Northern Light Fall '24

In This Edition

A Note from the Executive Director | Summer 2024 Reflections | Looking Ahead: Summer 2025 | Passage Recap | Vanguard Gap Year Turns 10 | Fall Fun |  Construction | Rhythms of Faith Research Update | Fall Vision Dinners | Prayer Requests and Thank You

A Note from the Executive Director

We’ve had a busy and productive start to the school year! Before diving into recent updates, let’s rewind and touch on the amazing summer we had, and an incredible start of the school year with Wheaton College’s Passage program, a one-credit freshman orientation experience run by HoneyRock. 

Summer Camp 2024 

At HoneyRock, our vision is to see Generations Alive in Christ. This summer we had the great privilege of serving over 600 families while investing in 156 college student leaders and hosting 1,019 campers–a record! Our summer team, led by Ashley, RJ, and Mike, challenged our student leaders to bring their full selves and seek to be the hands and feet of Christ. I’m thrilled to say, they did just that!

Our summer staff theme was from Psalm 95:6-8a [ESV], was a call to worship and reflection:

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, ‘Do not harden your hearts …’”

It was wonderful for me to see our student leaders embrace this and place their first focus on worshiping Christ, including through their work. 

Passage: Wheaton College Orientation

Following our summer camp season, we rolled straight into Passage. Our incoming students were able to begin adapting to college life in community by connecting with other students in small group experiences. 

September & October

Our fall has been just as full, with highlights including:

• School Year Kick-Off: We launched our school year programming, including the Vanguard Gap Year, our Fellowship program, and working with our graduate school program, the M.A. in Outdoor Adventure Leadership.   
• Volunteer Weekend and Fall Vision Dinners: HoneyRock’s work is made possible by our amazing volunteers and donors. In early October, our Volunteer Weekend at HoneyRock helped us wrap up summer tasks and begin work on new camper cabins. Our Fall Vision Dinners in Wheaton, IL allowed us to share future plans and investments. More to come! 

Thank you for your interest in our work as we seek to foster the development of whole and effective people for Christ!

God Bless,  
Matt Erickson ‘95

Wow! What a summer! What a gift and provision of the Lord to be fully staffed with such an amazing team. I cannot speak more highly about our summer staff and their hearts for serving, loving, and coming alongside one another and our campers. This summer, I noticed a constant theme of learning to pursue humility. It’s humbling to witness our summer staff and campers learning to surrender all things at the feet of their Savior.

Our 27 international leaders brought great maturity, leadership, and encouragement in Christ. I walked out of this summer immensely proud of our Program Coordinators and our Unit Leader team and their desire to serve others. Our greater staff team was uniquely focused on testifying to the work and love of God in this place. Day after day, we heard stories of staff discovering and affirming their calling and both campers and staff making commitments to faith in Jesus Christ, and we witnessed a palpable spirit of worship throughout our community.

God’s Peace,
Ashley Kiley
Camp Programs Director

Looking Ahead: Summer 2025

Rhythms of Faith: Empowering Families, Churches, and Camps to Shape Faith Beyond Summer

The research team for the Rhythms of Faith project is 10 months into a multiyear project that has been generously funded by the Lilly Endowment. Thus far, the team has identified and shared a first-of-its-kind resource for families, churches, and camps. This resource outlines the possible strategies that help maximize the experience and equip camp leaders, parents, and church leaders to work together as they all seek to develop faith in the next generation. From sharing curriculum to offering non-summer program experiences, the resource provides a menu of options to suit individual contexts and needs within spiritual formation. The team has also been busy writing multiple articles for publication in scholarly journals, continuing to situate the HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development as the leader in outdoor ministry scholarship.

Most recently, the team surveyed over 1,000 camper parents from 11 different camps. Through a series of site visits to each of the participating camps over the course of the summer, the team collected an abundance of new data to help identify additional strategies that will play a key role in the next phase of the project, which involves training camp leaders, church leaders, and parents in the most effective ways connect the camp experience with life outside of camp. This fall, Christian summer camps from across the country will be able to apply for sub-grants to receive the training and participate in the next three years of the project. To learn more, gain access to resources as they’re released, or if you know of a camp that might be interested in participating, check out more information on the webpage!

Learn More about the Rhythms of Faith Project

Fall Vision Dinners

This past month, we had the honor of hosting two Fall Vision Donor Dinners at David and Mary Gieser’s home in Wheaton. Each night, we gathered with donors to share testimonials from HoneyRock families, discuss future plans, share important updates, and discuss ways to deepen partnership with HoneyRock this year. We were blessed to have 80 people in attendance between the two nights and want to thank everyone who came out.

Prayer Requests

We are very grateful for those of you that pray for us!

In John 3:27 we read that “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.”

• Please pray that God would provide the wisdom, leadership and resources we need to advance the work he has assigned to us.
• Please pray for our HoneyRock staff team; With year-round programs that overlap and the important recruiting work our team does, there is no slow season. Please pray that our team can balance well the important work we do for students and their families during the school year with the need of healthy rest and replenishment. 
• Please pray for the retreat groups coming to HoneyRock this fall and winter, that they would experience rest and connection with the Lord and with others.
• Please pray for all of our school year students and school year workers, including Vanguard Gap Year students, our Graduate students, and our post-college Fellowship work staff. For our Gap Year students, please pray that they would continue to learn how to navigate life away from home well, learn self-assessment skills and building important soft skills like problem-solving, conflict resolution and teamwork as a foundation for their future.

As the year comes to a close, we invite you to reflect on the impact your generosity can have on our ministry. Your financial gift at this pivotal time not only supports our ongoing programs, but also helps us fund our operational needs. Every contribution, no matter the size, plays a crucial role in fulfilling our mission. By giving at year-end, you can take advantage of potential tax benefits while making a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve. Join us in ushering in the new year with a spirit of giving and compassion. Together, we can continue to make a profound impact and transform lives. Thank you for your support!

Our staff had their annual retreat in Green Lake Wisconsin to rest, refresh, and connect as a team.