The summer of 2019 marked 40 years of summer camping at Carol Joy Holling Camp. While some of the activities have changed over the years, the mission has stayed the same--to bring campers into a closer relationship with Christ through building community with others and spending time in His creation.
Rev. Dennis Anderson recalls the day George and Irene Holling showed him the land and shared their idea for creating a Lutheran camp. “We were bouncing through what was then a field in the Hollings’ Cadillac in the fall of ‘78.” Anderson said. “When we reached what is now Inspiration Point, George issued me a challenge: We were to have campers by the next summer. That was a tall order as we overlooked a field of prairie grass with just a few trees!”
The summer of 1979, 356 campers slept in covered wagons at Carol Joy Holling Camp.
Since then, thousands of youth (including almost 1,500 this summer) have been equipped and empowered to share the love of Christ with others through their time in this place.
On July 13, nearly 500 people came to Carol Joy Holling Camp to commemorate the 40th anniversary. In addition to camp activities like boating, archery, swimming, and sno kones, those attending enjoyed browsing the camp archives and worshiping together.
Share your memories! As we continue to celebrate the positive impact a week at CJH Camp has on every camper’s personal and spiritual life, we want to hear your story. Send your story to info@NLOM.org and include photos if you have them.