Dear Psalm68five supporters,
Thank you so much for interest, your support and especially for your prayers for fatherless children and our ministry, as we strive to demonstrate God's love and purpose for them. We are gearing up for the summer 2017 camp season, and would like to update you on 2016 ministry work. After sending over 200 kids to camp this year at an average cost of $375 per camper, we are excited to see what God will do this year to grow the ministry. Our goal for 2017 is to send over 300 fatherless kids and support staff to camp. We are grateful for your prayers and support.
What kids and parents are saying.
“Just want to tell you Thank you sooo much for everything you do...Anthony came back with such a positive attitude and can't stop talking about everything he did at Frontier Camp. He said he heard great testimonies from others and said he is very blessed and Thankful for his family and friends and everyone around him!! We might not have it all but we have what's more important Health and Family!! He is just overjoyed with everything, staff and the way the camp was set up.”
“And I learned about Jesus and know I walk closer and know more about my wonderful God and Savior and now I want to spread the word of Christ.”
“I learned so much about God and got to make new friends this week. This month has been hard for me because my parents got divorced. I thank you for helping me come to camp this week.”
“I learned that bad choices get you bad consequences. I also learned about Jesus.”
The Numbers
Frontier Camp (Grapeland, Texas):
85 fatherless kids mostly from inner city and underprivileged communities.
Camp Lake Louise (Boyne Falls, Michigan):
56 fatherless children.2 Psalm68five resident staff.
Camp Wilderness Ridge (Bastrop, TX):
10 fatherless boys, mostly from foster care situations.
Camp Beechpoint (Allegan, MI):
50 fatherless children, many from inner city Chicago area.
News and Updates
CCCA National Conference:
We attended the Christian Camp and Conference Association Annual Conference in Nashville this past December and made a lot of wonderful connections. The conference is intended to be "a time of spiritual renewal, professional growth and refreshed connection with other Christian camp and conference center professionals" and it was just that. We're encouraged by the relationships that are being built through this community as we develop more partnerships to help serve fatherless children.
Wheaton College Symposium:
Psalm68five is organizing a 3 day symposium at Wheaton College April 3-5, 2017 to develop a wholistic camper program and staff training process to help camps serve fatherless children. It is our hope that the curriculum we develop will become nationally recognized and used throughout Christian camping. We believe that if camps are made aware of the unique needs of fatherless young people and equipped to meet those needs, more of these young people will experience the life-changing love of a heavenly father who promises to be "the father to the fatherless".
Planting Seeds into Fatherless Kids Lives: How two brothers are making a difference.
published: 12/19/2016 by the Christian Camp and Conference Association in InSite magazine. Bryan and Bruce Johnson shared their story and how Psalm68five Ministries came into being.
2017 Goals
As we welcome in the 2017 ministry year we are looking forward to seeing how both our new and existing partnerships will help fatherless children find belonging, purpose and security. This could potentially change the trajectory of a their life; a life of not knowing their earthly father and the pain and confusion that comes from that to encountering a loving Heavenly Father who can provide hope for a brighter future.
Goals for this summer:
100 scholarships for Camp Lake Louise
90 for Frontier Camp
75 for Camp Beechpoint
20 for Wilderness Ridge
In addition to these partnerships we are in discussions with camps in Tennessee and Wisconsin. So all told, we are expecting to provide over 300 camperships in 2017.
Also, we will be doing staff training and providing Psalm68five counselors for certain camps this year. If you are interested in volunteering at one of our camps or know someone who would be great in this role please let us know.
Thank You
If we can provide any additional information, feel free to contact us. Once again, we appreciate your prayers and support during 2016. If you feel led to support us in 2017 to help us send even more fatherless kids to summer camp, you may click the following button to access our donation page.