If you’ve spent any time at camp, you know that so many projects are made possible and happen due to volunteers. From church groups to high school students to families and alumni, camp is strengthened year-round by people who share their love and support by blessing camp with their time. Their work fuels our mission, supports our staff, and makes it possible to share Christ-centered outdoor ministry with thousands of campers each year. We are truly, deeply thankful.
Church Volunteer Days That Move Ministry Forward
This fall, camp welcomed several groups who helped us accomplish work that would have taken our facilities team several days on their own to complete – freeing them up to continue keeping everything else at camp fixed, cleaned, and working.
St. Peter’s Columbus joined us during their Fall Serve Sunday, helping build a split-rail fence for the new Village Lodge parking area and splitting firewood to prepare for the upcoming year. Just a few hours of volunteer service made a long-term impact on camp’s facilities and operations.
Soon after, Trinity Lutheran High School (Seymour) brought 25 students for their annual service day—an invaluable gift of time and teamwork. Their projects included:
- Filling gravel along newly paved paths
- Digging trenches and post holes for future trail lights
- Cutting back brush where the forest was encroaching
These improvements will help keep camp safe, beautiful, and ready for ministry all year long.
Volunteers Behind the Scenes of Outdoor Ministry
Throughout this year, dozens of individuals have helped push Alpine Village construction forward—offering skilled labor, daily assistance, or simply willing hands and willing hearts. We have also had many volunteers helping with the Lakeview Springs Lodge Restoration project.
We also saw volunteer power in full display at our annual Dinner Auction, where the combined efforts of many helped raise over $100,000 to support camp. Volunteers contributed by:
- Donating items
- Creating table décor
- Baking desserts
- Building themed baskets (even assembled by Lutheran school classrooms!)
- Helping manage online listings
- Setting up the event space
- Serving on the night of the auction—including 22 summer staff members
The Dinner Auction is an awesome example of how camp volunteers create both ministry impact and financial impact.
Volunteer Service: The Hidden Gift That Shapes Our Ministry
In a year where we’ve been celebrating 60 years of ministry, it’s impossible not to think about all the people over the years who have given what they have to make camp what it is. From the founding years, where EVERYTHING was done through people volunteering and giving, to the many large and small projects throughout camp’s history (such as building the Amphitheatre, constructing cabins, clearing trails, laying gravel, the list goes on and on…), to today, camp is what it is because of the Lakeview family – the people who love, support, and show up for this place.
While the Dinner Auction is an event that gives a tangible dollar amount, the true total value of volunteer hours given all year long is even greater—a number too large to calculate but impossible to overlook. Every fence built, every trench dug, every basket assembled, every brush pile cleared… it all adds up to hundreds of hours saved and thousands of dollars redirected straight into the ministry and mission to share Jesus with kids and families in an outdoor setting.
Camp flourishes because God’s people show up. And this year, they showed up again and again.
We See You. We Thank You.
Whether you’re a student, a church group, a retired craftsman, a parent, or a former staff member—you have a place in this ministry. Your service strengthens our mission, supports our staff, and helps make Lakeview a place where people of all ages encounter Christ.
To every volunteer who served in 2025:
Thank you.
Your faithful service is one of the greatest gifts God gives this camp.
We are grateful—deeply, joyfully, prayerfully—for you.
