(Part 2 of a two-part series of columns about youth camps along the Geneva Lake shore. Camp Photos)
Today, just a few minutes removed from the region’s prime tourist spaces, hundreds of youngsters in serene settings are playing, learning, building character and making connections that may change their lives forever.
They are the campers at four incredible lakefront facilities. We set out to tour the camps and spent several wonderful hours soaking in the experience. The first column related our visits to Covenant Harbor Camp and Retreat Center, along with the Norman B. Barr Camp. This one features Lake Geneva Youth Camp and Conference Point Center, and the Holiday Home Camp.
Let’s get right to it.
Operating under the umbrella of Lake Geneva Ministries, Lake Geneva Youth Camp and Conference Point Center occupy two separate locations. Youth Camp is in Lake Geneva, at an historic site that has been many things, from the Maytag farm (yes, that Maytag) to the Ceylon Court stables. Conference Point is in Williams Bay, on the site of a camp that has operated under various models since 1873.
The youth camp offers experiences for kids from little grade-schoolers to high school teens. Conference Point caters to groups of various ages, including adults, seeking retreat and team-building experiences. (Famous folks – including Martin Luther King – have been on-site over the years.) All efforts center around spiritual growth.
“We are non-denominational, evangelical, Bible-believing, Bible-based in what we teach,” said our host, Executive Director Christiaan Snedeker. “It’s very gospel-focused so everybody who comes here, we are sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the way that we serve. Out of the two properties this (Conference Point) is where we conduct most of our adult and family ministry, and Lake Geneva Youth Camp is where we conduct our youth ministry.”
The two properties – Youth Camp sits on 40 acres while Conference Point is 23 acres – require enormous commitment, with both containing numerous buildings, many historically significant. Christiaan, who like many leaders at the various lakefront camps began his association as a youth participant, said more than $11 million has been raised to stabilize and upgrade aging structures – with millions more needed in coming years. The organization relies on generous donors, foundations and fundraising events to meet the needs. Christiaan left the banking world in 2012 to join the team, becoming executive director in 2020. His finance background clearly comes in handy in maintaining and improving century-old buildings that, in his words, suffered from “50 years of deferred maintenance.”
He praised the commitment that runs through staff ranks.
“You don’t come to camp ministry for the lucrative pay,” he said. “You come to camp ministry because your life has been changed and impacted by it.”
The facilities are large and impressive. There are 1,300 beds between the two properties, and usually between 500 to 1,000 campers are on-site every day. Lake Geneva Youth Camp serves 18,000 youngsters each year, and Conference Point serves 10,000 people. All of that benefits the entire region.
“We’re bringing people who fall in love with this area,” Christiaan told us, “people who were affected and transformed early in their life and want to come back and settle roots down here.” Meanwhile, parents drop their kids off, go into the community, and avail themselves of tourist amenities patronizing businesses.
But the real work, and change, takes place in everyday camp interactions.
“Becoming more oriented toward reality means you need to get out of the four walls of your house, have face-to-face conversations, understand that you have an identity and a purpose in this world, and that actually transcends you, and we believe that has been revealed through God’s word,” he told us.
Conference Point sits along 3,000 feet of lake frontage – the youth camp has 300 feet of lake access. More than $200,000 has been invested to improve the famed shore path for all users.
It’s clear the youth camp – where Christiaan first attended as a kid in 1994 – holds a special place in his heart.
“I think a lot of people get excited about Conference Point because of the beauty of the property. But if you want to know where I believe the vast majority of lives are changed it’s actually here at Lake Geneva Youth Camp because they’re at such a pivotal turning point in their age and therefore they’re able to make some eternal decisions while they are here with us,” he said.
Most campers come from underprivileged backgrounds and require financial support. More than $120,000 in scholarships are awarded each year.
For more information or to donate, go to lgyc.org/give.
Holiday Home Camp occupies 26 acres in Williams Bay, adjacent to the Norman B. Barr Camp and just down the road from the former George Williams College campus. Dating to the 1880s, the site has always been a camp and offers programs for kids as well as retreat opportunities for adults, including corporate events – and even hosts weddings.
We were shown around by Cierrae Caver, camp director, and Executive Director Brad Cripe. Their mutual enthusiasm for making a difference in kids’ lives is front and center.
Unlike other camps along the lake, Holiday Home is not religiously affiliated. That doesn’t mean there’s no larger purpose at the camp, which is operated by the Lake Geneva Fresh Air Association, stemming from a movement in the late 1880s aimed at getting kids out of cities during a time when America still embraced child labor.
“We are the oldest accredited camp in the nation,” Brad said. “We’ve seen kids through every era since 1887. Think of how many things have happened to our culture and society over that time.”
At Holiday Home, Brad said, kids learn “there is something that connects us all, regardless where you’re from, regardless of your background. Come to camp. Be a person. Be kind. Have respect. Build responsibility. Build relationships.”
It’s a year-round facility, with more than 700 youngsters attending summer camps while the “OWLS” program – Outdoor Wisconsin Leadership School – attracts more than 3,000 participants for retreats and team-building skill challenges.
Cierrae told us the organization works hard to make sure no one is turned away for lack of financial resources. Most attend on scholarship and some pay nothing at all, depending on circumstances. Money is raised through donors, grants and events.
It’s common for campers to start as second-graders and keep coming back, year after year, she said.
In the facility’s original building, Brad pointed with pride to a very old and creaky (but stable and safe) stairway that dates to the earliest days. He said more than 45,000 sets of little feet have taken the stairs to a better life.
Campers, he said, arrive from regular neighborhoods, homeless shelters, housing projects, schools and community centers, usually within a 2-hour radius of the site.
“Most kids live and recreate in a nine-block radius of their home,” Brad said. “To get them out of that nine blocks is potentially life changing. That lifelong impact shouldn’t depend on dollars.”
For more information, including to donate, go to lakegenevafreshair.org.Bill Barth is the former Editor of the Beloit Daily News and a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame. His wife, Stephanie Klett, is the President and CEO of Visit Lake Geneva, and the former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Touris
