Good day Sentinel campers and families,

As the winter wanes, the temperatures become warmer and the snow melts, we are excited for the season ahead!

Summer weeks are filling up quickly and we wanted to remind you sign ups are open.  

Overnight Camp Weeks: (Sunday - Saturday)
BG1: July 3rd – July 9th *
BG2: July 10th – July 16th 
BG3: July 17th – July 23rd  *
BG4: July 24th – July 30th
* two week camp option

Teen Camp (13-16)
TC Sunday August 7th - Friday August 12th

Day Camp Weeks: (Monday-Friday)
DCJ: June 27th – July 1st  
DC1: July 4th – July 8th  
DC2: July 11th – July 15th
DC3: July 18th – July 22nd  
DC4: July 25th – July 29th  
DC5: August 8th - August 12th 

For more information and other programs or to sign up 

Why Camp Sentinel?  
Hear from our director and some of the staff in our latest video update. 

Scholarships for camp available
Rekindle Curiosity is a program through the state of New Hampshire to help families with up to $650 in camp fees.
VERY IMPORTANT: This is first come first serve, so please go on today. 
Click "Camp Sentinel," and "ENROLL" for your summer 2022 program at www.campsentinel.org/ 

Spring Events!
Sentinel's Women's Retreat (Friday, May 6th, 5 pm - Saturday, May 7th, 3 pm 2022)
Come spend a weekend at Camp Sentinel, fellowshipping with other Christian Women, and experiencing the stillness of the outdoors. Enjoy a weekend away at Sentinel Lodge, with delicious home cooked meals, great fellowship, and a chance to experience the stillness of God's creation. Register today at campsentinel.org/womens-retreat

Sentinel's Men's Retreat (Friday, May 20th, 5 pm - Saturday, May 21st, 3 pm 2022)
Take some time away from your daily routine, come recharge with like minded Christian Men. Grow together in fellowship, building, and encouraging one another in the faith of our Lord. As Proverbs 27:17 says "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Register today at campsentinel.org/mens-retreat

Want to host your own retreat at Sentinel?
We will work with you to plan the perfect retreat tailored for your church or organization. Contact us today at retreat@campsentinel.org or give us a call at (603) 539-4839. We would love to show you around the grounds, and connect over a cup of coffee.

Pines Family Camping
Come experience the stillness of the grounds, our mile of water-frontage on crystal clear Dan Hole pond, and a great family-centered atmosphere. Find your site at campsentinel.org/pines

Wixson Ministry Retreat
The Wixson Ministry Retreat at Sentinel is a two bedroom/one bath cabin with a full kitchen and comfortable living room. The Wixson Ministry Retreat is available to pastors, missionaries and lay people who are directly involved in ministry, along with their household families for a donation. See our availability at campsentinel.org/calendar To book contact us at retreat@campsentinel.org


We look forward to seeing you this summer!

--
Camp Sentinel
29 Sentinel Lodge Rd. Center Tuftonboro, NH 03816
(603) 539-4839

Mission Statement
Our mission is to create a welcoming environment for Christian relationship building and spiritual renewal. Within the stillness of God's creation and through the guidance of the staff, people are moved from discovery into authentic relationships with others and with Jesus Christ.

Recently I had the opportunity to sit with 13 American Baptist Executive Ministers and hear
something positive. The presenter, via our zoom meeting, was Bill Shiell, the president of Northern Seminary. In the age of the “great resignation” the topic was simply, “Why pastors are staying in ministry.” Yes, pastors have been worn down by adapting, mediating, and caring. But the Northern Seminary study revealed the timeless reasons pastors, men and women, new and veteran, across racial identifications, remain in local church ministry. (I personally speculate there are similar reasons why people stay part of churches.)

The number #1 reason pastors remain committed to ministry: 93% report a convinced knowledge of call. Pastors who do not intend to leave ministry, almost always state they will remain in their current ministries, unless God is definitely calling them away. Pastors who remain in ministry are committed to their local church and context. Most often call takes on a geographically place most often expressed in the conviction that “God has called me here.”

The #2 reason why pastors remain in ministry is having a supportive family, network, church, or community, or a combination thereof, but most importantly family. Although lower than 93%, a support network was cited by 43% as the reason they remain in ministry. Not surprisingly, compensation was a very distant third.

Northern Seminary’s study also revealed is that in a world of pandemic and division, what caused pastors who remain in ministry to embrace their first passions: preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. The past two years reminded pastors that these were the most important callings. Relationships became more important to pastors, as I believe was true of people in general. Pastors who remain in ministry worked to simplify their calls, by de-prioritizing church administrative tasks. I suspect there are things, often small things, that drain pastors of life. I also suspect church governance also drains pastors of passion and life. Church conflicts over COVID policies and political convictions were cited as being exhausting dynamics for pastors.

But then encouraging news: When pastors were asked what they need, the two top needs cited were the practices of spiritual formation and meaningful relationships. Possibly the data had a conclusive loop; the needs pastors cited were the same things that confirmed and deepened their call. Interestingly, in this survey pastors expressed little interest in learning new methods or strategies. The pastors surveyed were less interested in “how to”, than the deepening of their relationship with Christ and others.

My interpretation of the data, is the struggles of the last two years have acted as a Holy Spirit formed reminder of what is timeless and most important, our relationship with Christ and others, and unmovable confidence in the timeless Good News of Jesus. When I review 38 years of pastoral ministry, which is included my current gig, I remember times of discouragement and exhaustion, but when asking myself, “Why are you staying?”, I most often stumbled back to the answer that Jesus has asked me to stay. I think we are finding the blessing in the whirlwind, dependency upon Christ, and love of others.

In Jesus name, Dale

Ten years past when I left the First Baptist Church of Lebanon, one of things I grieved was the not being able to preach on Easter Sunday. God did have surprises for me though. For I have been able to preach on Easter at New Alpha Missionary in Burlington, and Grace River Church in Claremont. This year I am privileged to be with Village Baptist Church in Mount Holly, VT. It is a holy privilege and trust to proclaim that Jesus is Risen.

When I was a local church pastor, there were years when in preparing for Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday, I found that preparing meant having a good cry before God. It is difficult to explain a catharsis that is part repentance, part awe-struck, and part holy fear. The repentance part was all about being a sinner in the light of the Word become Flesh, to suffer, die and rise again on my behalf. In Bonhoeffer’s words, it is costly grace, because it cost God the life of his Son. The awe-struck part was, the overwhelming feeling of knowing that Jesus really, really rose from dead, and his death has brought me new life. I can be with this resurrected Son of God in this very moment as God gives me breath.

​The fear part had to do with preaching on Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday, and Easter morning. What if I say something that diminishes my Lord’s resurrection? What if I handled speaking of the Resurrection too lightly? What if I didn’t get the point across, that there is no reason for the Church to exist or myself to live a Christian life, if Jesus’ resurrection didn’t really happen? What if I just fumbled the proclamation that Jesus is Risen, and further failed to invite others to this risen Christ? Maybe it is the fear of holding the Holy on my sinful tongue.

But I think weaving the repentance, awe, and fear altogether in one and the same experience is a re-realized love for Jesus Christ. Next week, before preaching at Village Baptist, I look forward to sitting with Christ, and letting my tears flow and grasping their meaning once again.

“I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live. And he who lives and believes in me will never die.”