Mission Statement and Beliefs

The Mission Statement that shapes our Summer Camp and Retreat Center offerings…

“The mission of Vanderkamp Center is to serve God by providing facilities and opportunities to relate to God, renew faith, and respond in service.”

We offer Christian summer camp programs for youth starting on July 1st, 2012 to help children learn to relate to God in our serene natural setting.  The goal of this summer will be to help children along their faith journeys, have a wonderful time, and learn to really be themselves. Our Bible Exploration theme is the Peace of Christ – finding peace with ourselves, having peaceful interactions with others, and making peace with God during challenging times in our lives.

We offer our retreat lodges to congregations and youth groups to help them renew their faith and run their own programming in one of our 3 gorgeous Adirondack-style mansions.  These lodges are also available to groups of any kind who would like to come up and kick back and enjoy all our site has to offer.

In the fall of 2011 we had wonderful retreats for youth groups typically too small to come on their own, and plan to have more in the future – so keep checking back!  Please contact us for more details if you’d like to have your youth group come up to mix and mingle with other like minded Christian youth in the area!

We encourage those interested in helping us to respond in service by coming up for our open houses on April 22nd and May 19th, volunteering for a week(volunteer applications can be downloaded in the Camp Forms section), or even volunteering to come up on a Sunday during the summer to help with registration.  We are also happy to host groups who would enjoy coming to our site and doing a mission project – opportunities abound for things from new construction to renovation. 

We firmly believe that Christian camping provides the link for young people to maintain their connection to Christ and the Church through adolescence and into adulthood.  Being in an area so close to Syracuse, Utica, and Rome – we bring people together from all over Central New York! Let us work with you in any way you see fit!