SABC NEWS – May 2018

Posted: May 17, 2018

Changed Lives in the Winter

TONIA MARTENS PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Winter at camp may seem like a peaceful, quiet season to many, but don’t be fooled! At SABC there are property projects, spring and summer preparation, and the hosting of rental groups. A couple of weekends, however, are the highlights for me – Our Senior Hi and Jr Hi winter retreats.We saw significant growth in both events with around 70 students at our Star Wars Sr Hi Inc retreat in Novem-ber and 140+ at the Jr Hi Incredible Mid Winter Escape. The program team hit it out of the park with the activities, food, full service banquet and outdoor wide games. Both retreats had great speakers and worship that filled this place with purpose and truth. It is such a privilege to work with local youth pastors who bring their youth out to have fun and to journey closely with their students – we had one leader, for example, spend the entire evening after chapel working through hurts and challenges with his group of boys… just soaking up the chance to talk, pray and walk with his students after hearing solid truth. We love hearing these stories as they are in direct alignment with our mission statement:

“Southern Alberta Bible Camp is a youth-focused Christian camp whose purpose is to challenge, encourage and inspire campers spiritually and physically to help equip them for life and to develop Christian leadership in young adults.”

We especially see this leadership in action in our volunteers without whom we cannot pull off these fun impactful events. This significant group of young people are evidence of the good work God is doing in the lives of young leaders here at SABC. I had a number of conversations both weekends with young staff as to how they are doing in their faith. One moment that impacted me was after chapel when one of our volunteers came and stood beside me. As we talked he shared his deep love for Jesus, how it had grown since camp and that the chance to be back, in chapel, and the freedom to extend his personal ‘chapel’ walking outside spending that time with Jesus was a significant piece to the growth of his faith. Our conversation ended with him thanking us for allowing him to come and serve. These are some of the moments that warm up the winter out at camp and make it all worth it.

First Annual Shinny Hockey Tournament

This year held the first annual shinny hockey tournament. Imagine playing the game you love out in the open air on the frozen lake while raising funds for a camp that you love and believe in! This was the brainchild of Eric, Holly Steeves and Joel Groenenboom. It was put together in a little over 4 months from beginning to end. It was an amaz-ing success and we are thankful for the many people who made it happen.

In all, 8 teams registered and $18,000 was raised that will be put towards new lawn equipment for the camp. Next year we hope to grow to 16 teams and at least 2 rinks on the lake. Stay tuned for more information especially if you are interested in registering a team or becoming a corporate sponsor.

Ride For A Reason

For the past 10 years Ride for a Reason has raised funds in order to sponsor families who need some financial assistance in getting their kids to camp.

This year’s ride is going to be a special one for executive director Jon Gartly who will be riding with both his 75 year-old dad and his 16 year-old son. Do you like a challenge? Come join us. The route starts in beautiful Banff and runs over 2 days ending up near Okotoks. Last year we had 50 cyclists. Help us reach our stretch goal this year for 75. Last year, over 250 kids were sponsored in whole or in part through the funds raised at this event. Visit rideforareason.ca for more information.

Summer Camp

Summer Camp is what everyone lives for at SABC. This year we have some amazing options lined up. Registration is now open for this year’s camps. Invite your neighbours, grandkids, and friends to come to camp!Visit our website for more information.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD YOUNG ADULTS!

Summer Camp is an amazing place where God writes His Story in the lives of both campers and staff! We are excited about the exceptional team of young adults that He is gathering and preparing for this summer! The staff is filling up, but we are still in need of some critical roles to be filled. Please be in prayer with us and share these opportunities with your church and with young adults in your life.

Specifically we require:

WATERFRONT DIRECTOR

This amazing role runs our beautiful waterfront, leads and mentors the summer lifeguard team, and creates a fun, safe environment on the beach! To qualify you must have your NLS certification.

GROUNDS DIRECTOR

Take care of our camp – lawncare, painting projects and more – work with and mentor high school student support staff- making camp safe and ready for our campers and guests.

MALE CABIN LEADERS

Be a part of this frontline team – campers often refer to the fun they had and love they received from their cabin leaders as being the greatest impact on their lives. We invite young men to rise up and share Jesus and their lives with campers this summer.Please check the website for more information on these and other ways to serve with this amazing SABC team. It’s going to be great – join us!

SUMMER STUDENTS GRANT

SABC has been in the news lately because of our decision to not sign the attestation required on the Canada Summer Jobs Grants. We were not prepared to compromise our Christian values for this funding and our application was denied. Although the camp will miss this funding we still have work to do and will trust the Lord to bring us great staff additional financial support to pay them. We ask you to pray with us that our country’s leaders would see the value in the many ways that Christian organizations benefit this wonderful country.

Vision 75 Update

Our current capital funds project, Vision 75, is all about making space for more kids to come to SABC. We are pleased to report that we have $800,000 in cash raised towards the Vision 75 campaign. Additionally, there is another $500,000 pledged to be given over the next 3 years. This is significant, and we are so thankful for everyone involved so far. The present goal is that in order for us to start building this fall we only need to raise another $300,000 in commitments of cash to be received by September 2018. You may be asking why another major construction project? The short answer is that it has been confirmed by engineering consultants that our Heritage Lodge building has reached the end of its life. Rather than take it down and lose the current capacity that it offers to our campers and staff the Board has decided to replace it and expand our capacity to receive an additional 450 campers each summer. So we are asking our members, alumni, and supporters to help us finish this campaign well. Please consider how you can be a part of this amazing project to add space for another 450 campers every summer! More informa-tion can be found on our website sabc.ca. Part of this project is the construction of 6 cabins that, in addition to add-ing capacity, will also serve to help us through the transition during the construction of the new lodge addi-tion. Local churches have taken on the task of constructing 4 of these cabins which can be built in different locations before being transported to the camp. The Vauxhall MB church, for example, put the walls and trusses up on their cabin project in a snowstorm in early March in their church parking lot. We are so thankful for Chris and Dave and the gang for their hard work and generosity. In all we are looking for 2 more individuals/families/churches that would like to take this on this commitment. Would you like to hear more about how you can help this project? Visit our website or call us at the camp. These cabins are a critical piece of the vision 75 campaign.

Celebrate 75

Wow! 75 years. Just think about it. 75 years ago William Lyon Mackenzie King was the Prime Minister of Canada. The average wage of a Canadian citizen was $2,000 per year. Gas was 15 cents/gallon, a Coke was 5 cents, and the average price of a new car was $900!

It was also 75 years ago that Emil Axine drove his tin lizzy throughout Southern Alberta encouraging people to come to Bible camp. The first site was a town called Aden, right on the Canada-US border. Over 100 people came that first year. Over the next 75 years the camp location changed 5 more times until it settled at its present location in 1981 on the Travers Reservoir.

Many of you have been a part of the story of SABC and we want to invite YOU to celebrate this milestone with us. God has been so faithful all these years and we want to share and celebrate the story of His faithfulness.

Over the next few months there are some events planned to commemorate this. Please mark your calendars for the following events:

Seniors Sing and Dine May 9 – 10

Buses have been assigned to pick up groups in Calgary, Lethbridge, Taber, Okotoks, Bow Island, and Brooks. Come for some great food and even better singing! Sound like fun? Call us at ( 403 792 3644 )

Celebrate75 Open House June 30th

This free event which includes camp activities, a toonie BBQ and an evening fireworks display is for everyone. See our website for more details.

Staff Alumni Camp August 24 – 26

Are you an adult who has been on staff at SABC in the past? Bring your family and join us this weekend to renew old friendships and reminisce about the good old days. Stephen and LeighAnne Ahlberg (Former Program Manager) will be coming as our special guests all the way from Ontario. This is one weekend you won’t want to miss.

Annual Meeting Fundraiser & Luncheon November 3

This event at SABC will cap off our year. We will have special guests from over the years as well as stories of God’s faithfulness. It will be a celebration that you won’t want to miss!

Full Round Staff

This year has seen some significant staffing changes in our full-time staff. After saying farewell to some wonderful staff this past year, it has been exciting to welcome some new faces to our team.

Christopher Kidd

Operations Manager
This new role was added to help with the increasing administrative demands on the camp. Christopher and Ingrid have 4 children and join us from Calgary, AB. They formerly served on the mission field in Brazil for 8 ½ years in a similar role.

Barry Weber

Maintenance Supervisor
He is a journeyman carpenter from Edmonton, AB and is married to Erin. They have 2 children. Barry replaces Jon Godfrey and Jeff Hawthorn who have moved on to new opportunities. We are thankful for both Jon and Jeff for their service as well as their commitment to SABC’s mission.

Jodi Mowers

Receptionist/Administrative Assistant
This role was previously held by Erin Bjorn who got married and became a Parker! We are so thankful for the 9 years she served here at SABC and we are thrilled to have Jodi join our team.

Things We are Looking for:

Are you interested in taking on a small project with your group, family or friends? Maybe you even have some of these items that you no longer need or use, or maybe you would like to donate towards the purchase of an item.

In any case, SABC is looking for the following items: