September 2017 Newsletter

/

September is here and with the business of summer over, we now begin our retreat season.  What a blessing it is to be part of a ministry that God is using in different ways throughout the year.  During the summer our weeks are filled with youth and children camps, in the fall and winter we have adult and youth retreats, picnics, singings, prayer meetings and much more.  

The summer of 2017 was amazing!  God sent us excellent staff and volunteers, spirit-filled services and 106 salvations!  He enabled us to build a new structure the size of the Mission House, which we hope to finish by the end of the year.  Josh has added several new hiking trails, as we continue to try to improve our facilities to meet the needs of our guest.  We are looking forward to a busy fall and winter retreat season and continue to pray and seek the Lord on how to best serve Him through this ministry.  

One of the verses that the staff focused on this summer was Mark 2: 3-4.  In this passage men carried a paralytic man to Jesus but could not get to Him because of the crowds so they went to the roof and removed tiles and lowered him to Jesus and he was healed.  We came to understand that sometimes we are called to carry people to Jesus.  We do this in different ways.  Sometimes we carry them to Jesus in prayer, sometimes we pick them up and take them to church or camp, and sometimes we carry our testimony to them and share the Gospel.  By the end of the passage the paralytic was healed by Jesus and all were amazed as he leaped off his bed and walked out of the room.  As I sat in services throughout the summer, I watched as many came to the Lord and were healed spiritually and set free from the bondage of their sin.

I want to thank all of you who took part in this ministry.  If you gave, prayed, volunteered or took any part in our ministry, you helped carry someone to Jesus.  As I have said many times, we would not be able to do what we do without your prayers and giving!  Please continue to pray for us as we seek to bring glory and honor to the Lord through this ministry.

Your Partner in the Gospel,

Pat Callahan

 

March 2017 Newsletter

/

I hope this newsletter finds you well in the Lord.  As I write this letter there are 100 volunteers and staff staying here at the camp.  For three weeks, these folks from different states, are going in to our surrounding counties to do mission work.  They are using the camp facilities to sleep and eat their meals.  What a blessing to be able to serve groups like this.  They are college kids choosing to come to Kentucky to serve, instead of going to Florida and the beach.  Facilitating mission teams is only a small part of our ministry here at the camp.  Besides these groups, we are also hosting church retreats and planning for summer camp.  We have begun preparations to build a 2’000 square foot dorm.  A construction team is coming in April to frame the building.  More teams are scheduled this summer to finish the building.  

As I entered the dining hall this morning, and saw all these college students it reminded me of my college days many years ago.  The Lord brought to mind the congregation of Flint Baptist Church near Murray, Kentucky that invested in my life while I went to college.  I thought about Hal and Sandra Rice who picked me up 3 times a week to go to church, when I had no car to drive.   We all have to make decisions on where we are going to invest our time and treasure.  For all of us who have invested our time, prayers and money into this camp, we are now seeing the results, we are seeing souls saved, lives transformed and communities changed for the better.  Since 1981, Laurel Lake Baptist Camp has been serving the Southeastern Kentucky region, and beyond, in the name of Christ.  We hope to continue to build on that service by continuing the vision which the Lord has set before us.  As another summer approaches please continue to pray for the camp.  Without your continued investment and involvement, we cannot do what we do.   In Psalms 127 vs 1 It tells us “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain.”

As we pray for the future let us pray for God’s will be to done, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!” 

 

Your partner in ministry,

Pat Callahan

March 2016 Newsletter

/

Regardless of the weather, activity has been going on here at LLBC.  We have been busy with retreats and lots of fix-up projects.  Josh and Caleb have been grouting the tile in the Mission House, painting the interior of Lodge #2, cutting firewood, and many other projects.  Caleb is also working on our summer schedule, finding new games and activities for the campers this summer.  I’m in the process of hiring summer staff, scheduling events, trying to declutter the office, and cooking for weekend retreats.  It has been a good winter overall but we are looking forward to warmer weather.

A few days ago I was prompted by the Lord to write down what could be done here at LLBC if money were no object. I wrote down several items and projects and am still pondering the question. When the local Baptist churches in Southeastern Kentucky took over the Singing Hills Bible Camp in 1981, they had a vision and a dream of what could be done on this land someday. When I came in view of a call in January of 1991, the Search Committee showed me a poster of what they hoped the camp would someday look like.  Much of that dream has come true, but we still have a ways to go.  Our goal has always been for this facility to be an instrument in God’s hand to help strengthen churches through summer camps, weekend retreats and various other events.  When I first started, we struggled to fill the spring and fall with retreats.  Our facilities at the time were not well suited for adults.  After Thanksgiving we would winterize most of the buildings and not open them back up till spring.  Since then, God has blessed LLBC with more efficient buildings and our facility is now open year-round.  Last month, in spite of cold, snowy weather, we had groups come and use the camp. And during one of those retreats, 3 young women gave their hearts to the Lord!  All which has been done at Laurel Lake Baptist Camp has been a team effort led by His Spirit and guided by His hand.  Your prayers, volunteering and giving have made it possible for thousands to attend camp and hundreds to be saved at this “set aside” place.  I want to thank you for all your support.

The task will not be over until the Lord returns.  Please continue to pray and give as the Lord leads. We are going to need another fifty scholarships this summer ($5000).  Please be praying for more churches to put the camp into their budget, and for individuals to support our work.  Your giving helps us keep our prices low, which in turn makes it possible for more children to come to camp.  We have never turned away a child because they could not pay.

Many years ago, the Lord instructed me in Psalm 127…

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.  It is vain to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.  Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

This chapter comes to life every time a child comes to camp or attends a retreat. As the Word of God is expressed to those who come, they are fashioned into sharper arrows for the Lord’s use.  When we follow the Lord’s guidance in building a new kitchen or dorm, we are “being still” and allowing the Lord to build this camp, according to His specifications.  Thank you for helping us do the will of our Father.  Your prayers and giving are vital to the ministry of Laurel Lake Baptist Camp.

                                                 Your Partner in Ministry,

                                                 Pat Callahan
 

 GOD IS AT WORK IN THIS PLACE!

Laurel Lake Baptist Camp                       Phone: 606-528-3522
578 Singing Hills Road                             Fax: 606-526-6791
Corbin, KY 40701                                      E-mail: pcallahan@integrity.com


 

BE STILL AND KNOW

Be still…and know

Be still…and fear not

Be still…and don’t miss this!

Aw, there is nothing quite like the ushering in of spring, after a long, cold winter!  It is God giving all of us the visual of His nature moving from death into life.  It is evident all around us as we see the grass change from being short, scratchy and brown to growing long, smooth and green.  Tree branches that looked stark and bare during the winter, suddenly take on a bright green hue.  Things that were dormant begin to move—like thawing waterways and hibernating creatures awaking. And then, of course, the thrill of seeing those things which were hidden away suddenly become visible—such as daffodils, tulips, blossoms on trees, and baby chicks!  And that’s just the physical aspects of spring, but when we think on the spiritual ramifications which Easter brings, namely, our Jesus dead in a tomb because our sins put Him there, coming to life in the fullness of God’s glory and making that life available to us, His murderers… now that’s mind-boggling!

The change of spring is coming shortly; it will soon be available to all of us, but we all won’t receive of it, for it requires something on our part which often times we aren’t willing to give.  For you see, in order to experience the fullness of its grand display, we must… be still and know.

I am speaking from experience, because many times over the years I’ve missed out on seeing God’s glory simply because I wasn’t willing to be still and acknowledge Him as God.  So this year, as the very first signs of new life appear, I’m hearing my Savior whisper to me, “Be still, Lisa, you don’t want to miss this!  Be still, and know that I AM God.”

 Be still… it’s just two little words, how hard can that be… right?  Well, based on how often we do it, it must be harder than it looks.  Let’s look for a moment on what hinders us from being still, and we’ll use two sisters from the Bible to illustrate the right way and the wrong way.  Their names are Mary and Martha, and they had company coming, none other than… Jesus!  Talk about sweating bullets, who could ever be still in a situation like that?

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word.  But Martha was encumbered/distracted/anxious about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  bid her therefore that she help me.  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her”  (Luke 10:38-42).

So what hinders us from being still?  It’s tempting to blame it on our many responsibilities, but Christ, the most productive human who ever walked on earth, started His mornings being still before His Father.  And then carried that same quiet submission with Him throughout the day.  Fears and worries also hinder us from being still.  Maybe that’s why God tagged on the mandate “…and know that I AM God” to the command to be still.  Because peacefulness is a by-product of recognizing God for Who He really is.  It would be easy to blame our present culture for our inability to practice being still.  Pat and I spent a day last week in a doctor’s office just to get a simple procedure done like getting a prescription for a new pair of glasses.  As the first hour rolled into the second, and the second into the third, and finally the third into the fourth, we noticed the sense of peacefulness and well-being we had when we first entered was being replaced by impatience and annoyance.  There were fish tanks strategically placed throughout the waiting rooms in which gracefully swimming fish could be viewed to help lower one’s blood pressure.  Unfortunately, the television defeated the purpose of the tanks.  So there we sat listening over and over again to the rapid speech of the various reporters, their excited voices getting and holding our attention, as we anticipated hearing about the latestcrisis, only to find the day’s highs would be in the 40’s and the lows in the 30’s.

What are some ways we can successfully be still?  If it’s important enough to us, it is possible.  One recommendation is to be intentional, very intentional.  Develop the Mary mentality by actively removing obstacles which prevent you or your loved ones from enjoying God, whether it be busyness, doubts and fears, or the world’s distractions. 

As spring unfolds before your very eyes, realize God desires to do in you the amazing changes He performs in nature.  Easter is the coming alive of mankind!  What previously was impossible because each of us were born into sin, and owed a debt, is now possible because Christ graciously paid that debt, setting us free!  Now, just like nature, we also can walk in newness of life. Without Christ, we are spiritually dead, lifeless, harsh, always taking/never giving, our potential being buried under a mountain of sin, and find ourselves isolated in a dark cave of nothingness.  But when we are still, and KNOW Him as God, He moves us from death into life and suddenly, like the grass and the trees, our lives take on the spectacular hues of a brilliant sunrise or sunset.  Our porcupine, sand paper personalities that kept others at bay, are transformed into being a lover of God and others, more than self, and miraculously sweet fellowship becomes a part of our everyday life.  Our never before seen potential as a son or daughter of the Living God begins surfacing and a vision for excellency and adventure appears on the horizon of our life.  Slowly, we begin the amazing discovery that being dead to sin, and alive to God is a display of His power visible in us. 

So this spring, let’s not miss out on this season because we’re “running around like a chicken with its head cut off!”  Instead let’s be watching, listening, and experiencing the unfolding of the spectacular as He brings dead things to life.  He is going to do it…whether we’re watching or not, so let’s not miss this.  All we have to do is… BE STILL AND KNOW!                                                                              

Happy Easter!  Lisa

 

                                                                                                                            

 

October 2015 Newsletter

/

FROM THE DIRECTOR

 Fall has arrived at camp. Summer is over and we are busy hosting retreats on the weekends and doing building maintenance during the week. This past year has been another fruitful year for God’s kingdom. We had 10 weeks of camp and 120 salvations for the year! God blessed us with great staff and volunteers. This year’s scripture focus was 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21, which centers on the idea that God has restored us to peace with Him through the sacrifice Christ made. The passage goes on to say that He has now given to US the ministry of reconciling more people to Him. This summer we saw the truth of this passage firsthand as 120 people professed faith in Christ and 3 people surrendered to full-time ministry.

God has also provided for some physical needs of the camp. Electricity, lights, and stained glass windows have been installed in the Prayer Tower. There is still some work to be done to the outside, but it is very close to completion. We had a church donate money designated for metal roofing to be placed on the old chapel, and volunteers from Mississippi are coming in November to reroof that building.

 The 25th annual Singing in the Hills went well. 

Over the years God has blessed the camp with many volunteers. Just recently we lost two very faithful men who have helped the camp in many ways. Ray Bertram was a faithful board member for many years from the Laurel River Baptist Association. Ray also was a skilled plumber who donated countless hours in helping build the two dorms, new kitchen and chapel, a house, and many other projects. Also, David Lundy, from the Knox Association of Baptists, passed into glory this past August. David, also a faithful board member, was instrumental in organizing the annual Singing in the Hills. He and his amazing family freely gave of themselves year after year in making the Singing a success. Their presence was greatly missed at this year’s event. Both David and Ray prayed for the camp and supported the work done here and the work of the local churches. Our prayers go out to their families.

Many of you have asked what the next project at the camp is. Over twenty years ago, when I came in view of a call, the camp’s committee showed me a poster of what they hoped to build and the possible location of each building. Some of those buildings and more have been built.

We have already been using the new kitchen and chapel for two years now. God has used this facility in ways that we never imagined. It has enabled us to host marriages retreats, associational dinners, women and men’s retreats, youth retreats and summer camps.  When the Baptist Associations of Southeastern Kentucky started Laurel Lake Baptist Camp in 1981, they had a vision to help the local churches reach the lost for Christ. By God’s grace, that vision is still alive and well today. Please pray that God would continue to give us clear vision in how to reach the lost by using what He has provided in the best possible way, for His Glory and for His Kingdom!

 God has blessed the camp with growth these past 34 years.  May we not lose our passion for evangelism and discipleship.  If we seek Him, the next project will come and He will provide the means to do it.

Thanks so much for your support of Laurel Lake Baptist Camp!   We could not do what we do without the help of our local churches.  May the Lord of the Harvest continue to give us the vision and resources we need, as He seeks to reconcile the lost to Himself, through us and this facility.

                                                       Your partner in Ministry

                                                           Pat Callahan

 

 

 

Life Lessons

In the past, I have shared life lessons that God has taught me or is teaching me. Today, I feel led to share some of what God has been showing me over these past few years.  On Friday, March 20th, 2009, some of my older kids and I spent the day helping our pastor move into his house.  On the way home, we stopped to pick up a few groceries when I stepped off a curb wrong and ruptured my right Achilles tendon.  I had no idea that what I thought would be a quick fix would end up being a two year process, complete with more consequences than I could have ever imagined.  

God tells us in scripture that we will go through times of suffering.  Christ also tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us, and that He will protect us.  When I finally realized how serious this injury really was, my first question was, how soon will I be able to get back to work and have a normal life?  The injury was a disruption to our whole family and my work.  There were doctor appointments, long hours of sitting in a recliner day after day, and surgeries.  I could not walk, so the kids would have to push me in a wheel chair down to the office.  From the porch I would climb on my hands and knees to get inside the door and into the desk chair.  Eventually I had to learn to walk on a walker and crutches.  At one point I had to go to physical therapy three times a week for several weeks.  I thought the process would never end.

I have now healed with no major issue except a very ugly scare, but the season of suffering was not over for me yet.

During these past six years, God has used suffering to teach me many lessons. I learned that I cannot live this life in my own strength and power.  I have had to learn to depend on my family, friends, co-workers, doctors and others.  I learned that God can use others to do what I thought only I could do.  I am learning that even when I am suffering, that does not excuse me from paying attention to the needs and sufferings of others.  At crucial times, I failed to pay attention to the needs of my wife and children.  I was so focused on getting well and back to normal that I failed to see what God was trying to show me.  Christ wants us to identify with Him in our suffering, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual.   During these past years, we have suffered in various ways with family issues, the deaths of friends and family, and ministry trials.  God is teaching me to look at these trials in a different way.  One example is in the death of my good friend, Bill Pitts.  Bill and Christine have been volunteers at the camp for many years.  Bill was good at running errands and making me laugh.  At his funeral, his family asked me to speak, and I did.  What God showed me was that I needed to be the kind of friend to others that Bill was to me, and not focus on my loss and how to replace it.

I am also seeing how suffering has helped me learn to pray His prayers and to seek Him more. 

Suffering has helped me to be more sensitive to other’s trials and to see how God has given me abundant grace to face each day. 

 They say that good and bad travel on parallel tracks.  Scattered throughout the sea of sufferings, God will give us strategically placed islands which will be our havens of rest.  Just when we feel all is lost and we can’t go on another day without drowning, He will bring us “into our desired haven.”  Just a few of the many blessings I can count are that four of our eight children are married and responsibly living on their own and what tremendous blessings my three grandchildren are. God has shown me that there are many more trials to come and more suffering.  He has also shown me that we are to choose to live in the moments of today because we have no guarantee of tomorrow.

A few weeks ago we were visiting in a local church and got to visit with a good friend whom we had not seen in several years.  This friend is what I would term as a prayer warrior.  She shared a portion of scripture in Psalms 119:33-40 that God gave her several years ago to pray over individuals, families, churches, and our country to come to the point of revival.  Studying these verses, I noticed the word “quicken” is used twice, and that the meaning of that word is to REVIVE!  She is praying for revival in our country, families and the church.  I am learning that suffering can quicken me to the Lord. 

In our culture, though, pain and suffering is something to be avoided at all cost.  In Chapter 40 of Genesis, God’s servant Joseph was going through a time of suffering but God used it to help him to be ready to lead a nation and to save his people.  If you go to chapter 41 of Genesis, you will see the blessing and results of his suffering in prison.

Individuals, families, churches, and countries go through periods of suffering.  We should not just pray for the suffering to end but that we will stay in the fire until God is finished purifying us.

Psalms 91 is called the Soldier’s Psalm.  We are told that in World War I, the 91st Brigade recited the 91st Psalm daily. This brigade engaged in three of the war’s bloodiest battles.  Other units suffered up to 90% casualties, but the 91st Brigade did not suffer a single battle related death.  God is willing and able to keep His words of covenant promise.  In Revelation 12 vs 11 it says “ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved their lives not unto death.”  I could have shared many more illustrations and insights but print space is limited.  Each of us has a story or testimony that needs to be shared.  Thank you for letting me share mine.    I pray that as I have shared a part of my testimony, you will see that you can also find a portion of scripture on which to hold on to until you see the face of the Savior!

God Is at Work in This Place!

Laurel Lake Baptist Camp                      Phone: 606-528-3522
578 Singing Hills Road                            Fax: 606-526-6791
Corbin, KY 40701                                     E-mail: pcallahan@integrity.com

 

 

Summer 2015 Newsletter

/

JULY 2015 NEWSLETTER     

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Here at Laurel Lake Baptist Camp we are in the middle of our camping season.  Today, like every day this time of year, has been very busy.  Pulaski Association is here this week, plus a mission team from Georgia, and we are feeding 3 meals a day over 200 people.  The mission team is painting and installing electric and windows in the Prayer Tower. The Lord has blessed us with amazing staff who are creative, enthusiastic and hard-working.  

At the beginning of the summer, God gave us 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21 as our theme. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Our first week together, during staff training, we broke these verses down, word by word, in an attempt to discover what God is saying and how we might apply it to our lives.  We were surprised to learn that IN Christ, we are…

  1. New creatures
  2. Ministers of reconciliation
  3. Messengers of reconciliation
  4. Ambassadors of Christ
  5. The righteousness of God

What a powerful word RECONCILIATION is!  It reminds us that we all were born into this world as enemies of God, and as enemies, we deserve His wrath. But through His son, Jesus, God offers to set His wrath aside and give us a relationship with Him instead. 

From foe to friend, from chaos to order, from hostility to harmony, from war to peace, and from death to life.  Last night as Lisa and I were sitting in the worship service, we witnessed many young people being reconciled to God, and it reminded us why we do what we do.  God has set aside this piece of land, these buildings, those who labor here, and those who pray for and support this ministry for the intended purpose of reconciling wandering souls unto Himself.  Surely, what a great and generous God He is, Who allows us to be involved in His activity here on earth!

Please continue to pray for us this summer!  Once again, thank you for your prayers and support.  We could not do what we do without your help.

Your Partner in Ministry,

Pat Callahan


God is at work in this place!

Laurel Lake Baptist Camp     Phone: 606-528-3522 

578 Singing Hills Road           Fax: 606-526-6791

Corbin, KY 40701                    E-mail: pcallahan@integrity.com