Camp Lakeview Ministries

“Let the Doors of this Village Lodge be Opened”

tfranke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:04:34 +0000

With these words, Rev. Daniel May, President of the LCMS Indiana District, officially opened the new Village Lodge for God’s work and dedicated it to His glory during a special dedication service on March 4th. For generations to come, this building will be the visual and programmatic centerpiece of the new Lakeview Villages campsite, which has already allowed Camp Lakeview to expand our year-round ministry to more families, youth and adults.

Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were (left to right) Lakeview Villages Program Director Matt “Rufio” Riley, Former Board Chairman Marshall Kiel, Lakeview Ministries Director Tom “Digger” Franke, Indiana District President Dan May, Current Board Chairman Steve Booher, Former Board Chairman Dan Kiel, and Lakeview Villages Site Manager John Dobrinski

The Village Lodge boasts a 180-seat dining room, commercial kitchen, retreat housing for up to 44 guests, restrooms with showers, meeting room/craft room, game room, snack bar with six serving windows, a first-aid station with two sickrooms, shirt shack, two offices, storage, an elevator for handicapped accessibility, and a long exterior deck overlooking our 10-acre lake.

Not only will the Village Lodge be the hub of summer activities, it will also provide a beautiful and functional setting for a wide variety of spiritual retreats, family reunions, conferences, and even weddings!

“This is a great day,” said Camp Director Tom “Digger” Franke. “We never could have gotten this far without a lot of help from contributors and volunteers, so it’s great to celebrate this milestone with them. And the best part is that we’re already seeing signs that this new area will be well-used and will make a big impact on a lot of people for many, many years.”

We praise God for blessing this expansion project. And we pray that all the activities and programs that occur at the new site would bring God glory and strengthen the faith of His people. Rejoice!

Capital Campaign Approaching Goal

tfranke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:00:41 +0000

The “Let the Children Come” capital campaign to fund the Lakeview Villages expansion project continues to inch closer to its $2.5 million goal. But sometimes, the last few steps can be the most difficult.

“The campaign began in July 2009, so we’re well into our third year,” says Camp Director Tom “Digger” Franke. “We’ve already spoken with all our past supporters, so we’re at the point where we need to find new contributors who believe in our ministry. We’d all like to wrap this up as soon as possible, but we’re so close to our goal that we won’t stop until we reach the finish line.”

The campaign currently sits at $2,364,687 in gifts and pledges, just under 95% of the goal. Anyone interested in making a gift or pledge can do so by calling the camp office at 812-342-4815 or visiting the “Giving” tab on the camp’s website (www.camplakeview.com).

There is still plenty of work to do, but with God’s blessing, and the help of a tremendous circle of friends, we can do it!

Last Bathhouse Needs Spring Volunteers

tfranke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:56:46 +0000

Now that the new Village Lodge is complete, one major project remains — the bathhouse/shelterhouse building in Great Plains Village. This building must be complete before summer camp begins. Although we are using contractors for the masonry, plumbing, and electric work, we are trying to keep costs low by doing the framing, carpentry, drywall, and painting ourselves. (For those not inclined toward construction, we’ll also need help landscaping around the Village Lodge.) If you or your church group would be willing to volunteer for a day or two, it would be much-appreciated. We’ll provide all meals and, if needed, lodging in exchange for your help. Just call the camp office (812-342-4815) to arrange your servant visit.

Summer Registration Numbers Way Up!

tfranke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:54:48 +0000

On February 1st, summer camp registration opened and parents from all over Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio streamed to their post office to get that all-important February 1st postmark, ensuring the “golden ticket” for a week of summer adventure. This year, over 1,800 registrations were postmarked on that opening day — 200 more than last year.

Registrations received since that initial rush have pushed our camper total over 2,150, already higher than our record attendance set last summer! Two years ago, registration numbers that high would have meant turning hundreds away. But with the new Lakeview Villages campsite, we have the ability to accept about 300 more! Though some programs are now full, we still have availability at all age levels.

As the registration process has progressed, we have done some shifting of the program to respond to the demand (or lack thereof). Changes include:

The new Night Owl camp was so popular that it will now use the entire Village Camp (80 campers) instead of just 2 villages (40 campers).
The Mother/Daughter Weekend had 90 requests (postmarked February 1st) for about 65 spots. Rather than turn many away, we decided to adapt the program. The shift from 3 activity groups to 4 will accommodate more so all can come.
The first Short Session (May 31-June 3) was much more popular than the one at the end of the summer, mainly due to the changes in the school year. To help meet the demand, we will house additional campers in Mohegan Lodge.
We were running out of week-long options for 2nd-graders, so we shifted Session 6 (July 1-6) from “Grades 3-6” to “Grades 2-5” to provide another opportunity.
The Hoosier Bike Trek (June 17-22) has been cancelled.

Changing School Calendar Brings Challenges and Opportunities

tfranke — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:45:32 +0000

The summer is shrinking! As more area school districts go to a “balanced” calendar, the traditional summer vacation will get even shorter and summer camps will be forced to adapt. Here at Lakeview, we have already made the decision to switch from a 10-week summer program to a 9-week program starting in 2013, thereby reducing our summer capacity. Luckily, this occurred after we were able to open the Lakeview Villages site, which has opened more spots for campers and will somewhat counteract the effect of those lost because of the changing school year.

But, it’s not all bad news. The changing school year will also provide new opportunities as two-week breaks are created in both the fall and the spring. Many parents will not be able to take that much time off of work to watch their children, so they’ll be looking for programs to productively fill that void. We are in the process of developing programs that can meet that need.

The most difficult obstacle will be staffing. Our college-aged counselors would still be at school, so we may have to rely on the leadership of high-school aged youth and adult teachers who may have the same time off.

Change is never easy, but we hope to be a leader in adapting to this new challenge.

Construction Costs Exceed Original Budget

tfranke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:13:31 +0000

Like many building programs, the Lakeview Villages expansion project is running over budget. In our case, by about 10%. This is due to some unforeseen items, as well as not being able to start the building process while construction costs were at their lowest (which is when we received our original estimates). When the Main Lodge and final bathhouse are completed, the total cost of the entire expansion will be closer to $2,750,000 than the $2.5 million originally budgeted.

The camp’s Board of Directors has decided to keep the fund-raising goal at $2.5 million and to go slightly into debt for the difference. But to keep this debt as low as possible, it is imperative that we continue to strive for the campaign goal and that our supporters do everything they can to fulfill their campaign pledges.

Villages Available for Family Weekend Rentals

tfranke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:11:22 +0000

Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, the villages at Lakeview Villages are available to rent. While any group is welcome to use them, we are really trying to reach out to families because we think the village experience can provide a more-secluded alternative to the state parks.

For the low flat fee of $300 per weekend, you and your friends can rent an entire village, including four air-conditioned cabins sleeping 6-7 each, your own personal bathhouse, picnic shelter, a fully-equipped kitchen, and outdoor firepit.

Take a swim, go canoeing or kayaking, play in the game room of the Main Lodge, explore the woods, visit the quaint shopping areas in nearby Nashville, or just sit back and enjoy the starry evenings and the rest of God’s wonderful creation. Whatever you do, you’ll be spending quality time with those you love!

How about a family reunion? You’ll enjoy it so much that it will become a family tradition.

To reserve your weekend or get more information, just call the camp office at 812-342-4815. This is a new offering and we believe these weekends will fill fast once the word gets out. So act now!

Summer of 2012 Brings New Programs for Servants and Night Owls

tfranke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:02:12 +0000

The 2012 Summer Program Schedule looks pretty similar to 2011, except for two additional programs. First, we will try our first ever “Night Owl” program, designed for those 7th-10th grade campers who are used to staying up late and sleeping in all summer. During this week, our entire program will be shifted about four hours, allowing the campers to eat breakfast at noon and go to bed at 2:00 a.m. We’ll take advantage of the darkness by exploring nature at night and playing games in dark!

We’re also adding two Servant Events for high-school youth. “Servants” will grow in their faith through serving God and others, while still enjoying most of their favorite camp activities. The first Servant Event will have a “construction” emphasis — participants will help build a low-element challenge course at Lakeview Villages. The second week will be focused on “human needs” — participants will go out into the community each day to help at the local nursing homes, Boys & Girls Club, etc.

Of course, most of the changes for 2012 will be in the facilities. Not only will we open the new Dining Hall at Lakeview Villages, we’ll also be adding Great Plains Village at the new camp. Back on main camp, the newest attraction will be a 9-hole miniature golf course!

Get excited! The summer of 2012 brings a new dining hall, new options, and new opportunities for ministry!

Dinner Auction Attendees Enjoy a Great Night and Help Furnish New Main Lodge at Lakeview Villages

tfranke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:54:57 +0000

Lakeview Ministries held its seventh annual dinner/auction November 19^st at the Holiday Inn Crystal Ballroom in Columbus. Lots of good food, fellowship, excitement, and some surprising bargains were enjoyed by each of the 475 people who attended the event.

The highlight of the evening was when many attendees joined together to contribute the funds needed to purchase the furniture for the Lakeview Villages Main Lodge. Auction guests were challenged with the goal of donating enough to purchase 22 bunk beds with 44 mattresses, 32 dining tables, 8 dressers, 160 dining chairs, 60 conference chairs, and 24 craft chairs — at a total cost of $25,700. They responded by donating $30,200, enough to buy all the targeted furniture and have $4,500 leftover for other smaller necessary items such as linens, mirrors, wastebaskets, etc. That was a tremendous show of support!

Receipts for the evening totaled $63,085! And that total will be boosted by the Indiana Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, who have pledged $3,000 in supplemental funds. After adding in pre-event ticket sales, sponsor donations, and supplementary funds, then subtracting the bill from Holiday Inn, printing, and other expenses, the net income should end up right around $65,000. The funds not designated toward the Main Lodge furnishings will go into our general operating fund, providing the help needed so that we can continue to offer a quality Christian camping experience at a reasonable price.

Our extreme gratitude goes out to our auctioneers, Fred Pollert and Mike Mensendiek, and to all of the committee members, congregational representatives and event volunteers who did their part to make the evening a success. And we appreciate the continued support provided by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Finally, we thank the attendees for their generosity – you did a whole lot of good in a very short time.

We praise God for these blessings, and we pray that the evening was a blessing to all involved.

Lakeview Villages Amps Up the Adventure in Inaugural Summer

tfranke — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:17:16 +0000

The new Lakeview Villages campsite opened this past summer, giving older campers (Grades 5-12) an adventurous alternative to the main camp experience. Village activities included a zipline, four other high-ropes challenge elements, mountain biking, kayaks, air rifles, a water trampoline, and lots of other “classic” camp programming.

Because the new dining hall at Lakeview Villages is still under construction (see page 2), the campers ate all their meals at the picnic shelters located in each village. One camper wrote that the eating arrangement and the smaller cabin size made the Villages “the best, because it is so homey and comfortable.”

The new expansion allows us to meet our overwhelming demand and gives us opportunities for future growth, which means more opportunities to share the Gospel message and to impact lives for Christ.