Staff Profile: Josh “Prankster’s Paradise” Bice

Growing up immersed in the world of Christian camps, Josh ‘Prankster’s Paradise’ Bice developed a passion for camp ministry that led him to Pine Cove, where he is currently the Woods family camp director! Josh has journeyed through various roles at Pine Cove, from camper to full-time staff, all while growing in his love for serving families and mentoring summer staffers. Get to know Josh as he shares insights into his camp journey, his experience as a new father, and how God continues to shape his life and leadership!

Tell us a bit about yourself!
I grew up mainly in Tyler, Texas, but I was born just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. My parents met at Kanakuk and then worked at a few different camps as I grew up, so camp has been in my blood before I was even a thought. I went to Kanakuk when I was younger and absolutely loved it. When I was around the age of fourth grade, my dad became the missions director at Pine Cove. So as a sixth grader, I went with Pine Cove to El Salvador. I then started going to the Ranch as a camper, and was later one of the first campers to experience Amplify at the Timbers.
Some other facts about me are I have two younger sisters, I went to the University of Alabama where I studied Mechanical Engineering, and I worked at the Shores throughout my time in college. I met my now wife, Lexus, when I was on full-time staff and she was the women’s director at the Woods.

How did you and Lexus meet?
She actually interviewed me! She and Craig Langemeier interviewed me when I was considering working full time at the Woods. I remember in the interview having so much fun with her! We were platonic coworkers for two years, and then we ended up dating and getting married!

What does your ideal Saturday include?
Right now it would be to wake up and have as many people as possible over to watch College GameDay. I am a huge extrovert, so I just love having people over!

What has fatherhood been like so far?
I became a dad this past summer to Jack! It’s been chaotic, exhausting, and absolutely incredible. Over the weeks and months he’s been here, a deep love for him has continued to grow in my heart and it’s shown me a glimpse of the Father’s unfiltered love for each of His children. Even as Jack is crying and peeing on me, I love him, and it creates a new intimacy with me and the Lord. Lexus and I have grown together as a strong team as we experience navigating becoming parents, which has been really sweet.

Who has affected your leadership the most?
I automatically think of three men: my dad, Chris Boddy, and Ben Gasaway. My dad has been my role model my whole life. His love for the Lord has always been clear, and he leads with such humility. Chris Boddy has shown me the importance of consistently learning. He’s never set in his ways, he’s always open to trying things a new way for the sake of consistent improvement. Ben came in as an Associate Director for the Woods after I had been on that team for two years. He came in and was bold yet humble and taught me so much.

What are your favorite skit characters that you’ve been?
The character that gets brought up the most was probably my biggest flop. It was my “Peanut Butter and Jelly” skit from when I was at the Shores. In concept, it was a great idea. The execution just wasn’t there. I was Peanut Butter and another staffer was Jelly. We were brothers and ended up getting in a fight, which basically started a civil war. I think if I did it again, I would make it a huge condiment civil war instead and bring in ketchup, mustard, and all of them. I had so much fun doing skits, especially playing villains. One of my favorite villains was Brick, which was loosely based off of the villain in Home Alone, where I wore a muscle suit and one night stole the blob!

How did you get your camp name?
My camp name is ‘Prankster’s Paradise.’ I was asked if I had any stories from pranking people and I don’t have any specific stories, but I do have two younger sisters that I love to bug and mess with. Paradise came from being a mission pastor’s son. At the time of my name game, the most recent place we had traveled to was Greece.

Have you sold any camp names that you’re extra proud of?
I try to sell a name each year. One of my silliest was ‘Fencil’—a mix of fence and pencil. Some of my other favorites have been TurboTax and Puter (like the end of the word computer).

What encourages you to continue serving at Pine Cove?
My entire career has been asking the Lord what my most faithful next step is, and so far the answer has always been Pine Cove. So as long as He keeps making that clear, I’m here! I think specific things about Pine Cove keep me here: the ministry with families, staffers, and campers being one of them. I’ve seen the fruit of this ministry as both a camper and a staffer. I began to intimately follow the Lord for the first time during my college summer staffer days. It fires me up to think that I’m creating that same experience for my summer staffers, especially the guys, each summer. Investing in college students is a blessing and I want to continue to carry out the Pine Cove mission in that way for as long as I can.

What has the Lord been teaching you recently?
I’m trying to relearn what it means to genuinely walk with Jesus. For a lot of my life, I’ve thought of walking with Jesus as doing daily disciplines and practices. It’s been, “Let me do these things.” Instead of just walking with my Father. Now, having a baby, my daily practices and routines are all over the place. So God has been reteaching me what it means to be in a relationship with Him and reminding me that it’s never dependent on what I do.