Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you are doing well and looking forward to having your students home for break! I know I am looking forward to spending some time with my son before camp starts this summer.
I am pleased to share that currently on campus, we have only a single student who has tested positive for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution, we have also placed seven other students in precautionary quarantine. We are grateful for the Lord’s protection during this time as well as our students’ and staff’s adherence to our Protecting One Another by Preferring One Another plan.
It has been a joy to hear from many of you about the changes you’ve seen in your children’s lives over the past year. It has been a fantastic reminder to me that God’s Word never returns void. I hope to see many of them return to campus next year for second year or to continue their education at Davis College!
 
Youth Camps
3 Camps, 1 Property
Great news–The Ranch, The Ridge, and The Island camps will all operate in 2021! All three programs will take place on the Bible Institute property. While the Bible Institute typically only operates The Ranch and The Ridge and The Island has its own facility, we feel that the safest and most responsible path forward for Summer 2021 is to leverage the Bible Institute property, which has already been outfitted in most areas to meet current COVID Guidelines.
 
The Ranch (elementary school) program will continue to operate on a separate schedule from the older youth programs. While Ranch campers may cross paths with other age groups on the property, all meals, meetings, activities, and cabins will be unique to our elementary school-aged campers.
 
The Island (high school) and The Ridge (middle school) will leverage a blend of individualized and combined programming. Some activities that lend themselves to larger groups and are less age-specific will take place together. However, we will still have separate cabins and many activities that are operated specifically for each age group.
 
Family Camps
The Pines
We are planning on not only opening The Pines this summer but expanding the season to 11 weeks of camping! The Pines was the only facility that was able to open at all last summer in New York, and based on current regulations and best practices; we are confident that we can operate safely and bring back most of our regular programming at the Pines.
 
In order to create a situation that is as fair as possible for our Bible Institute students’ summer ministry requirements as well as one that is feasible for our Camp Crew participants, we are going to split the summer staffing at The Pines into two teams. Students from Pines Team One will have the option of taking a break and then returning for graduation weekend or volunteering at camp (this may need to be at the Youth Camp depending on available opportunities at the time) if they would like to stay through graduation.
 
NY Camps Key Dates
Pines Team One:
Friday, June 4 – Bible Institute Students Arrival and Registration
Saturday, June 5 – Camp Crew Arrival and Registration
Sunday, June 6 – Training Week Begins
Sunday, June 13 – Week 1 of Family Camp Begins
Friday, July 23 – Camp Ends for Team One
 
Pines Team Two:
Friday, July 16 – Bible Institute Students Arrival and Registration (Training Week Happens at the Bible Institute)
Saturday, July 17 – Camp Crew Registration
Sunday, July 18 – Training Week Begins
Saturday, July 24 – Team Two completes training week and moves to the Pines
Sunday, July 25 – Team Two begins their first week of camp; this is Week 7 of Family Camp
Friday, August 27 – Camp Programming Ends
Sunday, August 29 – Camp Closedown is completed, Team Two dismissed
 
Youth Camp:
Friday, June 18 – Bible Institute Students Arrival and Registration
Saturday, June 19 – Camp Crew Arrival and Registration
Sunday, June 20 – Training Week Begins
Sunday, June 27 – Youth Camp Begins
Friday, August 13 – Youth Camp Ends, Camp Crew Dismissed, Bible Institute Baccalaureate Service
Saturday, August 14 – Bible Institute Graduation
 
Introducing Jonathan Bubar
Jonathan Bubar was born and raised in the ministry of Word of Life. After attending the Bible Institute, Jon served with Word of Life as a missionary in the Czech Republic. Having spent the last 19 years in a business career, Jon and his wife Cheryl and their two girls, Willow and Eloise, left their home in Maine to return to the Adirondacks to serve as Dean of Ministries and Director of Family Camps at Word of Life. Jon and Cheryl are excited to be here at The Pines, and they look forward to meeting and serving our guests.
 
Academics
This week, the sophomore class is blessed to sit under the teaching of Reverend Randy Patten. Rev. Patten is the President of TEAM Focus Ministries, an organization that seeks to increase the discipleship effectiveness of evangelical Christians and churches through the public proclamation of Scripture and private coaching. Previously, Rev. Patten served for 16 years as the Executive Director of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC), now called the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Randy has a BA from Cedarville University, OH, and an M.Div. from Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, IN. He has also done doctoral studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL. He serves as a trustee of Cedarville University and was a founding board member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition. Randy was also a contributor to Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling (Harvest House, 2012), Scripture and Counseling (Zondervan, 2014), and Biblical Counseling and the Church (Zondervan, 2015).
 
The freshman class is enjoying resident professors Dr. Tom Davis (Revelation and Systematic Theology 2), Mr. Mark Strout (New Testament Survey), and Dr. Paul Weaver (Hermeneutics 1).
 
They are also sitting under the ministry of Pastor David Payne of Flemings Chapel, Lenoir, NC. Pastor Payne is a graduate of Word of Life Bible Institute (’84-’85). He earned his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. from Piedmont International University (now Carolina University) in Winston-Salem, NC. In addition to serving in pastoral ministry for over 30 years, Pastor Payne has taught at Charleston Southern University and Trinity College of Florida. He has been a guest lecturer for WOL since 2012.
 
Speaking of sophomores – now is the perfect time for your freshman student to consider attending our exciting sophomore program. This fully accredited program includes courses such as Apologetics and Worldview, Ministry of the Local Church, Old Testament Exposition II, World Religions/Comparative Religion, Cross-cultural Studies, Hermeneutics II, Marriage and the Family, New Testament Exposition II, Philosophy of Youth Ministry, Principles of Leadership, and more. These courses are taught by our outstanding resident lecturers as well as some of the greatest Bible expositors in the country.
 
For more information, check out our website: Second Year
 
Many of our sophomore students are taking advantage of staying at the WOLBI location for an additional two years to attend Davis College and earn a Bachelor of Religious Education degree. The Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE) is an undergraduate degree in biblical studies with a maximum emphasis upon specialized study (25% general education/75% specialized study). It is distinguished from the Bachelor of Science (50% general education/50% specialized or technical study) or Bachelor of Arts degree (75% general education/25% specialized study) in that it allows for a rigorous and concentrated study in the Bible, theology, and ministry. At Davis, the BRE is a 121 hour, four-year program of study designed to provide a sound biblical education for Christians interested in entering vocational ministry upon graduation. It can also be utilized for admission to graduate school or seminary. Davis College is a Bible-centered higher education institution committed to making an impact upon the world for Jesus Christ by the fostering of Christian character and the equipping of students with the knowledge, competencies, and skills needed in an ever-changing world for service and leadership within the church, Christian organizations, and society.
 
For more information, click here: Davis College
We are looking forward to our summer camp programs reopening, even in a limited capacity! We would love to have you visit us for a week at The Pines–reserve a spot at The Pines website.