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As we celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Camp House, we take a moment to look back at the site’s incredible history. From the site’s first days, through a number of transitions and now as part of Green Lake Lutheran Ministries, Camp House has been supported and treasured by many generations who saw Camp House for what it is: a sacred, holy, unique opportunity to find rest and renewal in God’s beautiful Northwoods. Read the full history of Camp House and its 100 years of ministry. Camp House’s doors remained closed in 1992. The Lutheran Camp Board was in financial distress, and could not operate their sites: Shores of St. Andrew Bible Camp in New London and Camp House near Brimson. A merger was proposed with the Lutheran Camp Board and Green Lake Bible Camp, due to the proximity of the sites in Kandiyohi County and the success Green Lake Bible Camp had seen in outdoor ministry. A group of consultants formed an audit and evaluation team to evaluate the possibility and feasibility of this merger in May of 1992. This team was led by Mark Burkhardt, Specialist for Outdoor Ministries, Ralph Yernberg, Executive Director of Crossways Lutheran Camping Ministries and Duane Hanson, Executive Director of Bethel Horizons. They acted as mediators, researchers, dreamers, and advisors for both parties. For the Lutheran Camp Board, merging with Green Lake Bible Camp would give their sites and campers a chance to continue camping at these beloved sites, with new leadership, a solid base of operation, and a strong reputation. For Green Lake Bible Camp, this merger would allow their ministry to grow and expand, while they were currently bound by their physical locations and resources. It would allow the ministry to be more dynamic and diverse in its offerings, in ways not otherwise feasible. Most importantly, for both parties, this meant that God’s love could continue to be shared at all sites involved, and campers would be able to continue visiting their beloved camps. While this was a promising and exciting idea, this would not be easy. The evaluation team found that the Camp House site in particular was in need of major repairs. This assessment was confirmed by a group of outdoor ministry professionals during a visit to Camp House. Team members included Jerry Olstad, Art Vorhes, Paul Fjore, Ron Nielsen, Milt Krona, Loren Teig and Paul Halverson. Camp House would need a major financial commitment to rebuild and renovate the camp site. In his reflections on this time, Roy Eliason shared, “Not only were the buildings in various states of disrepair, but all permits, licenses and grandfathered agreements had gone by the wayside.” Shores of St. Andrew Bible Camp in New London was nearby and closer to operational standards. On October 1, 1992, Lutheran Camp Board merged with Green Lake Bible Camp, becoming what is now known as Green Lake Lutheran Ministries. It took some time for the Board of Directors and camp staff to live into this merger. Attention was again focused on Camp House in April of 1994, when Green Lake Bible Camp and Shores of St. Andrew Bible Camp were operating at near capacities. The same evaluation team was hired to guide the next steps for Camp House and help determine what needed to be accomplished first. It was their consensus that many of the structures needed to be replaced or removed in order to safely support large numbers of campers. A plan was put into motion and volunteers showed up—with chainsaws, prayers, and hope. Beginning in the summer of 1995, volunteers accomplished projects in the summer months, paying $10 a day to help offset lodging and food costs. Guiding this building process were Erling Lundeen and Roy Eliason, two long time Green Lake Bible Camp staff members. Roy Eliason wrote “Volunteers were most instrumental in bringing back life to Camp House. They came in large groups, small groups, sometimes a couple or just one person but together they grew to hundreds of volunteers who labored thousands of hours to accomplish a mission. To these volunteers goes the credit for putting Camp House back to where it could again function as a camp for people of all ages, and our everlasting thanks is offered.”
It wasn’t just volunteers that helped out at Camp House. As Roy Eliason wrote, “Plans were also made to make connections with all the government agencies from the township, county and state that had to be made in order to once again reach compliance. It turned out that all these agencies were pretty cooperative. They assisted us with paperwork, documents, permits, zoning issues and so forth and met us on site whenever necessary. It seems everyone was anxious to see Camp House back in operation.” The tales of this time are hard to describe any other way than heartwarming. The memories shared are marked by feelings of joy, exhaustion, excitement, and hope. Hundreds of volunteers, old and young, from all over the state of Minnesota, tackled everything from demolishing, building, remodeling, laying new foundations, sanding, painting, staining, varnishing, plumbing work, electrical work, shingling, and so much cleaning. Erling Lundeen documented his memories from when a small but mighty group of volunteers raised the main lodge building and repaired the foundation, and said it best: “We realized that God was in charge and we were the workers. Since it was part of God’s plan, we couldn’t fail. If it had been ours alone, we would have failed long before now (...) The only thing this group of volunteers had in common was that we were convinced that this was God’s camp. He was the architect and we were going to work under His direct guidance.”  It wasn’t all work - there was some play! Rodney and Darlene Yarger and Bryce and Dorothy Wolle were among the many volunteers, and remembered “We had time for R & R. The fishing was usually pretty good, but you couldn’t leave the fish in the lake. Bryce lost some of his fish to a snapping turtle!” In typical camp fashion, coffee and cookies were served at 10:00 every morning, and campfires were enjoyed every evening. There was no doubt that the Holy Spirit was moving with and amongst them.   A grand reopening was held on July 14, 2001 and Camp House was reopened for summer programming. Around 150 attended the day with a hog roast, rededication service, tours, beach time and reminiscing. Since then, thousands of campers have attended summer camp, confirmation camps, fishing camps and family camps. Retreat groups have gone early in the spring to help open the site and late in the fall to help close the site. Ordinary Time, starting in 2024, has offered guests the chance to simply be at Camp House, enjoying the great Minnesota summers however they choose. There have been floods, sunshine, wildfires, droughts, meteor showers, sunshine and northern lights. There have been countless memories made, friendships forged, prayers answered, and faith lives nurtured. Camp House has been, and will continue to be, an amazing blessing. We are honored to celebrate these 100 years of ministry and excited to see what comes next! Were you part of the Camp House story? We’d love to hear from you. Share your memories, photos, and stories as we celebrate 100 years together.
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