Summer 2020 Announcement

Dear Beacon family,

Beacon’s Board of Trustees met last night, and after much prayer, discussion and consultation with health professionals and officials, unanimously decided to suspend all on-site programs at Beacon Bible Camp for the summer of 2020. The Beacon leadership does not believe we would be able to effectively fulfill our mission and vision, given the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines that would need to be in place to operate camp this summer.

Many of you are arriving here from an email that you received about this decision, but I want to say first that this decision is one of the hardest we have ever had to make - this will be the first time in our 57 years that there will be no campers at Beacon this summer. We are confident that we have prayerfully made the right decision. Our focus on the health and safety of our campers, staff and the entire Beacon community has always been a top priority for us. 

This blog post will go into some detail about how we came to our decision, so it is long. We don’t want to overwhelm people with too much information, but we know that there are many questions. For specifics about how this affects our camp programming, please visit our COVID-19 page.

Ultimately, the decision to suspend our on-site programs comes down to three things: our testimony / reputation, safety, and finances. Specifically:

Safety

The health of our campers and staff is a number one priority for us. Here are a few of the questions we asked ourselves as we came to the decision to suspend on-site programs: 

• can we protect our campers from COVID-19 infection while they are at camp?

• can we rapidly and accurately assess campers and staff on a regular basis?

• assuming we can, do we have the capacity to identify and meet all requirements for increased sanitation and social distancing?

• will the medical community (EMS, hospitals) in Muskoka be able to handle our camp being open, even for “normal” camp events like sprains and strains?

• will parents feel comfortable with the measures Beacon must take to ensure camper and staff health and safety?

• will we be able to train and staff the key positions to ensure that we have the correct competency and qualifications to meet the guidelines to operate a residential camp.  Specifically, can we expect volunteer medical staff to attend this summer and be present at camp sessions. Will we be able to add to those medical staff, based on what we know will be required of us, if we were to open?

The answers to these questions, and more, were mostly “no” or “it is unlikely”. This has nothing to do with the incredible work of our staff, and much more to do with the rapidly changing situation we find ourselves in. Every week, we are discovering how stringent the expectations of the local health unit are becoming. These expectations are completely reasonable, given the situation. Based on what we know right now, we had to make a decision for what we can handle as a camp that works mostly with volunteers. 

We take safety VERY seriously, and as we see this situation unfold, we know that we cannot 100% guarantee that we would not miss something which could have life-changing consequences for someone in the Beacon family.

Our Testimony / Reputation

“Reputation” is a tricky thing. It is not easy to understand in the same way as health or money, but we all know when someone’s “reputation” is ruined. 

Beacon’s testimony and reputation is very important: our reputation reflects on how others see the Lord Jesus. Outsiders look at Christian organizations as representatives of our faith. It is vitally important for us to carefully protect not only our reputation with the local and regional community, but to protect what others think of Jesus as well. Our goal is to point hearts to God not diminish their view or tarnish His work.

If we are reckless during this time, we could cause trouble not just now, but for the future of our ministry. We have to consider the long-term view of Beacon’s mission: by suspending programs now, we support the distancing measures required to keep people safe. We also allow ourselves the time and space we need to plan for how we will integrate our mission into whatever the “new normal” is once this pandemic subsides. Beacon’s ministry to thousands of campers and staff every year. It is more important to assess and recognize our limitations rather than recklessly assume that we must run a “normal” camp during this unique summer.

Finances

It requires months of work to prepare Beacon for summer camp. Our spring volunteers should have been on-site in early May and other staff return as the summer gets closer. Preparing for camp is expensive, but those costs are reasonable when we know that almost 600 campers and 200 staff will be on-site for ten weeks during the summer. 

It will be a financial challenge for us to suspend on-site programs this summer. Unlike many businesses, the majority of our income happens during a very short two month window. We rely on the summer months to sustain our ministry throughout the year. That being said, making the decision now helps prevent even more financial difficulty in the future. 

Imagine with me for a minute that during one of our camp sessions, a COVID-19 case was discovered at Beacon. Our protocols would likely mean that all campers and staff would have to be sent home to self-isolate. Then, we would have to sanitize and prepare camp for new campers, a scenario which likely means at least a week (if not more) of nothing happening at camp. 

If we did have to send an entire camp home because of an individual displaying COVID-19 symptoms, we would probably provide refunds for the majority, if not all the campers in that session. When we think about the fact that Beacon runs week-long sessions, and that this scenario could play out multiple times in the summer, it becomes clear that there is a big financial risk to Beacon’s ministry.

By choosing to suspend programs now, we prevent a large amount of money being spent preparing for the summer, only to lose that if something were to go wrong (or to lose it totally if the government guidelines prohibit or make it infeasible to open at a later date). 

If you’re in a position to support Beacon financially, now is a great time to do that. You can learn more on our Donation page.Please do not feel any obligation from us - we know that finances have become precarious for many people. 

Why Now?

The timing of this decision helps all of us plan for the summer, in a good way.  The Board and leadership have been looking forward, 6 weeks, to ensure that we have ample lead time to prepare and be ready at camp. We know that with the Victoria Day weekend, families look to finalize summer plans. Like so many of you, my family’s summer life centers around Beacon sessions. We know that vacations, family trips and other events are often scheduled around Beacon programs, and we are so grateful for the commitment that you have shown to us over the years. We want to make sure you feel that commitment from us as well.

You’ll see in the coming days that we have some great ideas for how to continue to connect with the Beacon family during the coming months. God has already opened some very cool doors that we are excited to explore with you. Even as He has shut the door for on-site programs this summer, the Lord has shown Himself faithful. Personally, I am excited to see what God will do to turn this lemon of a summer into the best lemonade ever. Stay tuned for more announcements about that, starting next week. 

If you’ve made it this far - thank you for reading. I would love to connect with you if you have more questions. I’m only a quick email (director@beaconbiblecamp.com) or phone call (705-646-4647) away. 

Please continue to pray for us, as we will continue to pray for you. 

Until we see each other again, 

Luke “Kodiak” LaRocque
Executive Director
Beacon Bible Camp