For the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of being involved in the ministry of Camp Fircroft. I have served in a variety of roles: director, assistant director, counselor, speaker, paintball director, and secretary of the association. As pastor of Harbor Baptist Church, I am also one of the members of the camp board. It has been a blessing to serve alongside many great men and women and to serve Christ by serving campers.
The idea of a camp ministry in the area began in January of 1957 when several Village Missionaries in southern Oregon expressed this desire. A local rancher told the missionaries that they could choose any part of his ranch as a site for the camp. After exploring the thousands of acres, they chose a site seven miles east of the small town of Langlois, sitting deep in the hills around Langlois Mountain. They first built a dining hall and kitchen; then they built another building for restrooms, dug a well in a nearby spring, and brought electricity in. The first camp held was in August of 1957, and it was for 5th – 8th graders. For many years since countless young people have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior while at camp, and many others have dedicated their lives to Him!
We have completed several other projects to add to the experience of the camp. For decades the opportunity to swim involved a trek of 1 ½ miles to a swimming hole on a branch of Floras Creek. This hike crossed difficult terrain down the mountain to the swimming hole, and then an even more arduous hike back up the mountain to the camp! After years of planning and prayer, an in-ground pool was built in time for camp in the summer of 1997. Also in 1997, with money provided by logging some timber off the Camp Fircroft property, the camp was able to build a large concrete slab for a basketball court. In 2001 a large building with bathroom and shower facilities was completed. From 2006-2013, over 5 phases, the camp built a total of twelve new cabins to replace the smaller, older ones. Probably the biggest project was the beautiful new dining hall, completed in 2015, which has been a huge improvement over the previous one in so many ways. In 2019 a new maintenance building was constructed on the site of the old dining hall. Having been a part of the association since 2007, I have been able to witness the construction of many of these buildings; it has been amazing to see how God has led individual hearts and small churches to contribute to these large undertakings.
Throughout the camp, you can find various activities that campers get to experience, such as the rifle range, BB guns, archery range, slingshots, disc golf course, fireside, paintball course, and carpet pool. Paintball and carpet pool are especially big hits for the campers each summer! Each of these activities and building projects has involved countless hours of volunteers, as well as ongoing maintenance to keep them in operation for years to come.
However, Camp Fircroft is first and foremost a Christian ministry. The primary focus of the camp is to provide a place for campers to come to know Christ and grow in their walk with Him. For many years we have had camps during the summer for 3rd – 12th graders (Elementary, Middle School, and High School camps), family camps, men’s retreats, and Good News camps run by Child Evangelism Fellowship. The pastors of ten churches not only form the board of the association, but they also volunteer their time to direct the camps and maintain the camp with monthly workdays. The counselors and staff are not paid, and there are no year-round staff at the camp. These factors have allowed the camp to keep the cost down for campers, a crucial consideration in these financially difficult times we find ourselves in.
My involvement with Camp Fircroft began when I was hired as a youth pastor in the small town of Langlois, just down the mountain from the camp. Fircroft was in the first stages of building the cabins when I arrived and, during my years as youth pastor, I would often say that the weeks of camp were our primary evangelistic outreaches to the youth in our community. There would always be campers who did not attend church but would be at camp, hearing the Gospel and experiencing the work of God during the week. Many of the teenagers in my youth group served in the younger camps and it was such a privilege some years later to have many of these students (who were now adults) serving on the team at a camp! This reminds me of 3 John 4, which says, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (NASB). It is such a blessing to watch former campers walking with and serving the Lord by serving the next generation of campers.
When the Lord led my family and I to Harbor Baptist Church in Winchester Bay, my wife and I wanted to remain a part of the ministry of Camp Fircroft. My wife Jeri had been a camper and staff member there growing up, and we both wanted our children to be involved in Fircroft’s ministry also. Harbor Baptist Church got behind the ministry, giving both financially and volunteering many hours in counseling, maintenance, and working in the kitchen. Over the years several campers have also been sent from our church. I have included many in the church in a yearly ministry of prayer asking God to provide godly counselors for the camps I have directed! Even when it seems like I can’t find enough counselors, the Lord has always provided enough. This has been a stretch of my faith every year.
A few years ago, I had the special opportunity to join my eldest son at Elementary Camp, and last year I directed the camp while my wife counseled a cabin, and both my eldest son and daughter were at the camp as well. Add to this several other staff and campers from our church; what a blessing it was to see such an outpouring from our little church community
Only the Lord knows what lies ahead for the ministry at Camp Fircroft. From its early days to the present, with all the changes that have happened on top of that mountain, we praise God for having His hand of blessing on this work. May it continue to bring praise and glory and honor to the Lord, as campers come to faith in Christ and grow in their walk – may we continue to serve Christ by serving campers.
If you have children who would be interested in an unforgettable summer this year, registration is now open! Please click the button below to register. If you would like to volunteer as a camp counselor, please email me here. Check out the Camp Fircroft Facebook Page! And please pray for this year’s camps, that the Word of God might be implanted deeply in the next generation.
Harbor Baptist Church 
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