June Update

Summer is here at Riverside and God is on the move! At the end of May, we welcomed our summer staff for a great time of training together, which included: worship, fellowship, creating skits and theme verses, praying together, equipping, work projects, eating together, and much more. After 3 weeks of training, we welcomed our first campers on Sunday June 12! Above you'll see some pictures from our first week of camp in which God moved in powerful ways. One camper I talked to last week said this, "When I'm at camp, I feel so known and loved." We praise God for this--we desire each camper to know and experience the extravagant love of God!

Lute Olson, Program Coordinator, is leaving Riverside for new call.

We are so thankful for our Program Coordinator, Lute Olson, who has been around Riverside for so many years as a camper, summer staffer, and year around staff. Lute and his wife, Megan, have shared with our staff that they will be following God's call to teach together in Hawaii. While we are so excited for Lute and Megan, we are so sad to see them go. Lute's passion for Jesus, people, and the mission and ministry of Riverside has been an incredible blessing to our team for many years. Lute's last day at Riverside will be sometime in mid-July, and they will be moving to Hawaii to begin their positions by the end of July. We're so thankful for Lute and Megan!

Here's a note from Lute: I am so incredibly thankful for the people of Riverside who have influenced my faith in such big ways and pointed me to Jesus more than I could ever imagine over the last 22 years. Coming to Riverside as a 4th grader in the summer of 2000 was transformational, and I have been back ever since. I hold grief and excitement together as I look forward to new adventures with my wife, Megan, and mourn the loss of working at such a Christ-centered place like Riverside. Over the past 8 years working on the full-time staff, I would consistently find myself thinking that there’s no way I am actually getting to help run all of the programs at Riverside. Who gets to lead worship, play basketball, come up with ridiculous games, work with young people from all over the world, see lives transformed, witness the power of the Holy Spirit, and on and on?!? It’s truly a dream job. I have so many lifelong friends who I have worked with, and I have seen hundreds of summer staff and thousands of campers come through Riverside who are now sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ all over the world. Thank you to all of the campers, churches, pastors, youth leaders, and ministry partners that have allowed me to be a small part of their worlds. You have all given me so much hope for the Church. Thank you to all of the full time staff members I have had the incredible pleasure of working, laughing, crying, and celebrating with for all of these years. You are all the best coworkers I may ever work with in my life, and I see you all as family. Thank you to all of the summer staff who have given up their summers for the sake of making Jesus known. I love you all so dearly, and I will miss the wonderful times we have shared together. Every summer I am blown away by the selflessness and Spirit-led college and high school students who make Riverside what it is. I have never been more confident in the future of the Church with these leaders. I can’t wait to see how Riverside will continue to grow as a ministry in sharing the love of Jesus Christ to all. I will forever be able to point to Riverside as the place where my faith became fully alive! I’ll leave you with two verses that were shared with me during a night-time devotion in my ranch cabin at Riverside when I was in 7th grade that has been etched on my heart, soul, and mind ever since. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 Give ‘em Jesus! -Lute

Year Around Staff Openings.

With the announcement of Lute leaving, we now have two full time, year around staff openings here at Riverside: Program Coordinator (head of programs) and Hospitality Associate. It is such a joy to serve with our great year around team! For more information on these two important positions on our staff, head on over to our website.

Upcoming Supporting Events

Our 5K/Quilt Day (Saturday August 6) and Fall Golf Classic (Friday September 16) are coming up soon! These events are such a fun way to participate and engage with the ministry of Riverside. Whether you've been for the last 15 years, or have never been before, we encourage you to join us for either or both of these events, and bring a friend! All proceeds on the day go towards Riverside's general ministry fund, which supports our campership fund and so much more to continue the Christ-centered, life changing ministry of Riverside! For more information on these events, head over to the Quilt/5K page or to our Golf Classic page.

Other Highlights from around camp.

*Ranch gets new indoor lobby that includes: bathrooms, kitchenette, seating area, and drinking fountain. This is a much welcomed improvement to the Ranch which has been talked about for years as a way to improve our guest experience!

*Zip Line opens! We've officially opened our new zip line for camper use and campers are having a blast! We're thankful for this new activity to continue to enhance our camper activities year around!

*Master Planning process. Our Board of Directors and Master Planning task force are continuing discussions on finalizing our Master Plan. Look for more information to come on how we believe God is leading us to invest in the future of His camp for His purposes! If you have any questions or would like to setup a time to connect to see and hear more, email Chris.

Grateful for your continued partnership in the Gospel and we look forward to connecting with you again soon!

God bless you,

Chris