Family Camp
Join us for a family vacation your whole family will love- one that’s full of fun and excitement and one that will create lasting memories for years to come! It’s an opportunity to grow in faith in Jesus Christ as a whole family through chapel times, prayer, family devotions, mealtimes, and all the fun activities.
Each day the kids will divide up into their age groups for “Two Hours of Power”, which includes Bible study, recreation time, snacks, crafts, and singing. During this time the adults will enjoy two hours in the chapel digging deeper into the summer’s theme or another topic selected by the week’s speaker. Each family will be paired with one of our well-trained, enthusiastic, and Christ-Centered summer counselors for the week.
Our kitchen prepares hearty menus with a well-balanced diet in mind. Please contact us regarding special dietary restrictions or allergies so we can accommodate you to the best of our ability. Meals included are supper on Sunday through lunch on Friday. Wednesday supper is on your own as Wednesday afternoons are free for families to enjoy the attractions of the wonderful OKOBOJI area.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get away and experience camp as a whole family. Not only will this impact your kids, but your whole family, your church, and your whole community can experience transformation. So grab your neighbors, relatives, friends, and anyone you consider family, and make your reservations for one of our family camp weeks right away!
HOW TO REGISTER FOR FAMILY CAMP!
1. Choose a Week!
2. Call Sara, our friendly Registrar, @ 712-337-3306 and ask about available housing.
3. Reserve housing and pay housing deposit.
4. Complete Registration Form and email it to registrar@okoboji.org OR mail it to 1203 Inwan Street, Milford, IA 51351
PLEASE NOTE: Online Registration is available ONLY by clicking the link on this page. It is NOT Available through our youth camp registration system.
Call 712-337-3306 to see what available housing will best fit your family's needs today!
Family Camp 2025 Speakers!
Family Camp #1 - Pastor Lee Laaveg
June 15-20, 2025
Throughout his ministry, Lee has enjoyed the privilege of serving churches and teaching the Word of God throughout the Midwest. He has also served several years as a radio teacher for the Christian Crusaders, a weekly radio ministry. Lee’s passion is to invite people to live in the grace of God through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. Presently, he lives with his wife, Denise, in Bemidji, MN and serves a country church, Vernes Lutheran, north of Fosston, MN. He is also honored to be the Development Director for the Friends of Madagascar Mission and serves on their board of directors. Lee and Denise have four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Check out Christian Crusaders by clicking HERE! Check out Friends of Madagascra by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #2 - Pastor Scott Rains
June 22-27, 2025
A native Iowan, Scott Rains has been the Lead Pastor at Lutheran Church of Hope’s Ankeny campus since 2006. Scott and his wife Wendy have six children (Dalton, 25, Hadley 23, Kiley 21, Kemble, 19, Shayden 18 and Saphron 13). The Psalmist says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. As we grow in our understanding of how God has uniquely created us, we can grow in our understanding of God’s never-ending faithful love for us. Scott loves to tap into ideas from church history, neuroscience, business principles, movies and more to connect us to the transformational power of the living and active Word of God!
Check out Scott's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #3 - Pastor Mike Housholder
June 29-July 4, 2025
Mike Housholder has served as the senior pastor for Lutheran Church of Hope since 1993. Hope is a multisite, multigenerational, and outreach-focused church with six campuses and eight local sites throughout the Midwest. A gifted communicator and visionary leader, Mike hosts Pastor Mike Drop which is listed as a ‘religion & spirituality top show’ on Apple Podcasts. He’s a frequent keynote speaker at church conferences and was inducted into the Taft High School (Chicago) Alumni Hall of Fame. He served on the Alpha USA Advisory Board and the Wartburg College Board of Regents. He’s happily married to Sally, a proud dad and grandpa, an introvert who loves people, and a diehard fan of the Cubs, Bears, and Bulls.
Check out Mike's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #4 - Pastor Paul Hennings
July 13-18, 2025 - NEW WEEK!
Pastor Paul Hennings lives in Cedar Rapids, IA with his wife Ellie and their two sons, Theo and Toby. Paul is the Lead Pastor at FaithLife Church where he loves teaching, preaching, and seeing people come to know Jesus in new and life-changing ways. He also tends to be a voracious reader. His life verse is Romans 8:28.
Check out Paul's church (which is in the process of changing their name from St. Mark's) by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #5 - Pastor Jason & Julie Van Hove
July 20-25, 2025
Jason and Julie have been married for 23 years, have 3 kids, and live in Story City, Iowa. Jason is a pastor at Harvest Vineyard Church in Ames. Julie is the founder of Defined Ministries where she champions people toward living fully free and transformed lives defined by God alone. They love to travel anywhere (but especially with family to National Parks), spend time with friends (but especially with a fly rod in hand for Jason and an iced latte in a kayak for Julie) and engage in their kids' lives (but especially witnessing who they are becoming and pointing them to Jesus).
Check out Jason's church by click HERE! Check out Julie's ministry by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #6 - Pastor Mark Brandt
July 27-Aug 1, 2025
Mark Brandt is the Digital Outreach Minister for Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, IA. Prior to transitioning to the online role 9 years ago, he served in Student Ministry for over 20 years. He describes himself as someone who, “takes God very seriously and not himself." He is a husband to Michelle and father to twin boys Luke and Noah who are 19 and a 15 year old son named Seth. When not doing ministry things, Mark enjoys copious amounts of ordinary Lutheran coffee, playing golf, cheering on the Cubs and Broncos, reading, and is a mediocre high school basketball referee. He also thinks that JAWS is the greatest movie of all time. He has a passion for people for whom church doesn’t always make sense and thinks the Gospel is the greatest story of all time!
Check out Mark's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #7 - Pastor Nathan Anenson
Aug 3-8, 2025
Nathan is married to Lisa, and they have two boys (Luke and Levi) who keep them moving and laughing. Nathan has served Lutheran Church of the Cross in Altoona, IA since 2012 as the Senior Pastor. He enjoys golfing, hanging out with friends and going on adventures with his family. Nathan loves seeing Jesus transform lives and is passionate about training leaders to be catalysts for the Church living into God’s mission in the 21st Century.
Check out Nathan's church by clicking HERE!
Announcing Family Camp 2026 Speakers!
Family Camp Housing for 2026 opens June 2, 2025 at 9 am.
Call 1-800-OKOBOJI or 712-337-3306.
Family Camp #1 - Pastor Ben and Faith Worley
June 14-19, 2026
Ben and Faith have been married for 16 years, and are midstream in raising their four children: Benjamin (14), Abigail (13), John (11), and Adelaide (9). They live in Lytton, IA where Ben is the pastor at Emanuel-St. John Lutheran Church and Faith homeschools the kids, though it’s more accurate to say that they both do both. Ben loves reading murder mysteries, writing songs, and building lego sets (guilty pleasure). Faith loves making things more beautiful and supporting people in their identity as God's adored children, and has decided to enter her grandmother era early. Together, Ben and Faith love to travel, play cribbage, and discuss theology.
Check out Ben's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #2 - Pastor Steve Olcott
June 21-26, 2026
Pastor Steve Olcott grew up in southern New Jersey and moved to Hutchinson MN in 2003 to continue ministry. He has been at Christ the King Lutheran Church since that move, serving first as Youth Director and then later being called as Pastor. He loves Philly Sports, a good cup of coffee and his family. Steve is married to a ballerina and they have 3 daughters and a granddaughter. Steve gives thanks to God for the blessings that flow each day.
Check out Steve's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #3 - Pastor Pat Quaid
June 28-July 3, 2026
Pat is excited to return to camp this summer with his family and all of you! He lives in Urbandale, Iowa, with his wife, Missy, and their four sons: Kenan (18), Jude (16), Caleb (14), and Bode (10). Since 2003, Pat has served in a variety of roles at Lutheran Church of Hope and currently leads as the Evangelism & Outreach Pastor. Before this, he spent a decade launching and leading Hope’s Waukee campus. Deeply passionate about sharing the love of Jesus and caring for people, Pat volunteers as a soccer coach and serves with the Red Cross, supporting first responders through critical incident debriefings. He has also served as a first responder chaplain in Waukee for over eight years and has held leadership roles on several nonprofit boards.
Check out Pat's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #4 - Dr. Kyle Fever
July 12-17, 2026
Kyle Fever is currently the pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Adair, IA as well as professor of New Testament/Early Christianity and Capstone Research Director at the Master's Institute Seminary. He has been married to Laura for26 years, and they have four children. His passion is for people to know the experience of the risen Lord, and to creatively seek to be witnesses to the fulfillment of life with God.
Check out Kyle's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #5 - Pastor Brian King
July 19-24, 2026
Pastor Brian comes to us from Center City, MN where he now serves as the Pastor of Chisago Lake Lutheran Church after serving the previous 13 years as the Senior Pastor of Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, IA. Born in Kokomo, Indiana, and raised in Mahomet, Illinois, he graduated from Wartburg College, and went on to earn his M.Div. at Wartburg Seminary in IA. He has been ordained for nearly 30 years and has been married to his wife, Jen, for over 32 years. They have 4 adult children and 1 grandson. He enjoys biking, weightlifting, history, the outdoors, watching movies, watching college football and wrestling, music (all types), service/mission trips, Mt. Dew, and ice cream. He doesn’t like hot weather or mosquitoes and he's not too fond of beets either! He is excited to teach into the B.L.E.S.S. model of discipleship, evangelism and outreach during his week of Family Camp.
Check out Brian's church by clicking HERE!
Family Camp #6 - Pastor Paul Cross
July 26-31, 2026
Over the past 35 years, Pastor Paul Cross has served congregations in North Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and West Virginia. He has also served on the faculty of The Master’s Institute, teaching Inductive Bible Study methods, preaching, and the Lutheran Confessions. Prior to ordained ministry, he worked 10 years in the automobile repair industry and was a lay Bible teacher in his home congregation. Encouraging people to study God’s Word remains one of Pastor Cross’s chief passions. Paul and his wife, Rhonda, have four adult children and four grandchildren. In his off time he enjoys visiting National Parks, places of historical interest, air museums, and going to car shows.
Family Camp #7 - Pastor Jon Anenson
Aug 2-7, 2026
Originally from Story City, IA, Jon spent many years on the Summer and year-round staff of Riverside Bible Camp, eventually serving on the board of directors. Jon has been involved with church planting, student, worship, and college ministry in Colorado and Iowa. In 2008, Jon joined the staff at Lutheran Church of Hope and led the launch of Hope’s urban campus, growing from a mobile campus to eventually merge with Elim Christian Fellowship to form Hope+Elim, a growing, multi-cultural church merger in Des Moines. In 2024 he became the lead pastor of Hope’s Waukee campus. Jon loves a good round of golf, cheering for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and is passionate about helping people discover their purpose in God’s larger story. Jon is happily married to Tiffany and they have two children- Caleb and Everly.
Check out Jon's church by clicking HERE!
Be sure you are getting all of our updates! Add @okoboji.org and @okoboji.campwise.com to your safe senders list in your email settings!
Want to tell others about camp? Check out our promotional materials page for posters, brochures, postcards, videos and more!