Make plans to attend!  Come for the fun!

Proceeds will be used towards completion of the new kitchen.  A favorite segment of each auction is when guests give scholarships, so campers can get a life-changing opportunity.  For more info, call 800-991-2267.

Players are still needed to fill the field.  Not only will this be the most fun of your golfing life, it will benefit camp’s expanding outreach to help to change lives!  If interested, contact Mark Davidhizar today.  (mdavidhizar@beechpoint.com)

Families muscled tarps over the tops of our summer cabin-shelters. After sweeping, setting up beds, hauling mattresses, and stretching the canvas into place - the crew moved on to the next… then the next…  then the next… You get the picture…

Nearby another crew was assembling a new shelter and spring-cleaning cabin windows and beds and fans in our Woodland area. You talk about clean - I want to sleep in those cabins!

What would a work day be without the sound of a chain saws and wood-chippers? Skilled (and safe) workers cleared brush from the BMX track, carved cradles for the fireside logs, and just made the wood-chips fly.  As one looked toward the lake, another set of men and women dressed in parkas and gloves, worked shoulders against the wind as they attached new hardware to the dock sectionals that will soon become the piers.

Watching over them from the elevation of the new dining room and kitchen were window cleaners, fuzz dusters, floor moppers, shop “vackers”, trash haulers, and equipment movers.  A team of fifty cleaned everything from the walls to  the stainless steel.  And you talk about square footage to cover…. Wow!  This task force of teens to retirees were getting the job done!

A work day just couldn’t be called such if the rythmic or random sounds of hammers were not heard.  If you followed the banging, you found a lakeside cabin remodel making some more progress as windows, doors, and the roof were being replaced.

What am I leaving out? ….The food!  Beechpoint coffee and cinnamon rolls hit the spot mid-morning, as appetites built to enjoy fresh deli sandwiches and fix-ins for lunch.  What a fun day! A hundred brothers and sisters in Christ, from various churches, working together for a common purpose. Beechpoint’s primary mission is to reach urban and at-risk youth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a quality Christian camping experience.

Lives are changed at Camp!  And volunteers are the engine of change!  A special thank you to all who continue to pray, give, and serve to make it happen.   For information on future volunteer opportunities, please contact beechpoint@beechpoint.com.

We are thankful for one of Beechpoint’s best years EVER! We are blessed to be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary, and we feel prepared and ready to take on the needs and challenges of the next generation! We are encouraged, as our support has been broader and deeper in recent years, enabling us as a ministry to reach more children than ever before. This year over 200 youth made decisions for Christ! Hundreds of scholarships were provided! Scores and scores of volunteers served faithfully! Staff prepared, planned, persevered, prayed, played, and partnered in spectacular ways! And, the mission was accomplished in changed lives!

Now, we are prompted to prepare for expanded opportunity for impact in the lives of urban and at-risk youth. As a ministry, we sense the need to proceed with urgency— as our society is leading the children away from the Lord. The Gospel must be presented to more kids through the effective methods of summer camp, school-year retreats, Partners in Discipleship, neighborhood follow-up, and outreach opportunities! The completion of camp’s new dining room/kitchen, and the addition of several more cabins, will allow some increase of opportunity. We sense, however, that God has even more in store. Please pray with us as we follow His lead and seek to find those young “sheep” who need the Shepherd. Thank you for partnering with us as we move forward with great excitement and anticipation!

We are blessed by your continued prayers! Regardless of the quality of our program, instruction, facilities, and staff — changed and cleansed hearts come through the supernatural moving of the Holy Spirit. Please intercede on behalf of these incredible children! What can I say? Pray the Lord of the Harvest send laborers into the harvest. We are looking out over the next fifty years—and the fields are golden!

We are asking you to continue in a “long-haul” partnership with us! Please join us as we take steps into the next decade of outreach. The first step of that long haul is to invite the children who need to hear of Christ and to find the funds to provide the scholarships needed for the eighty percent who cannot afford to pay their own way. It is going to be another great year as we move ahead with great expectations! Thank you for joining us! Blessings to you as you continue in faithfulness to our Lord!

Celebrating His goodness,

Mark -  For all of us at Beechpoint

Impact Flyer

Celebrating 2009 (Letter)

]]> http://beechpoint.com/general/camp-beechpoint-celebrating-50-years/feed/ 0 http://beechpoint.com/general/what-winter-blast-meant-to-me/ http://beechpoint.com/general/what-winter-blast-meant-to-me/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:13:12 +0000 Mark Davidhizar http://beechpoint.com/?p=439 It is fun and exciting to see and hear the impact that Winter Blast had on each child. This is the way the kids put it..

• “I learned about Jesus and I did sledding.” - Tavontay (7)

• “I learned that God is a good Father and he is watching us. I like going to camp.”- Mark (14)

• “The food and activities were great fun. I think you shoud visit sometime!” Christian (10)

• “I learned that God will help us go through and that we should always tell the truth and that God will always be by our side and trust him.” - Taliyaah (10)

• “None of this would have never been possible without you. THANK YOU!!! One of my favorite stories was Esther. Ms. Megan told us that story and I couldn’t believe it!” - Cierra (10)

• “I love your camp, it has really changed my life.” - Arriel (10)

• “I learned to work as a team and don’t argue or be mean to someone if they are doing something wrong. I got to hav efun and get away from my house this weekend. Thank you for helping me and other teens come to winter blast and worship God for paying our mistakes and dying on the cross for our sins.” - Kay-Shannon (14)

Fun Quotes…

• “I think I am having a good time.” - Johnnie (8)

• “I learned to be cool.” - Romeo (14)

• “We did basketball. And Bible class. But you are not going to believe what the weather is. Below zero. And freezing like the freezer.” - Ryan (11)

• “We had talked about God. But it was in a good way.” - Deonna (9)

Kids, Camp, Learning and Growing all go together! Winter Blasts were great! Look out Summer, here we come!!! Call for your registration information! (800-991-CAMP)

Lives are Changed at Camp!

Bob VanDyke, Director of Site Development, was honored for ten years of faithful service as a staff missionary. And, Todd Viening, Beechpoint’s maintenance director was recognized for twenty years of dedicated service — what an impact both of these men have made!

Vocalist, Anna Davidhizar, was accompanied by the talented pianist, Jonathan Stouten - setting a tone of praise as Roland Gerdes, Ronnie Holliday, Aaron Brown, and Megan Scheck shared personal testimonies of God’s impact at Camp. Roland Gerdes, the founding director of Beechpoint, shared some history of those early years - but emphatically stated that “Beechpoint’s best years are yet to come!” Ronne Holliday served as a summer staffer in the early 1990’s and strongly communicated how serving at Beechpoint taught him how to be a man of God and that it “set him up for life”. As a husband, father of two, youth leader, associate minister, and hip-hop artist with the Christian group Antiworld, Ronnie continues to credit Christ, Camp Beechpoint, and his mentor for who he is today. What an encouraging word! After hearing from the first generation and the second generation, Aaron and Megan shared testimonies and thank you notes from this year’s campers. What a blessing….what an encouragement…. Lives are changed at Camp!

Program Director, Rick Phelps, helped to celebrate what God has done. He gave a practical opportunity for all in attendance to pray for each child who had their name painted on a leaf. One hundred and sixty campers (all who gave their lives to Christ this summer) were adopted in this way. Pray with us for this special group.

Young people are living in a society without direction, they are seeking relationships and finding a lackof real community. Many are hurting and without hope… Hope can be found in Christ alone! I am convinced that christian camps are the most effective form of ministry for evangelizing and discipling the youth of today. Okay, I can feel myself ramping up for a long exhortation on Camp, so I’ll calm down and say… Thank you to everyone who continues to partner with Beechpoint’s outreach. May you be blessed for your faithfulness! Know that God has chosen to change lives at Camp!

Well, if you weren’t able to attend, you missed a memorable evening. Keep your calendars open for Beechpoint’s 50th Anniversary Celebration next October! You won’t want to miss it! In the meantime, pray with us as we seek to prepare for the next generation. Our prayers include funding to scholarship more children, funding to complete the new dining room and kitchen ($200k structure, $200k for kitchen equipment, $100k for furnishings), and continued impact through Beechpoint’s camp and follow-up programs. If you are interested in donating, volunteering, or helping in any way, we would love to speak with you.

We were blessed as we “Crossed the Generations!” Thank you for the part you play!

That says it all! One hundred campers a week attended camp, while over ninety children trusted Christ as their Savior, and sixty-five campers recommitted their lives to Him! We are excited about what God has done!
The children were very receptive to the Gospel and the staff did a great job sharing God’s “keys to success” as shown through the life of Joseph.

Thank you for your prayers! Please pray for the continued follow-up, discipleship, and leadership training offered and provided to each of the children who attended camp. Please pray for the remaining scholarship funds needed to cover the camper needs for this summer.

Celebrate with us as we continue to see Lives Changed at Camp!

Please pray with us for 224 more scholarships be given to meet this summer’s need. Contributions can be sent to Camp Beechpoint Scholarships, 3212 - 125th Ave., Allegan, MI 49010.

Most of the campers had never seen a water ski show before and some may never see one again. It was very fun and energizing to see the kids’ eyes light up as they saw something so new and different. The kids proved to be a great interactive audience. They were so pumped and having such a good time. Many of the kids asked for autographs, slapped high fives to the performers after their acts, and looked for ways to get a "feel" for the action by trying on ski gloves and checking out equipment.

From high-flying action, to humor, to stylistic doubles and pyramid skiing, it was a great show! Special thanks go out to Chad Van Horn of "The Real Estate Firm" for bringing this fun to the camp and sponsoring the show.

Here is a link to see a full spread of photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/sue_devries/sets/72157605975713856/

“Thank you for teaching us about God. I learned a lot about Him. Thank you David for helping me ride a horse. The best part I liked here is going swimming and making new friends.” -Klarissa

“I loved this camp a lot. I had a lot of fun. I loved the swimming the most. I wish I could come back next year. I learned that the key to success was Jesus. I also learned it is different to know something in your head than in your heart.” -Krista

“I would like to thank you for letting me come to Camp Beechpoint. I had a lot of fun and I learn much about God. The canoe and bike trip was the best. I hope I can come back next year.” - Marshon

Have your own story? Sound off in the comments!
Lives are changed at Camp!