Camp Elim

     Camp Elim of Woodland Park, Colorado began as an effort by the Christian Home for Children in Colorado Springs.  It was first known as Camp Ewing, and operated as such starting in 1946.  In 1950, the Plymouth Brethren churches saw the need for having their own camp and conference, so they began renting various facilities until 1960, when they bought Camp Ewing for $9000.  It was then renamed Camp Elim, after the place of twelve springs where the children of Israel found an oasis in the wilderness. 

            Their statement of faith has five articles, as follows:

    We believe in the verbal, plenary, inerrant inspiration of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God.

    We believe there is one triune God - The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

    We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His substitutionary atonement for sin, His bodily resurrection and His future, personal, visible return to earth to reign in righteousness and glory.

    We believe that man is by nature in rebellion against God and that he must be born again through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

    We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, who indwells and empowers every believer to live the Christian life and that each believer should seek to be a growing disciple of Jesus Christ in every area of life.

            Camp Elim offers various programs, not only for their summer campers, but also for various adult and family groups year-round.  For their summer campers, they offer archery, climbing, a zipline and challenge course, human foosball, horseshoes, canoeing, and swimming.  Their year-round activities include weekend youth retreats, family camps, men’s and women’s retreats, as well as scrapbooking and heritage retreats.

            Their mission statement is, “Camp Elim exists to provide a Christ-centered, youth-oriented retreat environment that encourages evangelism, spiritual growth and training in order to develop followers of Jesus that impact their home, church, and the world.”

            The idea of a human foosball game is one that I think Hidden Acres would do well to employ.  It sounds like a great teambuilding game which combines intense activity with standing in one place.  Brilliant!