by Carol Kehlmeier

Penny Christensen was raised in a Christian family, attended Sunday school and church, and knew all the Bible stories. When she was in ninth grade, "God captured my heart,"she says, recalling her stay at the Farmer’s Union Camp in her home state of North Dakota. "It was there at Bible camp where what had been taught was caught."

Since that experience, she has dedicated her professional life to Lutheran outdoor ministries. Today Penny is one of a few woman executive directors of Lutheran outdoor ministries, serving four sites in Ohio.

She began as a summer staff member when she was a teen. After college in Minnesota, she worked for five years as youth director for a congregation. She has now worked professionally as a camp director for 19 years. She has served as executive director for Lutheran Outdoor Ministries in Ohio since 2000.

"Over the years," Penny said, "I have done pretty much every aspect of outdoor ministries — from developing and implementing programs to plowing snow, developing budgets, cooking for large groups, managing staff, cleaning toilets, preaching sermons, and developing plans with the board of directors."

She has served at camps in Washington, California, Wisconsin, and now Ohio. "I never pictured myself living in the eastern half of the United States. The Holy Spirit has a way of nagging away at a person until you end up somewhere you would have never dreamed of going on your own."

A time and place apart
According to Penny, the challenge of this ministry is to continually stay relevant to the needs of people in society and faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. "Our society is constantly changing. The information age makes outdoor ministries more countercultural than ever." Lutheran camps have always prided themselves on being a time and place apart, but the fast pace of life today makes that an ever greater need for people to experience. "Because our society is so amazingly busy, camps are needed all the more as a place to get away from it all, to be renewed and inspired, to experience silence, and to be still and know God."

Penny reports that attendance at day camps has increased over the last few years, a reflection of parents’ busy lives. But there has been a 13 percent decrease in summer campers. Penny believes that’s because it’s more difficult for youth and families to find a week to come to a Lutheran camp because of their tightly scheduled summers.

But over the years the experience of camping has brought many people — from children and teens, to adults — to feel God’s presence beneath the whispering trees or on a snow-covered hillside.

Today, more than two-thirds of Lutheran seminary students point to outdoor ministries as a significant place in discernment of their call. "People do experience the unconditional love of God through outdoor ministries, and it radically changes their lives," Penny said. Many people active in their congregations today also point to their experience at a Lutheran camp as the beginning of their spiritual growth.

Retreats, family camps, summer camps, and day camps change lives by allowing people to take time away from the hassle of society and their daily routines to experience the love of Jesus Christ in a quiet outdoor setting. Camps are not just for children and teens. Over half the people who participate in outdoor ministry programs are adults.

As a result of their camping experience, people grow in God’s love and family relationships are deepened. Participants’ congregational life is strengthened, and so are the communities where participants reach out in service. "People discern what really matters, and some hear God’s call to ministry."

Camp life is full of fun and fellowship, but many programs also include service to others. For example, a "Servant Event Blast" invites teens to witness and experience Christian stewardship. They take hammer and paint brush into Appalachia and show Christ’s love by reaching out to the community.

Letters of praise
Penny receives comments and letters from campers and parents of campers about their experiences of outdoor ministry. One mother wrote, "I know camp is a good experience for my children by the fact that they don’t fight for at least three weeks after they get home!"

Another mother wrote after participating in a "Mom and Me" canoe trip with her daughter, Emily. "The night hikes, quiet moments, and fellowship renewed my spirit, gave me a much–needed opportunity to just breathe, appreciate God’s beautiful world, and treasure my blessing named Emily."

One pastor who had attended camp as a youngster wrote, "I received a letter from my camp pastor [when I went home]. In his letter he said he looked forward someday to welcoming me into the ministry. It had been a mountaintop experience, an inspiring, uplifting, exciting week. I heard God speaking to me through the camp staff, the pastor volunteers, and through the camp director."

Christ at the center
Penny knows she has been blessed as she works with outdoor ministries. She said, "One of the great aspects of camp life is living out the passage from 1 Corinthians 12 where it speaks about all members of the body of Christ being important and all gifts being used to glorify God. Every person’s work and gifts are essential for our ministry to succeed."

With the members of her executive board and several synod boards, councils, and committees, Penny develops the vision, direction, mission, purpose, and goals for all aspects of outdoor ministries in Ohio. Penny and other outdoor ministry directors organize programming, publicity, purchasing, staffing, church relations, financial development, marketing, and administrative procedures.

But she is not only an administrator. A certified lay worship leader for the ELCA Southern Ohio Synod, Penny completed a three–year course, studying the Lutheran confessions and history, Old Testament, New Testament, worship leadership, and homiletics. "I participated in the program to further my education and to offer my assistance to the Southern Ohio Synod."

Penny said she never anticipated how much fun her job could be. She especially enjoys teaching campers and mentoring her staff as they discover the love of God through the joys of creation. She said that she just hopes that through outdoor ministries, campers and staffers learn to listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance.

As she plans outdoor ministries, Penny works from the program's mission statement: We create places apart where lives are changed through spiritual growth as people experience the love of Jesus Christ.

Carol Kehlmeier is an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Westerville, Ohio.