About Camp
Living Waters Bible Camp is a scenic year-round Christian camp nestled in a beautiful valley in southwestern Wisconsin, displaying God’s creation wonders. The Camp seeks to glorify God by providing an environment where diverse people of all ages can hear His Word and develop a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Camp is located in the rural town of Westby, Wisconsin, between Minneapolis, MN, and Madison, WI, just 40 minutes south-east of La Crosse, WI.
Meeting Camp
Don’t close your heart to Jesus
I (Ivan) met Living Waters Bible Camp while studying at Emmaus Bible College. My first year at Emmaus was coming to an end, and I wanted to stay for another year. I figured that my only way to accomplish it was to work very hard during the summer.
It was the Friday before Cristian Ministry Seminar week at Emmaus (CMS). During this week, camps and Christian ministries come to Emmaus to promote their programs. That day one of the professors, Mr. Keith Leverentz, gave a message to prepare us for the coming week. He said something like this:
“I know you already have plans for the summer, but do not close your heart to Jesus, keep your eyes and ears open to see what Jesus wants to tell you next week.”
I did not like to hear those words, but Mr. Leverentz was right. I was planing my summer without considering God in my plans. So I set up my ears and mind to try to figure out what God wanted me to do for the summer.
In one of the CMS sessions, Dennis Siler, the Executive Director of Living Waters, explained the Camp’s ministry. He really got my attention since one of their main focus was to train and equip the staff. Then I remembered I had come to the USA to prepare myself for ministry. This heavy staff training program was quite suitable to continue and enhance my training.
Our Favorite
Places
Tower & zip line
Living Waters Bible Camp boasts a 50-foot Climbing Tower to challenge adventurous people to new heights of physical and spiritual achievement. A variety of climbs are designed for a broad range of skill levels, from the inexperienced to the veteran climber. Trust, accountability, and encouragement are just a few of the lessons you can gain from climbing one of the tallest outdoor climbing towers in the Midwest.
Attached to the climbing tower, two zip-lines send the riders racing for an exhilarating and memorable ride. At the start of the zip-line, the riders are suspended 50-feet above the ground and get to feel the breeze blowing past their faces as you will see what it means to let go and trust God.
Nature Center
Believe it or not, inside this building, there is a creation museum. The Camp provides guided tours of the six days of creation. You will experience various hands-on areas to investigate God’s works. There is a laser display, a star constellation board, an iridescent rock display, multiple insect displays, and over 200 mounted specimens, including the:
- Bald eagle
- Black bear
- Bobcat
- Fox
- Golden eagle
- Horned owl and more!
Investigation Center
The Investigation Center is a hands-on place to explore God’s creation in action. It includes several permanent residents such as “Linus,” our playful rhesus monkey. Usually, there are also a handful of seasonal visitors! Some of those visitors have included:
- Birds (turkeys, parrots, guinea fowl)
- Fish (bass, sunfish, crappie, trout)
- Mammals (armadillo, skunk hamsters)
- Reptiles (geckos, milk snakes, garter snakes, boa constrictor, a tortoise)
- Insects (a tarantula, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, scorpions)
Serving as a Family
Summer 2013
I served as Summer Staff for the “Build on the rock” 2007 summer. Later I came back with my wife Laura and our two kids (Jeremiah and David) to serve as Summer Staff on the “Mighty servants” 2013 summer. Finally, I served as a Senior Camp dorm leader and as a Boys Camp teacher for the “In His Image” 2012 summer.
We have been involved with the camp long-distance over the years. We help communicate with the Mexican artist that sculpted the cherubim for the tabernacle. And also inviting Mexican students for the Teleios program.
Summer Programs
One very cool thing about Living Water Bible Camp is that it has a 10-year rotating program. Each year covers different aspects of Creation teaching. For example, the 2020 theme was “Consider the Heavens,” where Camp focused on day 4 of creation: stars and planets. So each year, Tim and Joy, the Program managers, prepare a variety of Summer Programs to communicate the truths of God’s word around the summer theme. Stay tuned to our blog to learn about the cool summer programs running each year.
The Mission of Living Waters
I love the mission of Living Waters Bible Camp:
To reach, train and equip individuals to become servant leaders through the truth of God’s Word, intentional godly relationships, and adventures in His creation.
I really like how the Camp’s mission is not only to reach the lost and present them with the gospel. The Camp is fully committed to making disciples by training and equipping believers to become servant leaders in their families, churches, and ministries.
We are looking forward to being part of this ministry. We are very excited to have the Living Waters Bible Camp mission to be part of our children’s spiritual development.
Becoming the Next
Executive Director
Back in early 2018, we were astonished when Dennis Siler invited me to prayerfully consider applying for the Executive Director position at Living Waters Bible Camp. We always wanted to serve Full Time, and Camp ministry is something our family loves to be involved in. The surprise was that Dennis was thinking about me being so far away from Camp.
After praying and asking for advice from wise Christian believers in our lives, we decided this was something we would love to do. The road ahead seemed almost impossible for us to actually come to serve at Camp. We would need to pass many interviews and get selected by the board. Then endure a very long immigration process to get our visas (and we did not even consider a pandemic in the middle of all this process). And finally, move our whole life to the USA. Still, I love “Impossible” because as things seem harder in our eyes, we can clearly see the hand of God working by opening doors and directing our steps.
In March 2019, after the selection process and the interviews, I was selected by the board as the next Executive Director. God provided a great immigration lawyer that knows the process very well. We filed our petition, and in October 2020, we received the news that the petition was approved. Then God miraculously provided an interview date just a few weeks after the approval. We passed the consular interview and received our visas on the 7th of December 2020.
It was a long journey of almost 3 years of praying and waiting on the Lord. We are thrilled to see how God has been the one opening doors and working out all the details along the way. We trust God will continue to guide us in the years to come on this ministry.
Our Favourite
Training Programs
As you may expect, the Training Programs are an essential part of Living Waters. There are many programs, but we would like to highlight our favorites for you to get a better sense of what Living Waters Bible Camp is about:
Foundation Camp
This Camp is designed specifically for those interested in developing a solid foundation for growing in their spiritual life. Foundation Camp is a two week intense Bible Study and personal assessment that will reveal your strengths and weaknesses. You will learn about: spiritual gifts and inductive Bible studies, develop your life map, learn about, experience sharing your faith, and much more! You will also receive feedback on how and where to use your gifts and abilities in the future at Living Waters and with other ministries.
Teleios
Paul’s life and ministry were driven by his intense desire to “present everyone mature (Greek: Teleios) in Christ” (Col. 1.28). Teleios is an intensive nine-month, in-residence training program designed to cultivate in each student the character of Christ. The training consists of intensive Bible studies, ministry skills training, personal development, and service, all under the watchful care of seasoned mentors.
World Religions In America
World Religions is a hands-on experience in Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and more. Each day will focus on a major world religion. You will study the significant tenants of that religion, experience a visit to the worship place or a worship service, and then return to discuss what we have learned. You will be pushed out of your comfort zone with unfamiliar perspectives on life and faith.
Support our ministry
Partner with us!
If you interested in partnering with us, there are several ways you can get involved:
Support us in prayer
We are looking for people to seriously support us in prayer. If you are interested, we would love to send you a quarterly newsletter so that you can be praying with us for the ministry.
Serve along with us!
It would be awesome if you, your family, and your church can join us at Camp as volunteers and serve along with us! If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us. There are tons of ways you can get involved.
Financial Support
Since Living Waters Bible Camp is a non-profit organization, it relies on many donors’ financial support to cover its ministry expenses, including being able to hire staff to serve. If God is leading you, you can donate to support Camp to hire our family and enable us to serve in this way.
Support Camp
Living Waters Bible Camp ministry depends on the financial gifts of our donors. If God is leading you to support our ministry in this way, you can donate towards the scholarship fund, specific camp projects, and many other needs of this ministry.
Let us
Serve you!
If you, your family, or your church would like to come to Camp to enjoy our programs, please let us know. There are tons of official Living Waters Bible Camp events and programs you can come to. Also, Camp can tailor a weekend or retreat specifically to the needs of your church, youth group, school, women’s group, etc.
Please let us know how we can serve you. It will be great to see you around enjoying and benefiting from the ministry of Living Waters.
Check out this
Camp Video
If you like videos, I recommend this one. It is a coverage by Vernon Communication about Living Waters Bible Camp that highlights the history and mission of the Camp.
