Director’s Blog

Friday, July 25, 2025:

7:00pm: This has been a fantastic day parents. Our Christmas theme has continued, and the kids have really enjoyed it. At canteen, we played, “Please Come Home for Christmas” by the Eagles and “The Rebel Jesus” by Jackson Browne which are personal favorites of mine. For Free Time today, we maxed out our time on the kayaks/SUPS and ski boats. The lake feels incredible, and it is a shame that this is our last day lake wise. We are heading into evening Vespers now which is the final program of our week. Compared to Monday, we have noticed a great deal of exponential growth in several of our campers this week. Campers who were showing acute signs of homesickness have grown by leaps and bounds and are completely fine now. I am happy to report that we have sent no-one home this week which was a concern of ours on Monday. I tip my hat to each of you for allowing your kids to experience a week of camp because I think it is a huge signpost in their lives. As I mentioned a few days ago, a week of camp is equivalent to 20-30 normal days.

1:00pm: I wish each of you could see how festive and cool our Christmas celebration has been. Most of our counselors are decked out in Christmas wear and we continue to play Christmas songs at each meal. I think the campers have enjoyed a little Christmas spirit in the middle of the dog days of summer. We are heading into rest period, clinics, canteen (mid-day snack) and then Free Time. For tonight, we will have spaghetti and meatballs which is followed by our closing program skit time where our program guys will wrap-up their weeklong lunch skit drama. After this, we will head down to our beachfront area for our closing Vespers Bonfire Service! There is never a dull moment on a Friday here at camp. Today has also been emotional for a lot of our staff because of the reality that this is the last day of camp for most of them.

9:00am: We are celebrating “Christmas in July” all day today! Our counselors are decked out in Christmas attire, and we are playing Christmas music at meals times. If it could somehow snow in July, that would be perfect.

7:00am: Last days are always bittersweet but today is extra bitter with this being the last day of camp for the summer. We continue to do well and are heading into our last day together excited about our plans. Cabin B-3 camped out last night in tents and had a great time (I am about to go pick them up). As the day progresses, I will post about our end of week activities to give you a picture as to what we have planned. Fridays are always special days for campers and staff.

Thursday, July 24, 2025:

6:00pm: Yet another beautiful weather day which has allowed us to carry on with all of our normal activities. Cabin B-3 is our final cabin to camp out tonight at our backcountry camp site! Cabin G-5 had a great time camping out last night despite a heavy downpour at 11:30pm which was not in the forecast—I don’t think the girls even woke up. Our fishing clinic asked me to take them fishing on the pontoon boat today which I was happy to do. One of the campers hooked a gar fish which we were able to almost pull onto the boat. We got a great look at the body and teeth before it thrashed around and eventually snapped the line! It was a memory that I am sure they will never forget.

7:00am: Yet another beautiful morning here at Vesper Point. We are nearing the completion of this week, and I know that you are antsy to pick up and see your camper on Saturday morning. As you prepare for Saturday, I wanted to offer a few thoughts on how to unpack the week with your camper in a way that is helpful to them. I am a big believer that a week of camp is equivalent to 3-4 normal weeks of living. The reason for this is that the days are concentrated up here with rich experiences and activities that most kids are not used to. When you throw in the spiritual impact of camp, there is a great deal of things that parents should look forward to talking about with their child. I know several parents who take their child out to lunch on Saturday morning just so they can begin to hear about their child’s week at camp while it is still fresh on their mind. Most kids do not forget their camp experiences, even decades later. Camp can be a very formative and important milestone in a kids life. Below are some tips that I hope you find helpful:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

2. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

3. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025:

6:20pm: We are heading into our hamburger cookout dinner which will be followed by Vespers and then our famous Wednesday night hoe-down. If your daughter is in Cabin G-5, they will be camping out this evening with their counselors and a member of our leadership team. We had a perfect weather day today and a lot of fun in the lake. I am not sure I can remember the lake water feeling as good and refreshing as it feels now.

8:15am: Another gorgeous morning and sunrise. Cabin G-1 had a great time camping last night at our backcountry campsite and we are gearing up for another campout tonight with a different cabin. Did you know that G-1 is only the 2nd girls cabin to campout this summer-I told them that I am very proud of them. We are looking forward to some hopefully dry weather and slightly cooler weather today.

Tuesday, July 22, 2025:

10:20pm: Everyone is settled in for the night after a fun evening. After our evening Vespers service, we played our classic game called, “Gnome Hunt”. This game is a wild mixture of counselor hunt with Disney and made-up special characters. The goal of the game is to get as many points as possible by hitting gnomes (dressed up counselors) with water balloons. There are also some “bad” characters walking around that can steal points-one of these characters is called “The Freeze” and the other is called, “The Joker”. There is another character called, “The Wise Old Owl” who guides campers with good advice. It is so much fun to see this game played between campers and college-aged counselors. If your daughter is in Cabin G-1, they are enjoying a campout at our new backcountry campsite. They are camping out in tents with their counselors and enjoying a nice campfire with Smores.

6:00pm: A pristine day at camp today parents. It was so great to see all campers enjoying the lake, boats, canoes, kayaks, SUPS, Yaks, and corcles today on the water. I know I am biased, but our waterfront is pretty special. Watching campers just being kids on our trampoline, blob, and high dive is a huge thrill for my wife and I. Kids need to experience camp after a busy school year where there are zero screens and where they are immersed in the woods!! On any given day, you will see eagles, hawks, groundhogs (we try to trap these), deer(please someone come and take them away), and a complete bird sanctuary. Going back to screens, we believe that it is so healthy for kids to have a week where they are not on screens. If I have time, I will post more this evening. All is well here…..

7:15am: Campers are waking up to a quiet and beautiful morning. I was joking with our leadership team yesterday that we could not catch a break with the weather, but that is a reality with being an outdoor camp. Some of my greatest memories of being a camper up here were during storms when we just hung out together playing cards or just talking in the cabin. I often tell the story of being a camper here in 1992 with 9 other guys. Most of the guys in my cabin are now some of my best friends who I have been in a small group with for over 30 years. After breakfast at 8:30 we will head into our morning worship time that we call Anchor. Anchor involves singing some fun worship songs followed by our Anchor talk. Anchor talks are tailored around our theme for the summer which is, “Wide Awake”. We will be talking to the campers about what it looks like to be Wide Awake for Christ in a world that is largely asleep to the Gospel. Cabin Activities will follow Anchor which is one of my favorite parts of the day. Did you know that we have some exciting new cabin activities this summer that include mtn. biking, a new archery field, new paddleboards/canoes/kayaks, new hiking trails, and a new camping elective. 3 lucky cabins (who signed up for it) will have the opportunity to camp out at our new backcountry campsite in tents with their counselors and an additional leadership team member.

Monday, July 21, 2025:

5:40pm: A tad bit frustrating today with trying to dodge thunder and lightning, but we still had fun with our rain plans. When we hear the thunder and lightning, we never take a chance with campers in terms of letting them near the lake. We pivoted to our rain plans and then gave them some extra cabin time before dinner. For those that may not know, this is our 71st summer as a summer camp on this property. The property was purchased from the Chattanooga Gas Company near 1953-1954 and the camp was named Vesper Point in the early 1960’s. The word “Vespers” means “Evening Worship” which is done at an actual point which looks over the lake. In the early 1960’s, the Camp Director at the time allowed the campers to name the camp. “Vesper Point” which literally means, “Evening Worship Point” which we think is really cool. If you get a chance, each of you needs to hike to the actual Vesper Point on Saturday to see the incredible view of this rock amphitheater.

11:00am: I want to extend my thanks to each parent on a smooth drop-off this morning. We just got back from the swim test and all went well. This is our last week of regular camp for the summer, and we are very excited to have this age group with us this week. This is actually our lowest camper count of the summer which will allow us to have a bit more flexibility volume wise. Did you know that we built 9 new boy cabins in the last 14 months, and we added AC to every cabin on the property? In these hot July days, I am thankful that each camper will enjoy a cool cabin at night. As the week progresses, I will be sharing various posts about our events and will also share a few thoughts with you about what we are trying to accomplish with the week. If this is your campers first time at camp, I want you to know that we understand how difficult it can be to drop them off and drive away. Our son experienced his first camp experience this summer and it was hard on us even though we were on the property with him. I wanted to encourage each of you that a week at camp is so formative and important for our kids. Learning to be away from mom and dad for a short period of time is an important life skill that kids need to learn. On top of this, meeting new people in their cabins and learning new activities create lifelong memories and experiences. Thank you for trusting us with your kiddos to us this week!

Friday, June 18, 2025:

6:00pm: Want to see a video of this week? Check it out: https://www.vesperpoint.org/summer-videos

3:00pm: We are right in the middle of our last day of camp which is always bittersweet. Campers are finishing up Clinics (I just left river kayaks) and will head to Canteen at 3:15pm. After Free Time, we will have our special spaghetti dinner followed by our final program and Vespers of the week. Friday night Vespers takes place at our beachfront and includes a bonfire, special music, a classic cheer, testimonies, awards presentations, and a camper share time. We will pass out 4-year crosses tonight to all campers who have attended camp for 4 years. Of special note will be our 8-year Bible award which is awarded to any camper who attends camp for 8 consecutive years. The Bibles that we hand out are engraved leather-bound Bibles (ESV). We will also hold a special time of prayer for our graduating 10th grade campers this evening since tonight is their last night of camp.

7:45am: As a continuation of yesterday, I am posting some tips on how to process this week of camp with your child when you pick them up on Friday. Later today, I will post some updates on what we are doing today-Friday’s are always special.

I have been doing a lot of reading on the impacts that summer camps can have on kids during their week of camp. One of the great things about camp is that we are 100% screen free and kids are constantly in nature experiencing noises, roots, woods, and elements that they are not used to. If your kids are anything like mine, they are constantly wanting to use a screen or watch a movie. If every activity got rained out up here during the week, we would still not resort to a movie. One of my camp mentors once told me, “You can have a ton of fun at camp even with playing with rocks outside when it’s raining.” A stat that has caught my eye is that 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Most parents notice a difference in their child in the days and weeks following their camp experience. I believe that a week of camp is equivalent to 15-21 days due to how much a kid experiences physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kids are experiencing new activities and skills, interpersonal relationships within the walls of their cabins, and they are interacting with college aged counselors who they look up to. They make new friends, get out of their comfort zones, they gain confidence in themselves and with leadership opportunities. They experience increased growth in their faith with a deeper understanding of the Bible and with the Gospel. In this post-Covid world, these skills are essential. In my opinion, kids and their families desperately need what a summer camp has to offer, perhaps more than ever (yes, I know I am biased :) ). Most kids do not forget their camp experience even decades after they attend a camp. Here are some tips that I would recommend to parents once their camper returns from camp:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. I know of families who immediately take their child out to lunch right after they leave camp so that everything is fresh on their mind.

2. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

3. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

4. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

Thursday, June 17, 2025:

10:15am: Happy Thursday to everyone. Quick announcement-We have been having some issues with our camp email over the last several weeks where a lot of parent emails are ending up in our junk folders. If you have emailed us with an important message and need and did not get a reply, please call our camp office at 423-332-1849. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Over the last year, I have immersed myself in various research studies concerning summer camps and the impact they can have on campers. One of the most interesting studies I read this year was titled, “Trusted Relationships”. I wanted to share some experts from that study with you this morning:

“Back in the day, camps created an “away from home” experience for campers, purposely doing as little communication as possible with parents. We now recognize that parents are a key connection for our campers and that spiritual conversations at home are pivotal. We focus on how we can help campers bring the camp experience home. We want to help parents talk through what happened at camp on their car ride home, so we’re providing parents with questions to ask their campers to help facilitate this. According to research, campers consider the following people as “go to” people to talk to about things that really matter”:

Mother: 70%

Father: 50%

Sibling: 48%

Grandparent: 48%

Religious Leader: 28%

Teacher/Coach: 18%

As you can see from this research, parents are SO important in unpacking the camp experience with their child. When I worked at Vesper Point in the 1990’s, we have zero interaction with parents except the occasional wave when parents came to pick up their child on Saturday morning. I remember parents feeling like there was a shroud of secrecy concerning what went on at camp and this was just the way it was back then. In 2025, we have a deep desire to partner and communicate with parents as much as we can about what we are doing up here so that they can take the torch on Saturday morning to have key conversations and follow-up which are so important. I will share some follow-up questions in a future post that you can use with your child when they return home.

Wednesday, June 16, 2025:

10:45pm: Time got away from me today. Campers had a blast tonight at our hoe-down and everyone should be asleep by now. Cabin B-7 is our latest cabin to camp out in our new backcountry campsite tonight….I just got back from checking on them and they are having a blast by playing Old Maid by the campfire. All is well on this Wednesday night.

8:15am: Happy Wednesday! We are already to the mid-week which seems so fast. If you have a son in Cabin B-4, they enjoyed a campout last night at our new backcountry campsite. They just returned from the site and are meeting us for breakfast in the Dining Hall. The campout includes sitting by the fire, making smores, and lakefront camping in tents. Counselors are of course with the cabin and I have an additional leadership person who camps out to ensure safety. We invested in satellite phones to communicate in the event of an emergency overnight. For Wednesday, we will have our hamburger cookout tonight for dinner followed by our hoe-down. I am biased, but we have one of the best hoe-down callers in Chattanooga up here in my wife Alex!! I will share more later this afternoon.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

5:45pm: Hot and dry were certainly the conditions that we experienced today. The actual lake temperature has soared into the 80’s. As I type this, we are prepping for dinner which will be followed by Vespers and then our Classic “Gnome Hunt” evening activity which is a camper favorite.

9:00am: We woke up to a beautiful morning. While eating breakfast, a bald eagle flew by our Dining Hall which is always a majestic treat. We are getting ready for our morning worship service which we call “Anchor”. Morning Anchor involves praise and worship songs followed by our morning “Anchor Talk”. We focus on our camp theme during morning anchor which is, “Wide Awake”. We are discussing the question, “How do we remain Wide Awake for Christ in a world that is largely asleep to the Gospel?” Our theme verse is Romans 13:11-12 which we unpack each morning during the individual anchor talks.

We are forecast to have a dry and hot day today!

Monday, July 14, 2025

7:00pm: Today has been a good day parents. We just finished dinner (chicken alfredo, penne pasta, red sauce, broccoli, and a surprise cupcake dessert). We dodged thunderstorms all afternoon but were able to avoid any weather delays which was a relief. The lake water feels incredible and with all of the heavy rainfall this Spring and Summer, the water is refreshing. We are getting ready to dismiss to our evening worship service which is called Vespers. The word “Vespers” means “Evening Worship” and is the reason our camp is named Vesper Point. Our name literally means, “Evening Worship Point” because we hold the service at a naturally formed rock amphitheater which overlooks the lake. We have been having evening services at this point since the late 1950’s. After Vespers, we will head to our evening activity and then cabins will head back to prepare for bed.

12:00pm: I want to thank each parent for a smooth drop-off this morning. We are off and running on a very sunny but hot day. We are used to the heat and sun by now although I must admit that I am looking forward to some cooler fall temps soon. After a successful swim test, campers are enjoying their first Cabin Activities and will spend time after lunch getting acclimated in their cabins. Did you know that we have built 9 brand-new boy cabins over the last 12 months and we have added AC in every girl cabin? I am pleased to say that 100% of our cabins now have AC which is a blessing in the dog days of the summer heat.

I was reflecting with a parent on Saturday morning about the blessing of our camp being a screen free camp. If you are anything like us, my wife and I constantly struggle with the balance of screen time vs. no screen time. One of my favorite things about camp is that it provides campers with a totally screen free environment which I think is healthy and needed. We also store most staff cell phones away during the week so these staff members can also enjoy the benefits of being screen free. It is my hope that campers can be quiet enough this week to actually hear birds, an owl or hawk flying overhead, a bald eagle screeching through the lake channel (we have tons), the leaves crunching as they hike through the forest, and the lake water slapping up against their canoe, kayak, or paddleboard. While I am thankful for technology, our kids need a break from it and I continue to see the blessings of this as we navigate through the summer. If I am being honest, we have seen campers show signs of "technology withdrawal” while they are here with us during the week. This has been very convicting for me and my wife and has caused us to re-visit our rules and regulations with our kids.

Throughout the course of the week, I will try to make 1-3 posts a day to keep you all updated on what we are doing!

Friday, July 11, 2025

5:50pm: Another day of no rain and storms-we’ve had some close calls parents. For tonight’s bonfire ceremony, we will be handing out 4-year crosses which is a special award to any camper who has come for a total of 4 summers. For older camper weeks, we also offer a special 8-year Bible Award for any camper who attend Vesper Point for 8 consecutive years. The Bible is a leatherbound and engraved. Make sure to ask your camper about the Friday night bonfire ceremony because it is a really special time.

3:20pm: We are busy wrapping up the week parents! Cabin B-9 had a great time camping out last night at our new backcountry campsite. So far today, we have avoided any rain and storms (which has been the case for most of the week). Friday is probably our best food day with cinnamon French Toast, Sausage, and Eggs for Breakfast, BBQ sandwiches for lunch, and Spaghetti/Meatballs and Garlic Bread. After Dinner, we will have our end of week programming which includes a weekly video and our bonfire Vespers service. Due to all of the rain this Spring/Summer, 3 of our bonfire services have been rained out—we are hopeful that this does not happen today. I know that you are eager to see your camper(s) tomorrow morning. Thank for you giving your child the change to attend summer camp-it is a gift and experience that each child should receive.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

10:45pm: We are wrapping up a busy and full day parents. If your son is in Cabin B9, they are enjoying a campout at our new backcountry campground with their counselors and an additional leadership team member. I went over to check on them and they were enjoying Smores by the campfire and they are now fast asleep in their tents. We have a ground pad and sleeping bag for each camper in case they don’t bring one.

3:15pm: I am re-posting a post from last week that I hope contains some helpful information to you as you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday. I am a big believer that a week of camp can have a significant impact on a child’s development as they learn to be away from mom and dad. In addition to this, being at camp can teach them so many things in terms of new skill development, independence, and self-confidence. I hope that the following is helpful and interesting to you.

I have been doing a lot of reading on the impacts that summer camps can have on kids during their week of camp. One of the great things about camp is that we are 100% screen free and kids are constantly in nature experiencing noises, roots, woods, and elements that they are not used to. If your kids are anything like mine, they are constantly wanting to use a screen or watch a movie. If every activity got rained out up here during the week, we would still not resort to a movie. One of my camp mentors once told me, “You can have a ton of fun at camp even with playing with rocks outside when it’s raining.” A stat that has caught my eye is that 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Most parents notice a difference in their child in the days and weeks following their camp experience. I believe that a week of camp is equivalent to 15-21 days due to how much a kid experiences physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kids are experiencing new activities and skills, interpersonal relationships within the walls of their cabins, and they are interacting with college aged counselors who they look up to. They make new friends, get out of their comfort zones, they gain confidence in themselves and with leadership opportunities. They experience increased growth in their faith with a deeper understanding of the Bible and with the Gospel. In this post-Covid world, these skills are essential. In my opinion, kids and their families desperately need what a summer camp has to offer, perhaps more than ever (yes, I know I am biased :) ). Most kids do not forget their camp experience even decades after they attend a camp. Here are some tips that I would recommend to parents once their camper returns from camp:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. I know of families who immediately take their child out to lunch right after they leave camp so that everything is fresh on their mind.

2. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

3. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

4. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

12:00pm: Apologies for my late posting today. We are headed down to the Beach now for our Hot Dog cookout which is always a lot of fun. I have had little time to post today, but I hope to post more later today.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

10:00pm: If your son is in B-3, they are camping out tonight in tents, with their counselors, at our new backcountry campground. I just got back from checking on them and they are having a blast. We brought smores kits with us and they are in heaven! Today has been a really fun day parents-the hoe-down was a bit hit tonight. All is well.

2:30pm: Parents, here is a re-post that I made a few weeks ago that I wanted you to see. I hope that you find the following helpful and interesting in the context of our kids and in Christian camping. If I am being honest, we have noticed campers this summer who have struggled with unplugging from screens during their week. This is something that we regularly talk to our staff about. On a personal note, my wife and I are constantly trying to analyze and balance screen time with our kids and have found it to be a difficult battle. Being away from screens and the news during the week is always refreshing and helpful for my own head and heart.

Repost: Happy Thursday parents. It is a beautiful day up here at camp and we are having a great week. Over the last year, I have done a lot of reading on certain camp studies that our national organization has published. Vesper Point belongs to CCCA (Christian Camping and Conference Association). Over the next two days, I want to share a few statistics with you that I hope are helpful to you as you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday. It is also my hope to give you some tools to use to unpack with your child as you talk about their week of camp. The following stats are from a recent study I read called, “The Power of Camp Study”

1. In the weeks following camp, 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Parents noted things like their child being more helpful around the house, showing more self-confidence, being more interested in attending church, and engaging them more frequently in conversations about God and faith. Parents, I want to encourage each of you to allow your child to unpack the week with you and to expect them to want to talk with you about what they learned.

2. Campers show significant growth throughout a week of camp, on average, in areas of faith and character. Follow-up surveys show that support this data even 2-3 months after camp.

3. Campers reported increased abilities to make friends better, to step out of their comfort zones more, confidence in being a leader, and a desire to know Christ in a deeper way. Campers also showed an increased desire to pray more and the read the Bible more.

4. 89% of parents surveyed identified at least one major positive change in their kids life post camp. Some of these markers include being more adventurous, engaging in more conversations, being more social, spending less time with electronics and screen time, reading the Bible more, etc.

5. 94% of campers surveyed that they were strengthened in their faith by the last day of camp.

6. The survey also noted that with all of the things that changed as a result of Covid, one thing that has not changed is a kid’s need of a week of camp!

7. 98% of parents surveyed agreed that, “Camp is a place to unplug from technology.” Most campers surveyed expressed gratitude and relief for the opportunity to unplug from technology and just the change to be outside!

For any parent that wants a link to this study, please email me at forrest@vesperpoint.org and I am happy to send it to you. I know that I am biased, but this study is such an encouragement to me and to our full-time staff. Thank you for trusting us with your camper(s).

8:15am: Good morning parents. It is another beautiful morning as we find ourselves already at the mid-week. We had such a fun time last night playing, “Gnome Hunt” which is a clever “hide-and-seek” game where cabins travel around camp trying to hit hidden characters with water balloons for points. Outside of a few scraped knees, it was the most fun we have had all week so far. For today, we are gearing up for Breakfast, followed by morning Anchor, and then cabins will head into back-to-back cabin activities. One of our new and most popular cabin activities has been mtn. biking. We invested in a series of Mtn. Bikes this summer and cut some new and updated trails on the property where entire cabins can explore. When cabins are assigned this activity, we always have a counselor leading the pack and a leadership team member taking up the rear(caboose). Later this evening, we will enjoy our hamburger cookout followed by evening Vespers and then our iconic hoe-down. Outside of rest period, there is not a lot of down time on a typical camp day. We are headed to morning flag as I type this. I will share some important research stats with you for my afternoon post.

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

3:45pm: A quick hitting rain shower has proven to be a Godsend this afternoon. Anything that cools the temps off is most welcome relief this time of year. The campers are currently at our pavilion enjoying snow cones and will head down to the waterfront as soon mini-storm is out of here.

7:30am: We are waking up to a beautiful morning at camp parents. We are forecast to have one more hot day today before the temps slide back a little bit into the 80’s. Our first full day of camp is starting with “Honor Cabin” which is a fancy description for cabin cleaning. We have a weekly competition for who can have the cleanest cabins, and the winning cabins are awarded a dock party on Friday! Some of you may be saying, “Gee, should I offer a dock party at home to get my kids to clean their rooms?” I would not recommend that, but my wife and I have joked about that with our kids because cleaning is like pulling teeth sometimes.

I would imagine that some of you likely had a difficult time dropping your camper off yesterday morning-especially if it was the first time to be away from them. Even though my wife and I are director’s up here, we still struggled with this several weeks ago with our son. It is difficult to let our kids be away from us for a period of time. Whether this week if your first camp experience or you are near the Empty Nest, it is never easy. Being away from mom and dad for a short period of time is an essential “growing up life skill” that our kids need. We are honored that each of you would trust us to be a part of this important milestone. I was talking to a friend of mine on Sunday who was travelling back from dropping off their youngest son at College early. As he and I were unpacking this, he could barely get the words out because he was so overcome with emotion. Without sounding overly emotional this morning, I wanted you to know that we understand those emotions as parents up here and I want to thank each one of you for sending your child to camp. More later……

Monday, July 7, 2025

7:00pm: Solid day today parents. The heat and humidity were pretty high most of the day which made Free Time at the lake feel that much better. Our waterfront is a happening place with several new additions this summer. We invested in some new paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, innertubes, a new inflatable toy, a new blob, and a new slide for our aqua tramp. We also just opened up our brand-new waterfront building which holds all of our life jackets and equipment. This building also has 4 changing rooms that come in handy when a camper wants to dry off. Given how incredible and high impact our waterfront property is, we spent a considerable amount of time and attention in upgrading that area this Winter. Campers just finished dinner which consisted of chicken, penne pasta, marinara sauce, broccoli, and our cooks’ famous brownies.

Did you know that Vesper Point was named in the early 60’s by the campers who attended the camp at that time? Even back in the 1950’s, evening Vespers services were held at a special place on the property called, “The Point”. Since “Vespers” means, “Evening Worship”, the campers approached the Camp Director and suggested the name, “Vesper Point”. 65 years later, we are still holding evening Vespers at this exact same point where we worship the Lord and hear 2 staff testimonies every night. We are thrilled to be in the middle of our 71st summer on this property. Check out the website all week long for photo updates all throughout the day!

1:30pm: Thanks to each of you for a successful camper drop-off this morning. It was great to see each of you, and we are excited about what the week has in store. I am happy to report that everyone passed the swim test and it was a relief for everyone to jump in given how hot it is. At last check, the lake water is over 80 degrees which feels incredible. Campers are about to finish up their first Cabin Activity period which will be followed by lunch. After lunch, campers will head back to their cabins to finish moving in and getting acclimated. Throughout the course of the week, I will do my best to post at least twice a day to hopefully give you a window into what the days are like up here.

Some parents reached out to me this weekend with the following questions:

1. Has Vesper Point ever experienced a flood like the one in South Texas?

2. What would a flood evacuation look like in the event of something extreme?

I am posting my general reply below which I hope you find helpful and reassuring. This is my 19th total summer at Vesper Point and I have never seen camp experience any kind of severe flood which impacted our infrastructure or created a dangerous situation. Below is an exert of a more extended response that I sent to a parent:

“We have been following the events in South Texas very closely and we are all heartbroken as parents and as Camp Directors. As you will read, my letter largely focuses on campers asking about the situation at Camp Mystic and not really on flooding issues. To answer your question, we have a newly updated Crisis Management Plan that covers all kinds of events. I am what I would call a "weather freak" and we are constantly analyzing the weather multiple times a day. We even have a lightening detector that we look at to ensure camper safety at the lake. A flooding event like the one in South Texas would almost be impossible on our property due to our elevation and the fact that we have Watts Bar and the Chickamauga Dams between us. I suppose that if both dams failed for some reason, it is possible that portions of the TN Valley could flood. Given that we are on a peninsula, it would be topographically near impossible for flood waters to breach our cabins or general camp property. For the sake of argument, if this did somehow happen, we would evacuate the camp with our Crisis Evacuation Plan long before this would be an issue. We would send out a push emergency notification to all parents and we would do a dismissal. If something happened fast up here with water, we would take the campers to our Nature Trail which is the highest part of the property, and we would evacuate from there. Let me know if you need any more clarification on this......”

Friday, June 27, 2025

3:30pm: We are enjoying a much more tolerable day temperature wise. 90 degrees at 3:30pm is okay by me instead of 96. Campers just finished Clinics, and we are gearing up for Free Time. I was visiting the River Kayak Clinic this afternoon, and the class took out our new tandem river kayak which was a cool sight to see. Another cool clinic is our Guitar and Worship clinic which is led by two of our leadership team members. The campers who are in this Clinic will be playing with our worship band during our evening Vespers service at the beach (bonfire service). It is so wonderful to see young people who are not afraid to worship the Lord. For lunch today, our cooks blessed us with BBQ, fries, and slaw. For dinner, we will enjoy Spaghetti with Garlic Bread and a special dessert. We do our best to feed your kids really well up here.

6:45am: Fridays are always special up here. After going through our normal schedule (hopefully rain free and cooler today!) we will have our evening Vespers bonfire service tonight at the lakefront. Part of this service is awarding 4-year crosses, 8-year Bibles, and the I’m Third Award. Campers receive a special 4-year cross for attending camp for 4 summers and a very special Vesper Point leather engraved Bible (ESV) for attending camp all 8 years. At last count, we are handing out 35 4-year crosses and 5 8-year Bibles tonight. The I’m Third is voted on by our counselors and is given to 1 boy and 1 girl campers who the counselors think exhibit The I’m Third lifestyle (God First-Others Second-Ourselves Third). I will share more on today as time allows.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

10:05pm: If your son is in Cabin B-9, they are enjoying a night at our new backcountry campsite. I just left the site and they are having a ball. For the rest of camp, all campers are preparing for bed so they can have plenty of energy for out last full day of camp.

6:15pm: Solid day today parents. We had a heavy shower around breakfast time, but the rest of the day has been dry and not quite as hot. We are heading into dinner which is chicken chunks (marinated) with a rice/quinoa mixture followed by our cooks banana pudding. More later if I have time……

6:45am: An unexpected storm hit the general area this morning but largely missed us to the East. We picked up the campsite cabin (B6) at 5:50am to ensure that they were safe in their cabin if the storm hit (they are back asleep as I type this). To ensure safety, we have satellite phones so that we can communicate from the campsite.

As you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday, I wanted to offer a few thoughts on how to unpack the week with your child. I believe that a week at camp can have a huge impact on the life of a child. It has oftentimes been said that a week at camp is equivalent to 20-30 normal days due to how much a camper experiences in a short period of time. Campers feel safe to engage in conversations with their cabinmates and counselors about important life questions. They are introduced to new activities, and they get to explore and try new things. These experiences can build confidence as they continue to grow and navigate life. Being away from mom and dad for a short period of time is also a huge steppingstone that each of our kids needs to learn. I offer the following to get you thinking about ways to unpack the week with your kiddo on Saturday. I hope that you find the following helpful and interesting. The following is a re-post from a few weeks ago:

One of my camp mentors once told me, “You can have a ton of fun at camp even with playing with rocks outside when it’s raining.” A stat that has caught my eye is that 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Most parents notice a difference in their child in the days and weeks following their camp experience. I believe that a week of camp is equivalent to 15-30 days due to how much a kid experiences physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kids are experiencing new activities and skills, interpersonal relationships within the walls of their cabins, and they are interacting with college aged counselors who they look up to. They make new friends, get out of their comfort zones, they gain confidence in themselves and with leadership opportunities. They experience increased growth in their faith with a deeper understanding of the Bible and with the Gospel. In this post-Covid world, these skills are essential. In my opinion, kids and their families desperately need what a summer camp has to offer, perhaps more than ever (yes, I know I am biased :) ). Most kids do not forget their camp experience even decades after they attend a camp. Here are some tips that I would recommend to parents once their camper returns from camp:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. I know of families who immediately take their child out to lunch right after they leave camp so that everything is fresh on their mind.

2. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

3. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

4. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

2:45pm: Things are heating up this afternoon which means the Gatorade is also increasing in volume. Our team of nurses and I are a bit hypervigilant about hydration, sunburn, and anything else that can cause heat related issues. Over the winter, we invested in a giant industrial fan which was installed on the ceiling of our main pavilion. That fan has created some major wind- flow and it has been interesting to see the cooling effect on the campers. After an afternoon on the lake, we will prep for our Wednesday night hamburger dinner, vespers, evening flag, and then our hoe-down. If your son is in Cabin B-6, they will be camping out on our new backcountry campsite this evening.

7:15am: We have already reached the mid part of the week-the days can fly up here. We continue to stress hydration, sunscreen, and taking it easy up here in this heat. We are pushing Gatorade at each meal and instructing counselors to keep a close eye on anyone who feels fatigued. Thanks to the lake and ample canopy cover up here, it really hasn’t been that bad. I am a purest when it comes to “roughing it” cabin wise, but the days and times are different now in terms of AC in cabins and I am okay with that. Campers continue to enjoy our new mtn. bikes as a Cabin Activity. I am seeing campers riding all over the place on trails which is exactly what we wanted to happen. Our classic hoe-down is tonight which is always a lot of fun. Did you know that my wife Alex is our hoe-down caller here at camp? She has quickly become one of the most “in-demand” hoe-down callers in the Soddy Daisy/Chattanooga area. More later….

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

9:00pm: Really fun day today. Yes, it is hot, but once the sun went down, things have cooled down quite a bit. The lake feels great and provides instant relief—even I jumped in today. We had chicken tacos for lunch followed by meatloaf, mashed potatoes & green beans with a roll. Campers just finished playing our evening activity called “Gnome Hunt” which is always a hoot to watch. If your son is in B-2, we just dropped them off at our new backcountry camp site for the night. These campers will enjoy a night of camping in tents with their counselors. I also have a leadership team member present (who is an Eagle Scout) to provide extra supervision. For our evening Vespers service, the staff testimonies were especially powerful and meaningful tonight parents. I would encourage you to ask your camper(s) about the staff testimonies that they heard this week.

12:15pm: Parents, here is a re-post that I made a few weeks ago that I wanted you to see. I hope that you find the following helpful and interesting in the context of our kids and in Christian camping. If I am being honest, we have noticed campers this summer who have struggled with unplugging from screens during their week. This is something that we regularly talk to our staff about. On a personal note, my wife and I are constantly trying to analyze and balance screen time with our kids and have found it to be a difficult battle. Being away from screens and the news during the week is always refreshing and helpful for my own head and heart.

Repost: Happy Thursday parents. It is a beautiful day up here at camp and we are having a great week. Over the last year, I have done a lot of reading on certain camp studies that our national organization has published. Vesper Point belongs to CCCA (Christian Camping and Conference Association). Over the next two days, I want to share a few statistics with you that I hope are helpful to you as you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday. It is also my hope to give you some tools to use to unpack with your child as you talk about their week of camp. The following stats are from a recent study I read called, “The Power of Camp Study”

1. In the weeks following camp, 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Parents noted things like their child being more helpful around the house, showing more self-confidence, being more interested in attending church, and engaging them more frequently in conversations about God and faith. Parents, I want to encourage each of you to allow your child to unpack the week with you and to expect them to want to talk with you about what they learned.

2. Campers show significant growth throughout a week of camp, on average, in areas of faith and character. Follow-up surveys show that support this data even 2-3 months after camp.

3. Campers reported increased abilities to make friends better, to step out of their comfort zones more, confidence in being a leader, and a desire to know Christ in a deeper way. Campers also showed an increased desire to pray more and the read the Bible more.

4. 89% of parents surveyed identified at least one major positive change in their kids life post camp. Some of these markers include being more adventurous, engaging in more conversations, being more social, spending less time with electronics and screen time, reading the Bible more, etc.

5. 94% of campers surveyed that they were strengthened in their faith by the last day of camp.

6. The survey also noted that with all of the things that changed as a result of Covid, one thing that has not changed is a kid’s need of a week of camp!

7. 98% of parents surveyed agreed that, “Camp is a place to unplug from technology.” Most campers surveyed expressed gratitude and relief for the opportunity to unplug from technology and just the change to be outside!

For any parent that wants a link to this study, please email me at forrest@vesperpoint.org and I am happy to send it to you. I know that I am biased, but this study is such an encouragement to me and to our full-time staff. Thank you for trusting us with your camper(s).

7:15am: Good morning from Vesper Point. Everyone is waking up to a beautiful sunrise on Lake Chickamauga. Tuesdays are always full of excitement as campers get to experience their first full day of camp. We invested in some new activities this summer which include: Mtn. Biking, Improved Paddleboarding, An Improved Archery Field, A New Pontoon Boat for Fishing and Pontooning, New and Improved River Kayaking, Improved Kayaks and Canoes, and our new campout activity. We also cleared out 11+ acres of property which added some beautiful hiking and biking trails. Did you know that the majority of our 115+ acres are largely undeveloped, and this is intentional because we want to maintain the natural beauty of the camp property. Look for another blog post later this afternoon.

Monday, June 23, 2025

10:15pm: Awesome first day of camp today. All cabins are turning in for the night with lights out being at 10pm. Even though today was hot, it was not that bad as the evening set in. I always look forward to our first full day of camp with each age group. Did you know that this is our 71st summer as an official camp. From 1954-1961 (or so), Vesper Point did not have an official name. In 1961, Camp Director Rocky Young was looking to the campers to come up with a name for the camp. Rocky was a pioneer of this camp and we are still doing some of his programming ideas to this day. The word “Vespers” means evening worship and since they held these evening services at a naturally formed amphitheater that juts out over the lake, the campers came up with the name “Vesper Point”. 71 years later, we still meet each evening at the actual Vesper Point to worship and hear 2 staff testimonies—just like they did in the 1950’s.

5:50pm: We are off to a good start on Day #1. We just got back from the lake and it felt incredible with how hot it is today. I am happy to report that 100% of our cabins now have AC which I never thought I would see. If your son is in Cabins B1-B5, he is in a brand-new cabin that was opened 2 weeks ago. Cabins B6-B9 are only 12 months old which gives us a total of 9 new boy cabins. We also spent the winter installing AC/Heating units in all of our girl cabins to ensure that everyone is very comfortable when things really get hot. Once we get past Thursday, we dip back down to 90 degrees which is tolerable. Dinner consists of chicken marinera with penne pasta, broccoli, and bread. Our cook is also fixing her famous brownies for dessert tonight which are always a hit. We recently cleared out 10+ acres of land across from our waterfront which includes trails, meeting areas, and an awesome backcountry camping site. We are hiking over to this area tonight to hold our team cheers followed by our Anchor Talk. Anchor talks involve talking to the campers about our camp theme for the summer which is “Wide Awake”. I will share more about this theme in the coming days. 3 lucky cabins will also have the opportunity to camp out in tents this week at our new backcountry camp site. Cabins must elect this as an activity in order for them to be chosen for this activity. So far this summer, we have had a lot of fun on our campouts.

11:30am: Parents, thank you for a smooth drop-off this morning. We have 198 campers this week which is among the most we have for the entire summer. We are excited to have this specific age group because they are a lot of fun. This particular week contains our oldest campers (by far) for the entire summer. Our nurses (1 RN and 1 Paramedic) are really focusing on the heat to ensure that everyone is healthy, hydrated, and protected. Make sure to check back often here to see blog posts and daily pictures on the picture portion of our website. We just updated the front page of our website which includes an amazing video montage that our talented videographers produced-check it out when you get a chance. Parents, I cannot think of a place I would rather be this week than this camp. My wife and I pinch ourselves each day that we get to do this-we love being up here with your kiddos. I will do my best to post an update here later this evening. Thank you for allowing your camper(s) to attend this week.

Friday, June 20, 2025

9:15pm: Parents, it has been a full Friday. We just got back from our Friday Night bonfire ceremony. At this ceremony, a staff member’s shares their testimony followed by our awards presentation. We give out a 4-year cross to campers who attend camp for 4 years. We also have a special 8-year Bible Award for any camper who attends camp for 8 consecutive years. We explained that award tonight so that these young campers are aware of how special that it. Finally, we present our highest award which is called the “I’m Third” Award. The I’m Third Award is voted on by our counselors and given to 1 male and 1 female camper who they feel stands out in the area of putting God 1st, Others Second, and Themselves Third. Campers are packing up now and will be headed to bed soon. We will see each of you at 8:30am tomorrow morning.

10:00am: Happy Friday parents. This is the first dry Friday that we have had all summer so far and we are thankful for that. If you have a daughter in Cabin G-3, they enjoyed camping out in tents at our new backcountry campsite-the girls had a great time. We are gearing up for a great last day of camp which will end with our bonfire ceremony this evening. We had actually not been able to have 1 single bonfire ceremony this summer due to it always raining on Friday night’s this summer. Needless to say, we are excited to do this ceremony outside tonight. I will share more about today later.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

12:15pm: We have had quite the rain up here this morning, but don’t worry about us when the rain falls. Our program team is always ready with a rain plan when the weather is not ideal. After morning Anchor, we pivoted to our Pavillion for some team games that were a lot of fun. Now that the rain has cleared, we are looking forward to our normal dry conditions including finally being able to use our CVP Backcountry campsite tonight!

7:30am: It’s another great and wet morning at camp parents. We are hoping to have this batch of rain move quickly through so we can hit all of our Cabin Activities after our morning worship service.

Our theme for the summer is, “Wide Awake”. We have had a theme for our summers since 1988 or so when Jim Suddath was the Camp Director. The “Wide Awake” theme was inspired by my wife Alex and comes from Romans 13:11-12. We have been talking to the campers about the fact that each of us are Wide Awake to something in life. We have challenged them to look at the question, “What does it look like to be Wide Awake in Christ in a world that is largely asleep to Him?” We are unpacking this each day during our morning Anchor worship service. We have talked about the difference between having a lukewarm faith as opposed to being totally committed to Christ. We are also going to talk about how to “Stay Awake” in your faith once you leave camp. With this theme, I am finding that it lends itself to a lot of great questions from campers. We encourage our counselors to write these questions down so that they can discuss them in cabins and also during our morning worship service (without using names of course). Kids at this age need to ask their questions and they need to feel safe asking things that they need answers to. We train our counselors to not give their opinions but to answer questions from Scripture. We also tell them to say, “Hey, I am not sure how to answer that question, but can I get back with you?” We are always present and available to our staff if they are not sure how to answer a question. I will try to post more later today……….

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

10:40pm: Sorry for the late post this late evening. All is well as campers are in bed and fast asleep. By the end of the day, everyone is so tired due to our fast-paced schedule and activities. After a heavy rain at breakfast, the sun broke out and we had a normal day with worship, activities, and Free Time. At the end of free time, a strong thunderstorm hit the area right after our waterfront director had the kids head to their cabin for safety. When it comes to bad weather, we never take a chance with campers. Our hoe-down went well tonight, and the kids loved our ice-cream dessert. Parents, this week has been a delight and we are having a lot of fun. For tomorrow’s post, I will share about our camp theme.

8:00am: Good morning parents. We were able to complete all of our activities last night outside thanks to the rain moving out. Since early May, we have received so much rain and cool temps that it hardly feels like late Spring/early summer out here. All is well as we hit the mid part of our week. We are looking forward to a day full of fun activities and our classic Wednesday night hamburger dinner and hoe-down!

I am re-posting a post from last week that I hope contains some helpful information to you as you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday. I am a big believer that a week of camp can have a significant impact on a child’s development as they learn to be away from mom and dad. In addition to this, being at camp can teach them so many things in terms of new skill development, independence, and self-confidence. I hope that the following is helpful and interesting to you.

I have been doing a lot of reading on the impacts that summer camps can have on kids during their week of camp. One of the great things about camp is that we are 100% screen free and kids are constantly in nature experiencing noises, roots, woods, and elements that they are not used to. If your kids are anything like mine, they are constantly wanting to use a screen or watch a movie. If every activity got rained out up here during the week, we would still not resort to a movie. One of my camp mentors once told me, “You can have a ton of fun at camp even with playing with rocks outside when it’s raining.” A stat that has caught my eye is that 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Most parents notice a difference in their child in the days and weeks following their camp experience. I believe that a week of camp is equivalent to 15-21 days due to how much a kid experiences physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kids are experiencing new activities and skills, interpersonal relationships within the walls of their cabins, and they are interacting with college aged counselors who they look up to. They make new friends, get out of their comfort zones, they gain confidence in themselves and with leadership opportunities. They experience increased growth in their faith with a deeper understanding of the Bible and with the Gospel. In this post-Covid world, these skills are essential. In my opinion, kids and their families desperately need what a summer camp has to offer, perhaps more than ever (yes, I know I am biased :) ). Most kids do not forget their camp experience even decades after they attend a camp. Here are some tips that I would recommend to parents once their camper returns from camp:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. I know of families who immediately take their child out to lunch right after they leave camp so that everything is fresh on their mind.

2. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

3. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

4. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

6:15pm: We were able to get every activity, including Free Time in today before the storms rolled in. We had a heavy downpour at 6:00pm and are waiting for it to pull out. We are hoping to be able to have our Tuesday night “Gnome Hunt” game if the rain can move out in time. We are having meatloaf with potatoes tonight which has become a favorite of many. We always serve a salad bar option for campers who need that as a replacement or as an add-on.

7:15am: We are awaking to a quiet and comfortable morning here at camp. We had some heavy rain and storms roll into the area around 11pm last night which provides the perfect soundtrack for sleep. Rain on a tin roof has always put me fast to sleep. We took the campers to a new part of the property which we recently cleared out for team cheers last night. Each cabin is assigned to one of 4 teams, and these teams can earn points all throughout the week. At the end of the week, the top earning team is rewarded with a special ice cream desert on Friday. In addition to this, the cabins who score the highest on their daily cabin cleaning (1 guy and 1 girl cabin) earn an end of week pizza party on Friday night. We are once again dodging rain today with the hope that we can fit in everything. After breakfast this morning (pancakes, sausage, OJ) we will head to our morning worship service which is called Anchor. Cabin Devotionals follow Anchor and then we head into our Cabin Activities for the day. I will personally be teaching River Kayaking this morning where we will get to use our brand-new river kayaks and skirts. River Kayaking is always taught by a lifeguard to ensure safety and supervision. At dinner last night, our cabins were treated by a bald eagle who kept circling the area below our back porch. We have noticed an increase in bald eagles this summer and we are memorized each time they make an appearance.

Monday, June 16, 2025

7:00pm: Parents, we have had a very good day today. The weather has been great and we enjoyed a fun day at the waterfront. We invested in several new SUPS (Stand Up Paddleboards), a Paddleboard Island, several new Kayaks, Canoes, and River Kayaks. On top of these toys, we added a new slide on our aqua trampoline, and we have a brand-new blob. Our ski boats pull double-tubes, banana boats during Free Time and we have a new pontoon boat that can handle these pulls in addition to fishing trips for our fishing clinic. We also have a new cabin activity simply called, “Pontooning” which is a lot of fun. We are headed to our evening worship which is called, “Vespers”. “Vespers” is a word which means, “Evening Worship” and is how our camp got its name in 1961! I will try to post more later…….

3:00pm: Parents, I wanted to take a minute to thank each one of you for a smooth drop-off schedule this morning. We just opened up our new parking lot extension this morning and I hope that it provided some much-needed parking for each of you. Speaking of new, Cabins B1-B5 are brand new boy cabins which were opened up 8 days ago. Cabins B6-B9 are only 12 months old which gives us a total of 9 new boy cabins. In addition to this, each girl cabin has been equipped with AC which guarantees comfortable and cool conditions. Even though we are expecting to dodge rain this week, we are gearing up for an exciting week of camp. If you are anything like me, dropping your kids off at camp can be a mixed back of emotions-especially if this is your child’s first time away from home. Our son was a first-time camper two weeks ago and it was emotional for my wife and I to watch all of that unfold. Letting our kids take steps towards independence is so important yet hard at the same time. Another aspect that makes this week unique in the life of your camp is that we are 99% screen free all week long! I am convinced that being outdoors is so healthy for kids when they are interacting with trails, roots, trees, lake water, canoes, cabins, back porches, birds singing, eagles flying around (yes, we have them in abundance here), riding in a boat, shooting archery, riding a mtn bike, camping out around a campfire, and a whole heap of additional activities. We are planning to do each thing on that list and more and we are honored to have your camper here with us this week.

I told our staff last night as we were preparing for this week that Week #3 is a time period where we are now in a solid camp rhythm and groove. The secret with Week #3 is to still approach everything as if it is brand new because it is all brand new for the campers. This is Vesper Point’s 71st summer on this property and we are off to a great start for Week #3. I will attempt to post 2 updates per day if time allows. Campers are currently in their clinic classes followed by free time. I am off to lifeguard our paddleboard/kayak/canoe area.

FRIDAY, June 13, 2025

8:00am: Time has flown by this week parents. We had some rain and storms move in yesterday during the mid-afternoon time period which caused us to activate our rain plan activities. The storms moved out just in time for us to enjoy Free Time on the water. Some of our boy cabins have enjoyed camping out in our new “CVP Backcountry” campsites this week! For today, we are focusing on our end of week activities which include wrapping up our Clinic skill classes, our cabin activities, and our end of week worship-bonfire service. Please pray that the rain holds off this evening so we can hold our bonfire service outside. I have often reflected on my own summer camping experience when I was a kid and have found that I still remember a large part of those summers. I look at summer camp as a signpost in a child’s memory bank and overall life experience. So much growth can happen during these weeks. My wife was reading these posts a few days ago and she commented, “I actually think that a week of camp can equivocate to 30 or more normal days in a kid’s life in terms of overall experience in impact.” I am thankful for each of these campers, and we are looking forward to maximizing our last full day with them.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

7:00am: It is another beautiful morning at camp. If your son is in Cabin B-7, they enjoyed a campout at our brand-new “CVP Backwoods” campsite-it was a lot of fun last night when I left the site. As you can see from the pictures, campers enjoyed our CVP Hoe-down last night which always proves to be a lot of fun. After a good night’s sleep, we will be off and running shortly for another full day of camp. One of our most popular cabin activities this summer as been our new mountain biking activity. With over 115 acres on this property, there are plenty of trails to explore on the bikes.

I was doing some recent reading, and a stat caught my eye related to parenting: A typical child has 6574 days in their childhood. On average, most kids only spend 3% of those days outside which is mathematically 197.22 days in today’s world. When I was growing up, I would estimate this percentage to be MUCH higher-perhaps in the 20-30% bracket. We are living in a digital age where a lot of kids and adults are spending time inside. As a parent, this convicts me and has caused me and my wife to re-think some of our parenting strategies. I share this with you to only point out how thankful I am that we get to spend a week outside with your kids.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

11:30am: I have been doing a lot of reading on the impacts that summer camps can have on kids during their week of camp. One of the great things about camp is that we are 100% screen free and kids are constantly in nature experiencing noises, roots, woods, and elements that they are not used to. If your kids are anything like mine, they are constantly wanting to use a screen or watch a movie. If every activity got rained out up here during the week, we would still not resort to a movie. One of my camp mentors once told me, “You can have a ton of fun at camp even with playing with rocks outside when it’s raining.” A stat that has caught my eye is that 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Most parents notice a difference in their child in the days and weeks following their camp experience. I believe that a week of camp is equivalent to 15-21 days due to how much a kid experiences physically, mentally, and spiritually. Kids are experiencing new activities and skills, interpersonal relationships within the walls of their cabins, and they are interacting with college aged counselors who they look up to. They make new friends, get out of their comfort zones, they gain confidence in themselves and with leadership opportunities. They experience increased growth in their faith with a deeper understanding of the Bible and with the Gospel. In this post-Covid world, these skills are essential. In my opinion, kids and their families desperately need what a summer camp has to offer, perhaps more than ever (yes, I know I am biased :) ). Most kids do not forget their camp experience even decades after they attend a camp. Here are some tips that I would recommend to parents once their camper returns from camp:

1. Spend some intentional time unpacking the week with your child. Ask questions and allow them to tell you as much as they can. This will allow them to reflect and share all that they experienced. I know of families who immediately take their child out to lunch right after they leave camp so that everything is fresh on their mind.

2. If your child expresses a desire to attend church or a youth group, allow them this opportunity. A lot of camper’s report feeling a “spiritual high” after they return from camp. It is important for kids to continue to explore their faith in Christ with other kids during weekly worship services and youth group gatherings.

3. If you notice positive changes in your kid’s behavior or overall demeanor, make sure to champion and celebrate this. Use camp as a springboard to build them up and to keep talking about the experience even into the school year.

4. As hard as it is to let them gradually grow up and gain independence, use their camp experience as a gradual step towards being more and more independent. If you are anything like me, I cherish the baby years and struggle with allowing my kids to branch out and grow up. Camp offers a way for kids to learn how to be apart from mom or dad, even if it is a struggle and hard. I do not want my kids to be 18 and not know how to launch out on their own. Parenting is one of the hardest things on the planet but oh what a joy it is.

7:55am: It is a beautiful day at Vesper Point this morning at 7:55am. We had a great time playing our famous evening activity called “Gnome Hunt” last night. Campers travel the entire campus looking for characters called, “Gnomes” and try to accumulate as many token as possible. For those who have been to camp before, it is a mix of the classic counselor hunt with some very interesting characters who are dressed up. For today, we are looking forward to another full day with our morning worship after breakfast(eggs, biscuits, sausage) followed by back-to-back cabin activities. One of our most popular activities this summer has been our new SUP(stand up paddleboards). One of our goals is to get the campers on the lake and in the water as much as possible. I know I am biased but we have one of the most beautiful waterfronts of any camp I have seen. Each cabin is assigned 2 “Boat Camps” each week where we take them out to double-tube, ride the banana boat, or to go out on our new pontoon boat. Later today, I will share some recent research with you that I have been reading up on concerning the impact that summer camps can have on kids and what role we as parents can play in that.

tUESDAY, June 10, 2025

9:30pm: Parents, our website is having technical issues with uploading photos today. We are trying to fix this issue, but I wanted to explain why there are not a lot of pictures. My apologies-I know how much each of you want to see pics of your kiddos.

12:30pm: Good afternoon parents. We awoke to a foggy, damp, and cool Vesper Point Morning. Our girls enjoyed night #1 in our girl cabins which are all equipped with AC now! For our boys, night #1 in our brand-new cabin was wonderful. The views off of the back porches of these cabins is peaceful and gorgeous. We spent the morning prepping our “CVP Backwoods” campsite which 4 lucky cabins will get to enjoy this week. Cabins will be given the opportunity (if they sign up for the activity) to camp out with their entire cabin over a campfire while sleeping in tents. A camp leadership person will be on site to ensure safety (congruent with the cabin gender). Our morning Anchor worship service was sweet this morning with Praise and Worship songs followed by our Anchor Talk. Our daily Anchor Talk is centered around our camp theme, “Wide Awake” as we seek to encourage campers to be Wide Awake for Christ in a world that is largely asleep to the Gospel. I will do my best to post more about the afternoon and everning. We are loving this age group. As I type this, we are getting ready to have chicken tacos for lunch.

Monday, June 9, 2025

9:00pm: Today has been a very good day. A steady rain fell for several hours this late afternoon and early evening which caused us to pivot our plans a bit. Campers are heading back to their cabins and getting ready to prepare for bed after a fun day. We did get to enjoy most of Free Time this afternoon before the rains started. We invested in several new paddleboards, kayaks, and canoes this Winter which campers enjoyed today. This week, we have campers from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and even Wisconsin! Our staff members are from Montana, Arizona, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, and all the other typical southeastern states—are true National mixture of people which we love. All is well this evening.

2:20pm: Happy Monday Parents! Thank you for your patience this morning as we welcomed 200 campers for Week #2. 200 campers is our full capacity, and we are so thankful to have each one of them here. Today is an historic day for Vesper Point in that we opened up our brand-new boy cabins. 12 months ago, we opened up 4 brand-new boy cabins and today we were able to open up our final 5 cabins. If your son is in B1-B5, they are in a brand-new cabin. If your son is in B6-B9, those cabins are only 1 year old! It is quite miraculous that we were able to complete this project in less than two years thanks to some generous donors and an incredible contractor. For those of you who are wondering, “What about the girls”, keep in mind that our girl cabins have been updated and expanded for over 10 years now. This current boy cabin project is to get the boys up to par with the quality of cabin that they need and deserve. I am also happy to report that we added AC/Heat to every girl cabin this Spring so that 100% of cabins have AC this summer. For those purists like me (you know…who like to rough it), I feel your pain. But as a parent myself, I am thankful that our campers can enjoy cool cabins during the hot summer. Parents, my oldest daughter is a camper this week and I am right with each of you in praying for the week and looking forward to seeing what the Lord does in the lives and hearts of these kids. I plan to share a lot with you this week on this blog—so stay tuned for updates. I will do my best to try and provide 2 updates per day, but there are some days where that may not be possible. Some of you may have noticed that we are busy building a new and expanded parking lot. This project will hopefully be ready soon so that we can offer many more parking options for our parents. We just got back from lunch and are now headed to Canteen and then Clinics.

FRIDAY, June 6, 2025

Parents-We have made it Friday. The temperatures continue to rise slightly as the week has progressed, and this has made the lake feel even better. We are hoping that the forecast rain holds off so we can hold our Friday night bonfire this evening which is a great way to end the week for campers. We are announcing the winning team at lunch which includes various competitions and ways to earn points. The winning team will be treated to a special ice cream desert at lunch. For daily honor cabin (cabin cleaning), the winning boy and girl cabins will enjoy a star-gazing pizza party after the bonfire this evening. If you are a parent of Cabin B-5, we had an incredible time at our first ever CVP Backcountry Campout last night. I will post more information later this evening…we are heading to lunch now.

Thursday, June 5, 2025

10:45pm: Real quick update parents—today was a very full day. After a morning of activities and games, we surprised the kids with lunch at our beachfront (hot dogs) and they really enjoyed it. No rain today allowed us to be on the lake for most of the day. We held our evening activity on the field tonight which is always a favorite. If you have a son in B-5, they are camping out in our brand-new campsite tonight which has been a dream of mine for a long time! More tomorrow.

Happy Thursday parents. It is a beautiful day up here at camp and we are having a great week. Over the last year, I have done a lot of reading on certain camp studies that our national organization has published. Vesper Point belongs to CCCA (Christian Camping and Conference Association). Over the next two days, I want to share a few statistics with you that I hope are helpful to you as you prepare to pick up your camper on Saturday. It is also my hope to give you some tools to use to unpack with your child as you talk about their week of camp. The following stats are from a recent study I read called, “The Power of Camp Study”

1. In the weeks following camp, 94% of camper parents agreed that camp had an impact on their child. Parents noted things like their child being more helpful around the house, showing more self-confidence, being more interested in attending church, and engaging them more frequently in conversations about God and faith. Parents, I want to encourage each of you to allow your child to unpack the week with you and to expect them to want to talk with you about what they learned.

2. Campers show significant growth throughout a week of camp, on average, in areas of faith and character. Follow-up surveys show that support this data even 2-3 months after camp.

3. Campers reported increased abilities to make friends better, to step out of their comfort zones more, confidence in being a leader, and a desire to know Christ in a deeper way. Campers also showed an increased desire to pray more and the read the Bible more.

4. 89% of parents surveyed identified at least one major positive change in their kids life post camp. Some of these markers include being more adventurous, engaging in more conversations, being more social, spending less time with electronics and screen time, reading the Bible more, etc.

5. 94% of campers surveyed that they were strengthened in their faith by the last day of camp.

6. The survey also noted that with all of the things that changed as a result of Covid, one thing that has not changed is a kid’s need of a week of camp!

7. 98% of parents surveyed agreed that, “Camp is a place to unplug from technology.” Most campers surveyed expressed gratitude and relief for the opportunity to unplug from technology and just the change to be outside!

For any parent that wants a link to this study, please email me at forrest@vesperpoint.org and I am happy to send it to you. I know that I am biased, but this study is such an encouragement to me and to our full-time staff. Thank you for trusting us with your camper(s).

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

10:30pm: Parents-we had a really good day today. We had our famous hamburger cookout followed by our hoe-down this evening and the kids loved it. During the hoe-down, we had a surprise heavy rainstorm which cooled things down a bit which is always nice. I will be sharing some interesting statistics with you tomorrow that I recently came across concerning the importance of kids attending a summer camp. Until then, we are all heading to bed now with what I call a “good tired” feeling after a busy yet fulfilling day.

8:10am: Good morning parents. We are waking up to another beautiful morning today at Vesper Point. We have made it to the mid-week and all is well. Wednesdays are always fun because tonight is hoe-down night. We will be having hamburgers for dinner which is always a camper favorite. We are also opening up our brand-new campsite for one lucky cabin tonight. Our fishing clinic is also taking the pontoon boat out for Clinics today which is exciting. Due to record amounts of rainfall and other delays, our 5 brand-new boy cabins should be ready to move into sometime this week. I will write more later this afternoon/evening when I have more time.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

9:15pm: Parents-Today has been an awesome first full day of camp. Campers are heading back to their cabins right now getting ready for bed. I can assure you that they will sleep well tonight given how busy we have been. Temps have been very comfortable up here and we enjoyed a nice breeze as well. I wanted to share a few of our new activities this summer that we debuted today: Mountain Biking, “Pontooning” with our new pontoon boat (we also use it to pull the banana boat), several new SUP’s (Stand Up Paddleboards, several new canoes and kayaks, and a brand-new home run derby baseball field. We have also completely re-done our archery field/range with new targets and a much-improved shooting range. We also have a new menu which has been a hit. For dinner tonight, campers enjoyed meatloaf, green beans, potato wedges, rolls, and red velvet cookies for desert. For mid-day snack today we enjoyed snow-cones. I share all of these details with you because I want you to see the “nitty-gritty” details that we do each day. I also hope that it brings back some memories of your own camp experience years ago. Rest well parents, we are doing well.

7:45am: Parents, good morning and Happy Tuesday. We were so busy yesterday with our camp schedule that I was not able to post a second Monday update-my apologies for that. Yesterday was a beautiful day at camp after a month full of record rainfall. Last evening was a lot of fun and everyone is currently waking up and doing honor cabin (cabin cleaning) before breakfast which is at 8:30am. We took the campers to a newly cleared area across from the dock last night for a new activity called, “Flag Festive”. We divided the cabins into 4 teams and each team worked on a team name and a cheer. The teams each presented their cheers in front of the judges and the judges awarded 1st-4th place points. Throughout the week, teams will be given opportunities to earn points including points for honor cabin (cabin cleaning). The overall winning team will win a special dessert on Friday at lunch! After the cheers, I gave our first Anchor Talk of the week around our campfire. Our morning worship services are called “Anchor” while our evening worship services are called, “Vespers”. The word “Vespers” means evening worship, and this is how the camp got the name “Vesper Point” in the early 1960’s. On opening day, we save our Anchor Talk for the evening since we do not have morning worship on Monday’s. Anchor Talks are centered around our camp theme which is, “Wide Awake”. I spoke to the campers last night about what it looks like to be Wide Awake for Christ in a world that is largely asleep to the Gospel. Our theme verse for the summer is Romans 13:11-12. I failed to mention that we also had our first evening Vespers service after dinner last night as well. Vespers is a service where we sing worship songs and then hear the testimonies of 2 of our staff members. Vespers is held at “Vesper Point” which is a naturally formed rock amphitheater which overlooks the lake. We have been holding Vespers services at this location since the late 1950’s and it is one of the most beautiful overlooks that I have ever seen. When you pick your camper up on Saturday, you are welcome to take some time to hike to this point—you will not be sorry. I will try to send another update later this evening about today!

-Forrest Walker

CVP Director

Monday, June 2, 2025

12:00Noon: Parents, on behalf of the entire staff at Vesper Point, I want to thank you for cooperation and patience with our morning drop-off. Drop-off went well from my perspective, and I am thankful for each one of you. We have been working on Summer 2025 plans since September, and it is very rewarding for today to finally be here. I told our staff this morning in our prayer time that today is like Christmas morning or the first day of school for most of these campers and that is something that we don’t take lightly. Our staff this summer comes from the following locations: Arizona, Montana, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas (5 from this state), Washington DC, and Tennessee. Today is also an important day for my wife and I as our son is experiencing his first day of camp as a rising 3rd grader. As a parent, it is difficult to drop your child off for the first time and trust that the week will go well. My wife and I want each of you to know that we are right there with you and we understand those feelings and emotions. As I type this, we just finished the swim test (which went well) and cabins are experiencing their first Cabin Activity together as a cabin. After a pizza lunch at 12:30, cabins will head back to their cabins to finish moving in and we will jump headfirst into the normal camp schedule. Since this is the first day of the summer, I will send another update later this evening. Thank you for trusting us with your camper(s) this summer.

PS: I also wanted to let you know that due to ongoing construction projects, our new parking lot/space is not yet complete. We have had major construction delays due to the record amounts of rainfall in the month of May. If you experienced any difficulty with parking this morning, I am sorry.

-Forrest Walker

CVP Director