At Lakeview Ministries, retreats are more than just a quiet getaway. They’re opportunities for lasting impact. Over the years, schools, churches, and community groups have found a second home here at camp. These groups bring their unique traditions and stories, and together, we see how God uses camp to strengthen relationships, spark faith, and connect the community. Here are five of those stories:
Mount Healthy Elementary School: A Field Day Tradition
If you’ve ever driven to Lakeview from the north, you’ve passed Mount Healthy Elementary School. For well over a decade, their connection to camp has been strong, thanks to Kathy Rebber, a longtime Lutheran Lake resident and former gym teacher at the school. She helped start a tradition of hosting the school’s kickoff field day at Lakeview every fall at the start of the school year when she received an NFL Play 60 grant that allowed the school to bring it’s entire student body out to camp.
What began as a creative way to kick off the school year has become one of our largest single gatherings—over 400 students, parents, and teachers filling camp with laughter, games, and joy. From sliding down the slip n slide to hiking around camp, it’s a day that introduces hundreds of young people to Lakeview. Many return later as campers, and this year, one of our summer staff is even student teaching at Mount Healthy. What a fun, full-circle story!
Immanuel Seymour and Calvary Indianapolis: Kicking Off Outdoor Ed
For over a decade, Immanuel Lutheran in Seymour and Calvary Lutheran in Indianapolis have shared the tradition of beginning our outdoor education season. Calvary has been coming out the longest – over 20 years, with Immanuel not too far behind. Every year, the week after Labor Day, both schools bring their students to Lakeview for outdoor learning and spiritual growth.
Though the schools run separate schedules, camp has worked to blend their time together—balancing campfire devotions, night hikes, challenge courses, and classic activities to give every student the experience they’re looking for. Their retreats not only mark the “official start” to outdoor ed each year, but they also show how Lakeview flexes and adapts to meet the needs of groups. Their long-standing presence has become a cornerstone of our ministry calendar.
Community Church of Columbus: From First-Time Visitors to Camp Regulars
When Community Church of Columbus, a local area church, brought their 4th and 5th graders to Lakeview for the first time a decade ago, most of the kids had never even been to camp. That changed quickly. What started as a faith-formation retreat for the church has grown into a lasting connection, with many students becoming summer campers.
The church runs the retreat, and we host it, creating the perfect partnership. We have had staff help lead camp songs at their fall harvest festival for families at their church, and they look forward to experiencing them again at camp—a powerful reminder of how retreats can plant seeds that grow into lifelong ties with Lakeview.
Immanuel Lutheran, Hamilton, Ohio: A Pastor’s Investment in Youth
For over 20 years, Immanuel Lutheran in Hamilton, Ohio, has made Lakeview part of its rhythm. Pastor Kevin Judd has been the driving force, personally bringing groups of 3rd-12th grade students to camp in the fall, winter, and spring. Like many churches, Immanuel doesn’t have a full-time youth leader, and Pastor Judd has invested his time and energy into his congregation’s kids, faithfully leading four retreats annually.
One of his creative traditions—taping yardsticks to campers’ arms during breakfast so they can’t feed themselves—teaches teamwork and humility in a memorable way. Through Pastor Judd’s consistency, countless students have encountered Christ at Lakeview, and his example shows what it means for a leader to invest deeply in the next generation.
Via de Cristo and Walk to Emmaus: Faith Formation for Adults
While schools and churches fill much of Lakeview’s retreat calendar, Christian retreats such as Via de Cristo and Walk to Emmaus also call Lakeview home. Dating all the way back to when Mohegan and Quapaw was first built, the local chapters of Via de Cristo and Emmaus Walk were some of the very first groups we hosted at camp during the retreat season. For over 20 years, these groups have hosted multiple retreats on the Camp Lakeview side each year, often in the colder months when things quiet down. Their consistency has been both a blessing for Lakeview and a gift to their members.
These retreats emphasize spiritual renewal through worship, fellowship, and intentional disconnection from the noise of daily life. Participants set aside their watches and phones, devoting their attention to God and one another. Over the years, these communities have not only enriched Lakeview with faithful bookings but also partnered with us—donating resources like the golf cart we still use today and supporting our capital campaigns for new facilities.
More Than Retreats
Each of these groups—whether a local elementary school, a pair of long-time partner churches, a community congregation, a faithful pastor and his youth, or local ministries seeking to boost people’s faith—represents the deep roots Lakeview shares within the body of Christ.
Their presence is more than calendar dates and filled cabins. It’s a reminder of how God provides through relationships: we meet their need for a place of growth and connection, and in turn, they support and sustain our ministry. Together, we are part of something bigger—building up the next generation, fostering faith, and ensuring Lakeview continues to be a place where God’s people meet Him in creation and community.