Camps News
One Camping Family Out of Many
4/17/2024
BY REV. EVAMARIE CAMPBELL Oklahoma United Methodist Camping Ministry has a place near and dear to my heart. As an elementary aged person, I remember being so excited to get to go to Camp to be a “...
Summer Swarm
3/8/2023
Oklahoma children, youth and families have opportunities to work and play in the larger Oklahoma community this summer. Each opportunity builds the kingdom and teaches the importance of community. ...
OK Camps hires two site directors
10/6/2022
OK Camps has hired two new site directors. Tony Thomas is the new site director for Cross Point Camp, and Penn Henthorn is the new site director for Egan Camp and Retreat Center. Thomas, who spent 29 ...
LEAD Camp changes format
4/6/2022
What do people do and say that leads others to believe they’re a good leader? This is the question that led OK Camps to completely redesign the format of LEAD Camp, a week-long camp to develop ...
OK Camps seeks new site directors for Cross Point, Egan
2/7/2022
News release | OK Camps Oklahoma United Methodist Camp & Retreat Ministries is seeking site director to oversee all operational aspects at Cross Point Camp on Lake Texoma and at Egan Camp & Retreat ...
Canyon Camp receives Bass Pro Shop grant for gear for future fishing pond
11/10/2021
Canyon Camp has received a $500 grant from Bass Pro Shop to purchase gear for a future fishing pond to be built on the camp grounds. “In the past we’ve had camps where the campers have brought in fish...
OK Camps updates curriculum to help students break down walls
7/12/2021
OK Camps has updated one of its curriculums to address issues relating to justice and the church. “Breaking Down the Walls” encouraged students to see what “walls” exist between groups of people, in ...
OK Camps seeks VIM help through summer, fall
6/16/2021
OK Camps is looking for Volunteers In Mission teams or individuals to serve during June and July, and extending through October. Those interested can sign up to serve for a week or a weekend. ...
OK Camps announces summer camps, winter retreat options
2/8/2021
OK Camps has announced their 2021 camp season. Registration for summer camps opens on March 1; early-bird registration is open through April 15. The camp ministry has also announced that its annual ...
Ice storm hits Canyon Camp
11/13/2020
An early ice storm hit western Oklahoma on Oct. 27, causing power outages for more than 300,000 people. David Combs, director of Canyon Camp, said the camp was without power for several days. Several ...
OK Camps hosts Family Camps
9/4/2020
When large gatherings were banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OK Camps looked for new ways to reach families with spirit-filled activities in a natural setting. The solution: Family Camps. Family ...
Chuck Stewart to lead Camp Egan
9/6/2019
Oklahoma United Methodist Camps has announced Chuck Stewart as the new director of Egan Camp and Retreat Center. Stewart is a certified Lay Servant and has served as the Oklahoma Conference Lay Leader...
OKUMC Camps now hiring summer workers
4/5/2019
The Oklahoma Conference Camps ministry is hiring workers for the summer season. OKUMC Camps have three camp sites across the state: Canyon Camp in Hinton, Camp Egan in Tahlequah, and Cross Point in ...
Confirmation Camp heads to Canyon Camp on Feb. 22-23
2/1/2019
By Meagan Ewton What does it mean to be a United Methodist? Allen Carson, pastor of El Reno-Wesley, hopes to help youth answer that and other faith-related questions during a special 24-hour camp. ...
Mission and Ministry: Camps & Conference Programming
2/1/2019
Camping ministry provides Oklahoma United Methodist churches the opportunity to engage in meaningful experiences, relationships, and ministry. Three campsites around the state provide a ...
Canyon Camp raising funds for nurse’s station
12/7/2018
By Meagan Ewton Canyon Camp is raising $40,000 for a new nurse’s station that they hope to build in time for the summer season, according to Director David Combs. The camp began to focus on ...
Mobile day camps see growth in second year
9/7/2018
Voyage Mobile Day Camps saw a 56 percent increase in the number of campers this year, according to Neil Tate, program director for Camp and Retreat Ministries. Eight week-long day camps were held in ...
Passion and profession collide for camp nurses
8/3/2018
By Meagan Ewton If it takes a special kind of person to volunteer for camp, it must take a little something extra to volunteer for camp nurse. Waking up early, caring for more than 100 patients, ...
Summer camps’ new names signify other changes too
3/2/2018
A new approach to youth leadership camps begins this summer in the Oklahoma Conference. The change starts with their names: LEAD. The redesigned camps will focus on creating young leaders with unique,...
Save the date
2/9/2018
Get ready for grand outdoor adventures! Registration is now open for this summer’s Oklahoma Conference Camps programming. Go to www.okcamps.org. Lake Country District Spring Lay Servant Training Feb....
Young adults bond at winter retreat
1/19/2018
The Camp Spark program expanded this winter, adding a retreat specifically for young adults on January 5-7 at the United Methodist Canyon Camp facilities near Hinton. About 50 people attended, mainly ...
Churches invited to apply
11/10/2017
After a successful first road trip, Voyage mobile day camp leaders are mapping their route for next summer across Oklahoma. They’d like to include your church in their travel itinerary. The words of ...
Outdoor adventures near and far
9/8/2017
Conference Camps Director Ed Parker tests a monster tire swing, a new feature at Canyon. Campers ventured from the Red River to Colorado and Wyoming and points between this summer, through the ...
Day Camp aims to grow
7/28/2017
The Mobile Day Camp at West Tulsa UMC included archery lessons. Photos by Shari Goodwin BY SHARI GOODWIN Ultimate Frisbee is my favorite, and I don’t know how many friends I made — a lot!" said ...
Canyon campers aim for fun
7/7/2017
Junior-high CLUE campers from about 40 churches learned archery, faced off in chess, enjoyed group games after dark, and more on June 5-9 at Canyon Camp, near Hinton. Deans Morgan Ross, Kelley ...
Road trip ahead for summer day camps
5/19/2017
BY HOLLY MCCRAY A team of young adults is packing for an inaugural Voyage: a two-month summer road trip, crisscrossing Oklahoma, directing a mobile day camp at eight host churches — from ...
Summer camp plans are gaining speed
3/17/2017
FAITH IN MOTION — Mobile day camps this summer in as many as eight towns will benefit from a 2017 New People New Places grant of $121,247. Directed by the Conference’s Camps ministry, trained young ...
Pastor shares confirmation class experiences
1/13/2017
BY SAM POWERS When I became a United Methodist minister, the bishop asked me, “Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?” I take this seriously and have offered confirmation classes ...
Boards call voters’ attention to state questions
11/4/2016
Leaders of two Oklahoma Conference boards have shared their members’ concerns about state questions that voters will decide on Election Day, Nov. 8. Seven state questions will be on the ballot. The...
A splashing success
8/12/2016
Conference tests mobile day camp model in Edmond BY CHRIS SCHUTZ Church camp doesn’t always mean an overnight, sleeping-bag kind of thing. For five days in mid-July, the grounds of Edmond-First ...
Prayers and promises
8/12/2016
Teens support one another as they kneel before a cross in worship during Dayspring South, held in July at Cross Point Camp. Dean for the camp was Kevin Andrews, an associate Wesley Foundation ...
Cross Point cabins blessed for service
7/1/2016
BY HOLLY MCCRAY As the two newest cabins at Cross Point Camp were consecrated June 6, Herschel Beard of Madill remembered the site in the 1960s. He was among the first teen campers when the ...
Egan dedicates 2 gifts -- Medical station and playground await young campers
5/6/2016
by holly mccray A double dedication on April 9 celebrated two newly complete building projects at Egan Camp and Retreat Center. A smartly designed medical station and a playground for the youngest ...
Hiller named manager for Cross Point Camp
5/6/2016
Jeff Hiller began service April 18 as new manager at Cross Point Camp, located in south-central Oklahoma, announced Ed Parker, director of the Conference’s Camp and Retreat Ministries. A licensed ...
Missouri volunteers answer prayers
2/26/2016
Down in Canyon Camp, chainsaws roared as 22 United Methodist volunteers from Missouri cleared hundreds of broken trees during a week in January. "They’re an answer to prayer," said Canyon’s manager,...
Camp Reunion Party
1/15/2016
Replace winter cabin fever with party fever by bringing your youths and elementary-age campers to a free Camps Reunion! Invite new friends who haven’t experienced camp yet! They’ll reunite with ...
Camps rally for comeback after storms’ assault
1/15/2016
‘Who would have ever thought we’d get 15 1/2 inches of rain in 2 days?’— Egan Manager Josh Pulver By Holly McCray Nature played extreme sports at all three Oklahoma United Methodist camps in 2015, ...
Blogger gets personal about summer camps
9/18/2015
By MOLLEIGH McCANN Growing up, I went from basketball camp to soccer camp to "High School Musical" camp to church camp. Almost every week of the summer, I lived out of my suitcase, was constantly ...
Water and Spirit
9/18/2015
Camps’ leaders wade through summer By HOLLY McCRAY On the last night of summer’s final youth camp, Ed Parker saw undeniable proof of the Kingdom power in church camps. He watched 29 teens signify ...
Into the wild, ‘Where’s God in the midst of this?’
8/7/2015
By CHRIS SCHUTZ Summer break is a good time to take it easy, sleep late, and eat what you want when you feel like it — unless you are a seventh- or eighth-grader attending Wilderness Camp. The ...
Blessings wash over campers after relocating
7/13/2015
Dean recognizes God had a plan By SHARRI HILLER, Ardmore District Camp dean Where to have the last Ardmore District Youth Camp? It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. It was May, and ...
Creativity keeps camping afloat at Cross Point
7/13/2015
By Sam Hodges, United Methodist News Service The adventures of summer camp can include just getting there. Ask the teenagers who floated across floodwaters June 22 to Cross Point Camp south of ...
Tempting tummies: Camps’ kitchen crews collaborate with chef
6/5/2015
By HOLLY McCRAY Suddenly I was so hungry. Something chocolate was flowing into a baking pan. I smelled roasting pork and saw a chef mixing barbecue sauce. Cooks stirred scalloped potatoes. ...
Your rooms are ready--New cabins at Cross Point and Canyon Camps
5/8/2015
Cross Point to dedicate cabins June 1 By HOLLY McCRAY Two new cabins will be dedicated debt-free on June 1 at Cross Point Camp in southern Oklahoma. Together they add 80 beds and two large meeting ...
New cabins lodging Canyon campers
3/27/2015
Attend dedication April 18 at Canyon DEDICATION IS APRIL 18 — We’ll celebrate completion of the latest major building project at Canyon Camp, near Hinton, at 1 p.m. that Saturday. The Foundation ...
Sign-up begins for summertime camps, retreats
3/27/2015
Sign-up begins for summertime camps, retreats March served up Spring Break for Oklahoma schools … and that signified the summer church-camp season soon will follow. It’s time to sign up your student...
Ed Parker leads Camps for Conference
10/10/2014
By HOLLY McCRAY Ed Parker, new executive director of Camp & Retreat Ministries, met lots of Oklahoma pastors in his first day on the job. Newly arrived from New Hampshire, he was introduced Sept. ...
Seen at summer camp
8/8/2014
DAYSPRING DELIGHT — Bishop Robert Hayes Jr. and 600 Dayspring campers radiate joy in opening worship July 10. The bishop preached to the large group of teens, ranging from ninth-graders to newly ...
Cross Point Camp: Construction Update
6/27/2014
In November, ground was broken for two cabins at Cross Point Camp. This June 17 photo shows work nearing the finish line. About $30,000 will complete the needed funding, said camp manager Ken Long. A...
Statue dedicated -- Gift creates special place to pray at Egan
3/28/2014
By Holly McCray At the base of the forest trail that rises to the large cross at Camp Egan, Jesus relaxes on a park bench. There’s room for you to sit with him. "Come to Me" is the name of this ...