Forever Changed by Birch Bay Ranch

It was 31 years ago that I first drove through the gates of Birch Bay Ranch with my family. My sister and I were attending camp for our first time and I was a very shy 8 year old boy. I had no idea how that week of camp would impact the rest of my life. 

I honestly don't remember a lot of details about that first week of camp. I remember sleeping in the old cabins (before the trailers they have now), I remember there only being outhouses to use unless I wanted to walk all the way down to the lodge, and I remember that it was then that I gave my heart to Jesus.

I also remember that I loved it there and I couldn't wait to go back the next year, which I did. I went back to camp every year for a week until I was old enough to go to teen camp. Then I started going for both weeks of teen camp, until I was old enough to get on staff. Then from the ages of 15 to 18 I spent the full summer out there each year on staff. 

 

My mom has reminded me that when my sister and I were kids she had made the offer that if we didn't go to Birch Bay one summer they could afford to take our family to Disneyland. We both refused. We weren't willing to miss a week at Birch Bay for anything.

I have so many amazing memories of the ranch. Many of my best memories are from my summers spent there. My favourite activities were canoeing (mostly spent trying to tip the girls' canoes over as a camper, and trying not to get tipped over by campers when I was on staff), archery, campfire, and WAG (What About God, devotion times in our cabins) but I loved every minute of it. Unless you've experienced Birch Bay as a camper and/or as a staff member no description will do it justice. From learning to ride a horse, to shooting an arrow and hitting a bullseye for the first time, to jumping off the zip-line tower, the awesome skits at campfire and singing worship songs by the lake, making lifelong friends, and choosing to spend my life following Jesus. I have way too many memories to list.

As a young boy I remember giving my life to Christ at the ranch and then going home with a new Bible. I didn't really know how to grow in my Christian walk except to read that Bible, which I would do every day for a while. After a couple of months I usually stopped because it was hard to understand without having anyone to help me learn. The year I was 14 some of the Birch Bay staff gave up time every week for the year to run a follow-up program for the teen campers. We had our own weekly Bible study and Friday night youth activities. It was basically our own Birch Bay youth group. It was during this year that I was able to really grow in my faith and learn what it meant to be a Christian. There was a great group that went to this follow-up program, some of whom I am still friends with to this day.

The next summer I was old enough to work at the ranch. Several of my follow-up friends and I ended up working at the day camp that was run that summer. We worked with 4-7 year old kids during the day and then did whatever else was asked of us in the evenings. I spent the full 8 weeks of my summer out there and loved it. I spent the next 3 summers out at the ranch as well. I did mostly maintenance and kitchen staff one summer, taught canoeing one summer (my dream job), and archery another summer. I was a cabin counselor for many weeks as well. I can still remember leading so many kids to Christ while I was there. I remember the one cabin of boys that all gave their hearts to Jesus during our Tuesday night WAG time. They had only been there for 2 days and already they had an understanding of what Jesus had done for them and they wanted to live their lives for Him. It was an amazing thing to be a part of.

I can't say how my life would have turned out without Birch Bay, but I can say that I came from a non-Christian home and it was at Birch Bay that I met Jesus and I've been following Him ever since. Now, 31 years later, I am a father of 5 kids and I am raising them in a Christian home. This year 2 of my 5 kids were able to attend camp at Birch Bay. This was my oldest daughter's 3rd year and my second oldest's first year. My 8 year old was pretty nervous about sleeping overnight at a camp without me there, but I promised her she'd have a great time and she did. They both can't wait to go back next year and my other 3 kids can't wait until they're old enough to go too.

I can never thank Birch Bay Ranch and the camp staff enough. They changed my life, and my family's lives forever. And I thank North Pointe Community Church for supporting the ranch for all of these years.

I hope and pray that as decisions are made about the future of Birch Bay that everything possible is done to see that Birch Bay Ranch can continue to operate successfully to see thousands of more kids' lives impacted for Christ. I am sure there are a lot of details that I am unaware of so I am trying not to make assumptions, but my prayer is that the ranch is not treated as a financial asset and dealt with in a "business-like" manner. It is a ministry that can reach people for God's kingdom in a way like no other, and can reach people that may otherwise never walk through the doors of a church. I trust that the board is trying to do what is best for North Pointe, but I hope that if they want to cut ties with the ministry of Birch Bay Ranch that they do it in a way that allows the ranch to continue its ministry without having to purchase land and assets that were donated for the purposes of reaching kids for Christ.

 

Brad Moore