Scenic view of trees at camp

Leadership Weekend 2023

by Karissa Pitaniello

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In preparation for the upcoming summer, each of our camp’s leadership teams spent a weekend of serious-fun together! They took time to cast vision, pray fervently, and laugh hard (of course!). Take a look below to see what it’s like to prepare for a summer of ministry together.

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Family Camp
Youth Camp
Pine Cove City

Family Camp

“It was so much fun getting to hang out and get our minds focused on the summer! We got to play fun games and hear amazing messages on aspects of leadership! I love this team and I’m excited to see how the Lord is going to use them!” – Liam “BloatLikeButterflyDingLikeWii” Moore, Bluffs Men’s Director

“We loved getting to have our people at camp! We spent some time talking about summer and got to laugh a lot. On Saturday afternoon we played a game called Baqua, and then dressed up to solve a murder mystery as a team later that night. I’m excited for this group and the way they’re going to lead this summer!” – Audra “Mater” Metz, Woods Women’s Director 

“The weekend was awesome! We got to learn more about our theme of “surrender” for this summer, played lots of pickleball, and played Slama Jama! We celebrated some fun changes to camp for 2023 and shared lots of laughs over games and competition!” – Leah “Smax” Crum, Crier Creek Women’s Director


Youth Camp

Silverado had the BEST time connecting with Jesus, each other, and prepping for a summer of ministry! It was awesome to see God’s power on display in the midst of transition for our team. We have a lot to celebrate from this weekend!” – Annelise “Smilin’” Morrison, Silverado Camp Director 

“Our weekend was full of rest, learning, worship, and laughter. We went bowling, played ping pong, and of course had Andy’s custard. Our team is confident, humble, and excited to serve!” – Chloe “Risk-It” McGrath, Towers Administrative Director

“The weekend was so refreshing! We laughed really hard, played sporty games, and spent time getting to reflect, pray, consider, and prepare for what the Lord wants to do at the Ridge this summer!” – Kate “Dino Baby” Blocker, Ridge Women’s Director

“Leadership weekend was exactly what our team needed. We spent time together learning, playing, and praying. The weekend allowed time to refocus our hearts on our Maker, and gave us a glimpse of what our community will be like over the summer. I am so excited to go from seeing the things God did in three days with these friends to seeing what He’s going to do in three months of camp!” – Amanda “Llama” Boyd, Ranch Summer Staff

“The Ranch team had the absolute best time this weekend! To see our leadership team on camp property—loving God, loving each other, and having fun together—reminds me why we do it all summer. I can’t wait to watch this team lead and be led by the Lord in the coming months of camp! We love them so much and are already so proud of them!” – Remedy “Bo-v” Applegate, Ranch Women’s Director

“This weekend was so fun because we got to gather our team together for the first time! They are already so unified and excited to serve this summer, which is so encouraging! We got to charge them with reaching out to staffers coming to camp and start getting people excited! Overall, it was so fun for us to see them worship, pray, and laugh together!” – Claire “Kettle” Wickersham, Timbers Women’s Director

“It was a GIFT to get the people we will be serving shoulder to shoulder with all together for the first time! Our team is creative, eager, and capable. I’m excited to watch them walk with the Lord faithfully this summer and impact the lives of our campers and staff everyday.” – Miranda “Treat Yo Self” Lehman, Shores Associate Director

“This leadership weekend was incredible. It got me excited for summer and for what God is going to do through these people. I couldn’t be more excited about the team this year. Each person’s “yes” to do their job this summer was so evidently the Lord working in their hearts. Each of them have a different Pine Cove background and comes from different camps. So it’s been super cool to watch unity and oneness happen with a common goal in mind: to be humble servant leaders who are hosting God’s presence. The Lord was so good to allow SO much laughter and goofy moments this weekend and to already have walls between our leadership team broken down. Our Directors Caleb, Ben, and Pat did a fantastic job leading us this weekend and allowing the Lord to speak through them. I personally left feeling spurred on to continue to walk in freedom of Christ and to pursue holiness!” – Brooks “Uno” Howard, Springs Men’s Director 

Pine Cove City

“Leadership weekend was such a blast! It was a refreshing time for our summer staffers and full-time staff alike. City spent the majority of the weekend in prayer, worshiping our King, and in sessions to learn about how the Gospel changes everything—especially the way we serve!” – Christin “Chunky Nug” Meler, Alpine Site Director

“This past weekend was incredible! I loved getting to spend quality time with the team and seeing a large majority of them experience their first leadership weekend was AMAZING! In our jobs it will never get old or cease to amaze me when we hear about and see our staff abiding with Jesus and carrying out true Godly devotion. I got to be reminded of that this weekend! And BOY is my team FUN—we spent a ton of time just laughing with each other and making some funny memories! Leadership weekend gave me a small glimpse of what our summer is going to look like, and to say I’m pumped would be an understatement!” – William “Wheeze” Dorris, Boulder Site Director 

“We had a great time spent together asking the Lord for unity and a summer of unhurried focus on sitting in His presence! We brainstormed some cool ways to bless our staff this summer and what we want to be marked by. It was really cool to be a part of the first-ever all-City leadership weekend! I loved getting to know each team’s leaders and was encouraged by getting to worship all together before we set off to our individual sites.” – Kase “Optimus Crime” White, Canyon Site Director

“I felt an immediate Christlike unity and fun environment this weekend that has excited me even more for this summer!” – David “Doe” VanderSteeg, Delta Site Director

“Leadership weekend was awesome! It was really good to see the team bond and really get to know each other deeply! Our vision for the weekend was “The Gospel Changes Everything,” and it truly does—down to how we build relationships in a leadership team! It was such a gift that we got to even meet in person and do simple things like pray together!” – Brady “Triple Chocolate Dunk” Green, Edge Site Director

“Such a sweet weekend! Spent time digging into the Word, on our knees in prayer, and having a blast just hanging out as a team. Feeling HYPED for the summer!” – Hannah “Ravenclogs” Young, Frontier Site Director 

“‘This weekend was so fun I felt like I was one of my campers. I cannot wait for the summer and to serve alongside each member of the team to spread the Gospel! This weekend was just a glimpse and I couldn’t be more thankful and excited!’
‘Everyone I’m with tonight is already annoyed with me because I can’t stop talking about how awesome this weekend was.’
‘This weekend meant the whole world to me—God’s sovereignty in this team, our passions, the humor. I cannot wait for this summer!’
‘My abs are so sore from laughing! I cannot wait for the summer!’
These were all quotes from my leadership team that they sent the day following leadership weekend. It was amazing and continues to be a sliver of what we get to do and accomplish in the summer on a grander scale. Everything was steeped in the Gospel and we cried laughing with each other. The Gospel changes everything including our ability to unify as a team under a common Savior who we love and crave to enjoy more deeply.” – Lance “Jabbasockee” Gilliland, Glacier Site Director

“Leadership weekend is a reminder to me that I don’t have it all together and that Jesus is asking me to come sit at His feet! It was a sweet reminder of the role that we get to play in calling people higher and to walk closer with the Lord. I’m thankful we had unhurried time with the team!” – Sharmaine “Barbie Scream House” Burton, Highlands Site Director

“The weekend was powerful, unifying, and FUN! It was a gift to get on the same page, get time together, and really just set our eyes on the Lord as we approach and prepare for the summer! Ephesians 3 is setting the tone of our hearts as we get closer— being rooted and grounded in God’s love and that being the overflow of all that we do!” – Selina “Who-Dee” Apodaca, Iceberg Site Director


Posted Apr 11, 2023

Karissa Pitaniello

Content Coordinator

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