Dutch & Dutchess’s 30 Years at Pine Cove

When Craig and Carrie Langemeier first arrived at Pine Cove back in 1995, they had no way of knowing they’d still be serving at camp 30 years later! Craig spent many years as director of the Ranch youth camp and the Woods family camp, and now serves as Pine Cove’s President. Join “Dutch” and “Dutchess” as they reflect on the experience of raising their kids on camp property, pouring into countless campers and college staffers, and bearing witness to the many changes they’ve seen the Lord bring about over the past three decades.

How did you find your way to Pine Cove?
Craig: My sister had a roommate in college named Michelle Murdoch. She ended up marrying a guy named Daniel Wallace who ran the Ranch camp and was over youth camping at Pine Cove. He invited me to come speak at a couple of conferences, and we just had a great relationship there and saw a future. It was sometime after that second time I spoke that I got a letter from Daniel—this is old school, back when they actually mailed letters in the mail. ‘Hey, we’re looking for a new Ranch director. If you know anybody who might be interested, let me know.’ So I threw my name in the hat, and they hired me!

Carrie: I still remember our very first time stepping foot on Pine Cove property. Our son Austin was one month old. We had just had him. Craig’s speaking at a conference. I think the worship started at 11 PM. Of course I’m a supportive wife. I’m down there with my infant. I’m on the gym floor, literally past midnight. We’re in the Ranch gym, people are throwing footballs, basketballs. I’m standing talking to someone, and I have the most vivid memory. I’m holding my one-month-old, and a football comes flying at my face and I just put my hand up and blocked it and I just kept talking. At midnight. I was just like, ‘I guess I’m cut out for camp!’

What was it like raising your kids on camp property?
Carrie: Do you want the pretty picture or do you want the hard picture?

Craig: There’s both. There’s two sides to that coin for sure. I mean, the fun was we were right at camp. I could go up and lead something at camp and come back and tuck kids into bed. And the fact that we had huge acreage right there at the Ranch. We had tennis courts in our front yard, horses out there. Those were the fun, awesome, positive sides. The hard part was mainly for Carrie, because we knew nobody when we moved down here other than Daniel and Michelle.

Carrie: I just never lived in the country before with no neighbors. So I don’t think I realized what I was signing up for, which is fine. But a lot of times it was me with three little kids just on this big property. So part of me says, ‘Gosh, that was so lonely, and it was hard sometimes.’ But we thrived in summer. We both love discipleship. That was our passion. And looking back, looking at all that our children were exposed to… I mean, seeing Daddy’s job—they saw him up there leading worship, giving a talk, being in a skit. It absolutely changed our children for the best. They had great people modeling awesome things for them.

Carrie, you’ve ministered to countless college-aged women over the years. What has the Lord used those relationships and mentorships to teach you?
Carrie: It is insanely humbling when people reach out to me and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I am parenting my daughter right now and I remembered you doing X, Y, or Z.’ And I’m like, ‘What did I do? What did I say?’ You literally, you don’t remember. But God used me despite myself. I can’t even believe this. I don’t remember saying that, but for whatever reason, that is exactly what that person needed in that moment. God used it, whatever it was in my immaturity, youngness, whatever, He still uses us. So that has been really, really humbling, but also very encouraging.

What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen during your time at Pine Cove?
Craig: That’s a tough question because there’s so, so much. I mean, it’s obviously grown exponentially by both camps and regions and City. I mean, adding City, starting the Forge, starting Central Texas, starting the Southeast, those are all huge things that have changed.

I also think we’ve gotten more laser-focused over the years, asking, ‘What is it that God put us on earth to do?’ And we’ve kind of done a lot of different things—retreats and conferences and outdoor education, and the list goes on and on—and we just kind of got to this point where we’re like: this is our zone. We’re going to train folks up in the Forge. We are going to run City, youth camp, and family camp. That’s what we’re going to do. And I think that has been a refined mission that I think has helped us really accelerate ministry.

Who are just a few of the Pine Cove people who have made a big impact on you during these last 30 years?
Craig: I would say I’ve been really influenced by people on all different levels. I think of Nick Wiggins’ heart for prayer. You just think of the behind-the-scenes servant-heartedness of so many of the people that are at Pine Cove’s headquarters, or that are in housekeeping or maintenance or whatever. What I’ve learned from Reed is beyond measure, just the way to care for people and love people. There’s just so many different people who carry those aspects of what is a representation of some character quality of God.

Carrie: June Lininger. I mean, she was such a prayer warrior.

Craig: She prayed for every single application that came in for summer staff for years until it got to where it was in the thousands.

Carrie: And Tex who just worked so tirelessly and had such pride in his work. It’s sad to me that a lot of these young people didn’t know them and the selfless, sacrificial service that they gave. So behind-the scenes-people, like Gloria [Perez]… it just amazes me. I know that they’re prayer warriors and I know that we get to stand on a stage and reap the benefits of all their work.

Why are you passionate about summer camp?
Craig: There are a lot of reasons I’m passionate about summer camp. I came to Christ at a summer camp. I saw the impact of getting away from your everyday struggles and challenges, and being able to just see more clearly. To be able to get to this kind of clear space in your head where you can go, ‘I can see my life more objectively from here. And I can see what I really need.’ We’ve got a real opportunity when kids’ hearts open up, God can speak into it, and then they go back and get to live that out throughout the year and hopefully be inspired to walk more intimately with Jesus.

If you were to write a book about your time at Pine Cove, what would be the title?
Carrie: I would say ‘Sacrificial Joy.’ You pour yourself out like a drink offering every day. And yes, you’re spent. And yes, you fall in bed at night and you think, ‘I’m not sure I can do that again.’ But His mercies are new every morning. So you do it, and the joy that is deposited in your soul from doing it—it’s like your energy points are given back double.

Craig: I think I would title it ‘It Was Worth It.’ I mean, we’re not done. But if you know some of the hard early stories—we can’t do justice to how hard some of those days were. And we talk about this as we look back to how hard some of those days were and go, ‘Why did we stay?’ But God uses even dumb people who stay longer than they should. And so we look and go, ‘Man, look at the difference between where we are now as a ministry, and where we were.’

Do you have any other thoughts as you reflect back on 30 years of ministry at Pine Cove?
Carrie: We just really pinch ourselves. We can’t believe it. How do we get to do this? Because when we came here, we thought, ‘Two to five years.’ Like I thought, ‘Texas? Okay, just a short time.’ Who would have thought?

Craig: Who would have thought? Here we are.

Carrie: We love it. We feel so honored.