We hope you enjoy the Together Series, where we are sharing stories and videos from this past summer about how Camp brings people together within generations through play, service, and faith.
Camp Arcadia is more than just a place for recreation or family time. It is a sacred space where we gather to rest in God’s presence, learn from wise and inspiring speakers, and worship together amidst the beauty of creation.
Rest and renewal are woven into the Camp experience. As Family Week guest John David Mull shares, the effect is immediate: “From the second we pull into the turnaround at Camp, we feel at rest. All the things we have been dealing with throughout the year melt away…and we get to experience Sabbath rest for the entire week.”
This renewal is driven by the unhurried rhythms of Camp life and the freedom to unplug from devices. Longtime Camper Mark Ewing explains, “Being in a place where you can disconnect from the distractions of life and be together with people who love the Lord leaves you spiritually refreshed and reinvigorated.”
The Dean’s Program is a cornerstone of the Camp Arcadia experience, offering Campers a unique opportunity to dig deeper into Scripture and gain new insights into the Christian faith.
For John Brune, who has attended Camp with his family for five years, the program’s spiritual impact lasts long after summer ends. He shares, “I long for it throughout the year. What I learned at Camp our first year opened up a whole new world for me and I think about that all year round. It has brought me closer to God.”
The lasting impact of the morning lectures is echoed by Family Week guest Peter Roskam. “The depth of teaching at Arcadia is profound,” Peter notes. “I get to be the beneficiary of decades of learning from the speakers and appreciate how well they can communicate their knowledge with us. The Dean’s Program is extraordinary.”
While each day at Camp begins with the Morning Program, the evenings close with Arcadia Evening Prayer, a contemplative, Taizé-based worship service. These candlelight services incorporate singing, Scripture readings, prayers, and silence. Rachel Hinz, who has attended Family Weeks for the past eight years, shares the impact of the service: “My highlight this year was how God showed up during my personal reflection time…It gave me time to connect with God and hear from Him. It’s exciting to see how God meets us individually and as a family here.”
The Closing Worship Service on Friday evenings also offers a special time for families to gather with the Camp community. During this service, families remember their baptism by coming down to the baptismal font, dipping their fingers in the water, and making the sign of the cross on their loved ones’ foreheads—a beautiful reminder of God’s promises.
For the Brune family, this service was a highlight from their very first time at Camp. John Brune recalls the emotional power of the event: “My favorite memory from Arcadia goes back to that first year and the Closing Worship Service. I don’t cry often but I cried that evening. It was the culmination of everything wonderful with the week. The opportunity for me to do the baptismal remembrance for my kids on the shores of Lake Michigan will stay with me forever.”
The time spent at Arcadia—resting in God’s creation, studying His Word, and worshipping together—deepens your faith and strengthens you for the year ahead. Family Week guest Anne Thies summed up the experience by sharing a reflection based on Hebrews 12:1-2: “We are all here walking this walk of faith together surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. We are all pausing for a second together in this beautiful space and being reminded of what’s really important and being fueled for the journey ahead as we move forward and go back into the race that we run with endurance.”
Stay connected and encouraged in your faith all year long with recordings of the Dean’s Programs, available on Arcadiacast, and insightful conversations with the Deans on Campfire Conversations.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
