star Aaron, welcome to engaging truth.

Thanks bill. Good to be

Here. Uh, can you give us a bit of an overview of, uh, what you guys do at, at camp lone star and what your ministry's about? Yeah,

So camp lone star is a year round Christian retreat center and summer camp. Uh, we believe in transforming lives through adventure is Christ center experiences. And we do that in three different ways by planting seeds of faith, cultivating Christian leaders and growing the kingdom of God. Uh, and so that looks like partnering with churches and organizations for all of their kind of retreat needs and finding out their goals and walking alongside

Them. Excellent. Um, how long have you been in this role in that? How did you get into outdoor ministry?

August 15th will be four years, uh, that I've been in this role. And, uh, I got into camp kinda, uh, by accident in some ways. Uh, I went to Texas a and M and was pursuing, uh, recreation park and tourism sciences. Uh, and my goal was to become smokey, the bear. Uh, it was my goal. And so I wanted to do parking conservation and one summer I applied for and went to a camp up in Minnesota, another Lutheran camp called camp, omega Waterville, Minnesota, and served as a counselor there. And, uh, as left and Jesus would have it. I met a kid who had not had any faith life whatsoever. Uh, and I saw how the holy spirit transformed his life through outdoors ministry. And I fell in love with, uh, what God did there and, uh, that was my calling into ministry. So I went back back to a and M and changed my focus to youth development and started on the track to pursue full-time camp ministry. So I just saw how God transformed, uh, lives, uh, through outdoors ministry and, and wanted to be a part of that. So

You had not been a, uh, a seminary path student to begin with. How did, how did you get involved? You, you told us a little bit about how you got involved in ministry, but why did you choose, are you from Texas originally? Is that how you chose to come back here? Yeah, so

I grew up in, uh, spring climb was a of Trinity climb my whole life, uh, pretty much in first grade on, and then, um, was a part of, uh, the Lutheran church, uh, there, and, and just had a, a real core group there. And, uh, during my time in Minnesota, then, uh, after graduating from a and M I was hired full-time as a program director in Minnesota. Uh, and during my time I did my director of Christian education coqui through Concordia St. Paul. And, uh, as a result of that then became the rostered church worker. And soon after, uh, finishing that was extended a call to serve at a church, uh, St. Peter Luther church in Columbus, Indiana, and learned a lot about being a partner with parish ministry. There was a wonderful camp near us as well, uh, called Lakeview ministries. And I just saw really how the Lord kind of put the partnership between church and outdoors ministry, uh, to enhance each other and to support each other well, and then fast forward a couple more years. And, uh, my predecessor here at camp, lone star, uh, retired and was nearing retirement and, uh, my former, uh, boss and another person put my name in for consideration. And so we went through the process and was blessed to receive the call to serve here. Uh, my wife and I are thankful to be back in Texas. Uh, we love the lone star state, the good people of Texas. So it's been good to be back home in Texas and, uh, get to serve again an outdoors ministry. So

That's great back home. And I understand your wife is involved in, uh, in your ministry there at lone star as well. Is she from Texas?

She is. She grew up in Arlington and we met at a and M in the youth development class. It's an intro to youth development class. Uh, we had to, you pick partners for a semester long project. And so I turned around and into her and, uh, that began that relationship, so sure. Um, it it's been a blessing to be able to do ministry together that had always been a goal. Uh, so Jane does our development work here in our marketing as well for the ministry. And so, uh, we love getting to do ministry together and, uh, partnering together like that.

That's a great, uh, great way to great way to build a family. Um, it appears from your website then that, uh, that's just, just isn't about summer camps. It's, uh, uh, an offering of Christ centered activities for the whole family. Let's, let's just start with your sort of a day camp, summer camp program and build up from there.

Yeah. So, uh, there's a variety of people we believe that can is for all people, uh, all age groups. And so that means, uh, for our day camp program, that's a really neat opportunity to partner with in our local community here, uh, where folks can come and, uh, drop their kids off as young as, uh, five, uh, to, uh, all, all the way up to 12 there. Um, and so we're, we're blessed to be able to have that local cool experience and community there. Uh, and then we also have, of course our overnight campers, uh, least start at age five as well for weekend camps. And then starting at eight years old, you can come for an entire week, uh, overnight camp. And so all the way up to 18, but then we also have family camp options during the summer where families can come out, uh, as you young, as you are to as old as you are to experience camp and, uh, be a part of that.

And, uh, that's another way that we get to do ministry well. So it's, uh, it's been an exciting, uh, time to be able to serve, uh, groups again, uh, coming here out of COVID to be able to have all these groups back has been a, a huge plus. And, uh, every group we, uh, we enjoy and, and we'll do as much or as little programming as, as each group needs and desires. Uh, and our, our goal is to find out the goal of the, the group that's coming and, uh, to facilitate and experience, uh, that will help them meet their goal and dreams for the retreats. Okay. You

Mentioned the pandemic, has that been much of a, a factor involved in the last couple of years in, in your programs and what you've been able

That's wonderful an undertaking like that. Uh, I'm sure it takes a, takes an awful lot of people. How large is your staff?

We have, uh, 16 full-time staff, uh, year round staff that, uh, are between our two campuses. We have a campus here in the grains it's, uh, been around for a lot longer. And then we have our Pines campus in Tomball, and that has three staff out there. So 13, uh, here in the grains and, and three out at our Tomball location. And

That's all full-time. Do you have any part-time staff as well?

Yes, we also, we have two interns that we, uh, hire for the year that, uh, is essentially a part of a gap year program. And those are what we call ministry impact partners, and they sign on for, uh, a year of, uh, of programming and service. And really that program is geared toward, uh, cultivating Christian leaders for leadership development. Uh, it's meant for folks who have, uh, graduated from college or are taking a break from school who are perhaps interested in camp ministry, but are really looking to, to serve. And, uh, and through that program, we, we build leadership skills, uh, that translate into full-time professional ministry, uh, but also in to, uh, to other, um, settings where they might be called into professional environments for their career.

So, so it sounds like it's not really challenging to find people who are willing to come out and spend the summer at camp. Uh,

It's there, there are times this, this year was a little bit more of a challenge than, than previous years just, uh, recruiting a, a whole ended up being more challenging for Lutheran camps across the country. But, uh, the Lord provided, and we had an incredible staff this summer. And, uh, and we're very blessed to be able to have that kind of team,

Uh, the Lutheran camps you mentioned across the country. And I know there's, there's Luther Ridge and there's Luther rock and some of the others, are you affiliated in any way with a rest of those camps, or are they something that, that are run separately or,

Well. I'm sure it's a great advantage to have that. Uh, let me just take a moment here to talk a little bit about evangelical life ministries. These engaging truth programs are supported by gifts from individual donors and grants from charitable foundations and are on staff and board members serving a voluntary capacity without any compensation we're inviting you to help support our ministry with your prayers and donations. Please contact us at post office box 5 68, Cypress, Texas 77, 410. Visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook at evangelical white ministries. Now back to our guest, uh, Aaron Whitman executive director of Lutheran outdoor ministries of Texas slash camp, lone star. Um, you mentioned, uh, the Christian curricula you have in camp and, and sort of, uh, sharing that, uh, that effort in that ministry with, with the other camps as well. Do you have sort of a, uh, a, a standard curriculum that you use or is it something that you, uh, develop on your own? Uh, how does that work?

Yeah, it's something that every year we, we take a, uh, a staff meeting to peripherally consider, uh, the next year's theme. And so here we, uh, each year our, our curriculum is set by focusing in, on a theme and a, a scripture verse or Bible story. And then we spend a lot of time as a staff. Uh, as I mentioned, we have a, a large staff about five program staff. And so we walk alongside, uh, each other as a team to develop this theme. Um,

Well, your programs are designed, I guess, primarily for youth, you also offer other activities and events for families and adults as well. Can you tell us a little bit about those?

Yeah. So there's been a lot of programming that takes place here. Um, we have, uh, an event that, uh, has been done in the past called Luther hostel, uh, and it's for, uh, golden ages who come and, uh, have a, a great experience of, um, different camp activities, uh, as well, all, some quality speakers that come in, uh, and experiences even in our community. Um, and our goal is to just create, uh, those experience, that foster adventure. And when we use the word adventure and our mission statement, we talk not just about the outdoor experiences, um, but that life is a journey. And so, uh, that adventure can be, uh, by listening to a really engaging study, uh, or a speaker or sermon, um, or it can be being outside and experiencing, uh, God's creation, uh, through an adventurous activity. And so all of those, uh, used to create this adventure experience, uh, that we're on. And so there's a lot of different ways that we do that. Um, but probably about 45% of the folks who come to camp Loar are adults, uh, maybe even higher than that. And so there are a lot of adult groups and retreats that come out here and we try to, to gauge each experience, uh, for the participant that comes out here.

Okay. I know one of the highlights that, that the church that I attend is our annual men's retreat there at camp lone star. And, um, it, it seems like you, uh, you mentioned offering almost like a, a turnkey approach to, uh, to retreats that you'll, you'll basically, uh, uh, lead them as much as they need to be led or leave them alone if they need to be left to alone. Is that, uh, is that pretty much the way it works?

Yeah. Yeah. Turnkey approach is a great phrase that you could use for that. Um, like you said, typically when a retreat will come, uh, we'll sit down with the leaders or call 'em on the phone and ask kind of their goal and expectation, uh, what we can do to help them, uh, for that retreat. And so that, that does involved as much or as little programming as, as they desire. Uh, there are some groups that, uh, they simply need a space to be, and, uh, they have their program that they want to accomplish. And, uh, all we are are, is a space for them, and that's a wonderful partnership. And then we have on the other side, some groups that need, uh, or desire that partnership to be 100%, um, there's a, a school that comes out for an eighth grade leadership retreat. And we program that start to finish, including leadership development, uh, sessions. We do three sessions about leadership, about class goals and try to, uh, to make it so that the teachers can just begin that engagement and that relationship with the students. Uh, and so we'll take on all of the programming from challenge force to, uh, leading the meals, uh, to even the, the evening campfire worship time as well. So, um, our goal is to partner well with those that are coming in to help other groups accomplish their goal, uh, for their time here. Very

Good. Very good. You mentioned, uh, you mentioned one ministry in two campuses earlier, two locations. I know you're in lone or LARAs both in camp Lara camp, lone star at lag greens, excuse me. And in Tomball, the Pines campus. Uh, can you describe those a little bit? Tell us what's at each one.

And on that campus is beautiful pine trees, which is where we get the name from. Uh, but that also has, uh, a lake, uh, pond on it for canoeing. Uh, and, uh, also has a lodge retreat center, uh, which same thing has kind of more adult style housing of, uh, 24 rooms. Um, and, uh, on each side of the, the lodge, uh, with a queen bed and twin beds, and then, um, a, uh, private bathroom for each one, as well as bunk houses for, um, more of the, uh, military style cabins of about 24 bunks per cabin there a couple more retreat center rooms. It also has a beautiful chapel, uh, that's been used for weddings and things like that. So a lot of different spaces, uh, very similar programming takes place at each campus. Uh, and that Tomball location is, uh, we're since now being a year into it are starting to add a lot more classic camp activities on that. And so there's not where Rockwell at that campus as well. Well,

Here's the big question, I guess, is how is, uh, how is your operation funded and how can people support you if they wanna do

That? As I mentioned earlier, our donors are the reason camp exists, uh, today still. And so our donors are a large support, roughly a third of our, uh, budget comes from donor support, and that's a really important piece. One of our core values is teamwork. Uh, our teamwork is partnering with our donors so that nobody pays the full cost of camp. Uh, so everything is subsidized by that donor support, which allows us to, uh, to offer at a cheaper rate and still give the quality experience. And so, uh, we have a lot of donor support, uh, that comes in and that can be, uh, simply by writing a check and sending it to our Lara's campus here, uh, or by donating online, uh, there's an online donation part. Um, and so both of those are viable ways. You can also call and, and donate over the phone. And so there's a lot of different ways to be involved, um, and on our website, which is, uh, L O mt.com on our website. Uh, there's a donate tab, and you can read about a lot of different projects that are going on and ways to be involved.

L O Mt. Dot com. Yeah. Keep everybody, and why don't you give us your address? So if people wanna mail you a check, they can do that as well. Yeah.

Two 16 camp lone star road, and that's here in LaGrange, Texas 78, 9 45.

You described your, uh, your mission is transforming lives through adventurous Christ centered experiences. And you, you gave three main ways to do that. Can you elaborate a little bit on that for us?

Yeah. So planting seeds of faith, cultivating Christian leaders and growing the kingdom of God are those three ways. Uh, we plant seeds of faith through intentional time in God's word, through those, those sit down times where we are intentional in our Bible study. Uh, it's also at our, our morning devotions or evening devotions, especially during the summer camp time. Um, there's the seeds of faith are planted. Um, very intentionally also through the songs that we sing and, and just the way that we, uh, go about the programming. That's very intentionally done. Uh, we know that it's our job, uh, to plant seeds and to water it, but it's God's job to grow. And so here we are, is to facilitate conversations and, um, and give people the experience of Jesus. Uh, cultivating Christian leaders is done through a lot of different ways. Uh, talked about our internship program already.

Uh, also the summer staff that come in, the way we approach our summer staff is they're not just here to work and serve our campers, but they're here to learn as a training ground to then be sent back out to their universities, to their communities, to their churches, uh, and to be Christian leaders, uh, throughout the world. Uh, and that's also true for our junior, your staff program, which are our high school volunteers that come in and then growing the kingdom of God, uh, is simply the work that, um, that God does. We're blessed to be a part of

Karen. We have about a minute left. Um, uh, I'd like you, if, if you can think of anything that you need to tell the people that we haven't covered though so far, uh, please, uh, please throw that out here and, and let everybody know, uh, how they, what they can do to help you in your ministry.

Yeah. Well, thank you. I, again, just wanna say, thanks bill for the opportunity to be here and, uh, and share about camp Lonestar. This has been an exciting time in our history. We've, uh, come through this pandemic and we've actually launched a new capital campaign called cultivating real life. And this capital campaign, uh, is not about buildings, uh, but it's about better serving our guests, better caring for people, uh, allowing us to serve more guests and impact more lives for generations to come. And so we chose the name cultivating real life because we believe real life happens at camp. We constantly hear people say how they don't want to go back to the real world, uh, of in camp. Uh, for us, we believe camp is, uh, a microcosm of heaven. Uh, it is the real world as God intended to be with authentic relationships, uh, growth in Christ, uh, and spiritual and, and even physical breakthroughs that happen personal breakthroughs.

And so, uh, that's what would cultivate real life campaign is about, and there's information on our website about that, but it's an exciting time to move forward, uh, as a ministry. And, uh, we've been very blessed. Uh, we have an ambitious goal of raising 6.5 million over the next three years. Uh, and to date we're at 3.8 million, and this campaign just launched at the end of may. And so we're thrilled, uh, by the partnership and the support that we've received, uh, and are excited about what God will do, uh, to continue to plant seeds of faith, cultivate Christian leaders, and grow his kingdom, uh, through this campaign and beyond hearing

God bless you and your ministry. And thank you for joining us here on engaging truth. Thank you and goodnight. Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time, to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 6 8, Cypress Texas 7 7 4 1 0. Or visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook at evangelical life ministries. Thank you.