Family Camp 2024
"Refuge In Christ" - Matthew 11:28
2024 Speakers & Dates
FAMILY CAMP 1 – June 22-28
“The Power of Forgiveness: Forgiven Living”
Guest Speaker: Matthew McCormick
Guest Preachers: Johan and Sonja Hinderlie!
Missionary in Residence: Kathleen Lutz
Guest Musicians: Milt and Andrew Scott
FAMILY CAMP 2 – June 29-July 5
“Revisiting the Spiritual Disciplines”
Guest Teacher: Paul Cross
Guest Preacher: Frank Lanier
Guest Musicians: Milt and Andrew Scott
FAMILY CAMP 3 – July 6-12
“Freedom of the Christian: A Layperson’s Commentary on Galatians”
Guest Teacher: Ken Sundet Jones
Guest Preacher: Horacio and Amanda Castillo
FAMILY CAMP 4 – July 13-19
“Bringing the Storyline of the Whole Bible to Life Before Your Eyes”
Guest Speaker / Artist: Paul Oman
Guest Preachers: Lon and Heidi Kvanli
Guest Musicians: Mike and Kristin Pierson
FAMILY (Weekend) CAMP 5 – July 19-21
“The Foolish Cross”
Guest Speaker: Steve Olcott
FAMILY (4-night) CAMP 6 – July 22-26
“Disciples of the Cross”
Guest Speaker: Steve King
Guest Preacher: Micah Johnson
FAMILY CAMP 7 – July 27- August 2
“Christ-Centered Apologetics”
Guest Speaker: Adam Francisco
Guest Preacher: Dave Gunnlaugsson
Guest Musician: Brian Spahr
Family Camp 1: June 22-28
Ground Up Grace Week!
Guest Speaker: Matthew McCormick
Guest Preachers: Johan and Sonja Hinderlie
The Rev. Dr. Matthew McCormick of Charleston, SC, will teach on living as God’s absolved people using the Psalms. Johan and Sonja Hinderlie will be sharing stories of people from the Old Testament whose lives were shaped by the steadfast love of God.
Johan and Sonja Hinderlie were the directors of Mount Carmel for several decades ranging from the 1980s through 2012. In recent years, they’ve created a new ministry known as Ground Up Grace that shares daily podcasts and special versions of the Moravian Daily Texts. We are overjoyed to welcome them home to Mount Carmel this summer!
Family Camp 2: June 29-July 5
Guest Speaker: Paul Cross
Guest Preacher: Frank Lanier
Guest Musicians: Milt and Andrew Scott
Paul Cross is recently retired from serving as the lead pastor of Atonement Lutheran in Fargo, ND. Paul specializes in Inductive Bible Study, the same method of Bible study practiced by Mount Carmel’s founders at the Lutheran Bible Institute. Join us for a week of wonderfully applied Biblical teaching including Paul Cross’ token “Dad Jokes of the Day”.
Family Camp 3: Theology Week: July 6-12
“Freedom of the Christian: A Layperson’s Commentary on Galatians”
Guest Speaker: Ken Sundet Jones
Guest Preacher: Horacio Castillo
Ken Sundet Jones, Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, loves teaching undergrads. He was born in Heidelberg, which must be why he likes Luther so much. He was shaped by the Sturgis motorcycle rally in his hometown and by summers at his grandparents’ cattle ranch. His doctoral dissertation covered 16th-century German evangelical funeral preaching. And he knows how to do knitting and Scandinavian flat-plane woodcarving.
Family Camp 4: July 13-19
“Bringing the Storyline of the Old and New Testaments to Life Before Your Eyes”
Guest Speaker/Artist: Paul Oman
Guest Preachers: Heidi and Lon Kvanli
Paul Oman, artist, and pastor, shares his Drawn to the Word artistic ministry with audiences across the country and around the world. He served as a teacher, then Lutheran pastor when, in 2011, he took up work as an artistic pastor full-time. Paul seeks to give new vision to God’s Word by using the process of painting to captivate audiences in our visually oriented cultures. Painting and drawing have been a part of Paul’s life since childhood. Receiving national & international recognition for his work, Paul uses this gift of painting to proclaim the Gospel in unique and powerful ways that bring the Word of God to life before your eyes.
Paul works in many settings, including congregations, schools, universities,
seminaries, camps, prisons, non-profits, and more. The larger-than-life-sized paintings are painted with acrylics on stretched canvas. Paul lives near Amery, Wisconsin with his wife, Jana, and their children.
You will see and hear the Bible stories of the life of Jesus come to life before your eyes on a massive-scale continuous canvas (5′ tall by 20′ wide) throughout the week as Pastor and Artist Paul Oman teaches as he paints. Each day will bring additional images into view as we work our way through the Scriptures. Paul teaches these stories “through Middle Eastern Eyes” using insights from Kenneth Bailey, Harry Wendt, and others who have lived and studied in these lands. We will visit the Patriarchs, the Kings, the Prophets, the Birth, Life and Death of Jesus, and the Easter Resurrection Stories. Your journey will be as if you are a witness in the audience to these events. Music and recorded dramatic readings will accompany much of the painting process. Bring a Bible and be ready to dive in! You will have opportunities to actively participate at your own comfort level throughout the week in numerous ways. No artistic experience is necessary whatsoever. Come, see and hear the stories that are the center of our Christian faith, revealed anew through this unforgettable experience in the Word.
Family Camp 5: July 19-21
“The Foolish Cross”
Guest Speaker: Steve Olcott
Pastor Steve Olcott grew up in South Jersey and moved to Hutchinson, MN in 2003 to pursue ministry. A graduate of The Institute of Lutheran Theology, Steve is currently serving as a Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, MN.
Family Camp 6: July 22-26
“Disciples of the Cross”
Guest Speaker: Steven King
The theme of discipleship has become quite popular in the Church in recent years, helping people understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. However, many discipleship materials on the market approach the topic with what Luther called a Theology of Glory, implying that by our works and personal disciplines we can turn ourselves into “Super-Christians” (better than a mere church member). In this series, Disciples of the Cross, we will approach the topic in a different way, from the perspective of a biblical Theology of the Cross, focusing on Jesus’ call to take up our cross and follow him. During the week we will focus on key themes from the Lutheran tradition that are not often addressed in many discipleship materials, including the centrality of the Word and Sacrament, an understanding of the Means of Grace, and a recognition of the Christian as both “Saint and Sinner.”
Pastor Steven King is the Managing Editor of Sola Publishing, in Graham, North Carolina. He also serves as the weekly preacher at Peace Lutheran Church in Gibsonville, NC.
Family Camp 7: July 27-August 2
“Christ-Centered Apologetics”
Guest Speaker: Adam Franciso
Guest Preacher: Dave Gunnlaugsson
Guest Musician: Brian Spahr
The Scripture exhorts us to always be prepared to give a reason for the hope we have in Jesus Christ. This series covers a variety of topics–from the historicity of Jesus’ rersurrection to the challenges posed by non-Christian world views like atheism and Islam–and lays the foundation for an apologetic witness to the truthfulness of the Christians faith. Adam Francisco is Director of Academics and scholar in residence at 1517. He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford and has two decades of experience teaching history, philosophy, and theology. He is the cohost of The Thinking Fellows podcast, author of a number of books, articles, and translations, and popular speaker on the topics of Christian apologetics, worldview, and the religion of Islam. He and his wife, Rachel, have four children, are care providers for foster children, and live in Wheaton, Illinois.