The Wilds Christian Association
Why we exist
The Wilds Christian Association is a global ministry devoted to serving people by providing an environment free from distractions where campers can enjoy life, be refreshed, and most importantly, receive and be changed by God’s Word. Guided by our core values, we seek to see lives transformed to the glory of God.
What motivates us
Using the unique benefits of Christian camping, we serve people by presenting the Truth of God with the love of God so lives can be changed to the glory of God.
How we do camp
Anyone who has worked at The Wilds knows all about these four key elements that make an excellent Christian camp: Philosophy, People, Program, and Pizza! – oh, I mean Place! Read on to find out how The Wilds consistently pursues quality camping year in, year out.
1
Philosophy
The first key element of Christian camping is also the most important one. Philosophy answers the question “Why?” Or, you could define it as, “why we do what we do.” As we remind our staff often, a good philosophy for a Christian camp can only come from the Word of God. As our founder, Ken Hay, reminded us repeatedly, “You don’t really know what you believe until you capture it in writing.” So we started by writing it all down. But a good philosophy will only be effective when it is applied consistently to every aspect of a camp: the People, the Program, and the Place. We should have a Bible reason for everything we do at camp. If we don’t, we need to look at it again and maybe make some changes.
2
People
The second key element of Christian camping is closely tied to the first. You can’t have a good camp without the right people, because they are the ones who will carry out the philosophy. People answers the question “who will be involved in camp?” This question relates directly to our staff. For starters, they need to be saved by grace through faith. They should be passionately pursuing God’s purpose of Christlikeness for their lives. But they also need to know and fully embrace our philosophy of ministry, which includes having a heart to help people: both young and old, believers and unbelievers, churches and families. The right people make all the difference!
3
Program
We like to say that program is “anything and everything that touches the lives of the campers.” That’s pretty much all-encompassing. Program answers the question “what happens at camp?” Program includes things that are planned: like the schedule, the meals, the activities, the services, and other times in the Word of God. However, program also includes how we respond to things that are not planned, like power outages, sickness, inclement weather, and changes to the schedule. Most people thing of the program when they think of camp, but we emphasize that program follows philosophy and people in order of importance. Our written philosophy carried out by our trained people determines everything that happens at camp.
4
Place
Our summer staff like to claim that the fourth “P” is pizza. But we all know that it is actually place. Place answers the question “where do we hold camp?” Certainly, the right property can make a big difference, but place falls lower in priority than the first three parts of camp. If you have a good philosophy, carried out by the right people, thinking through each part of the program, you can have an excellent camp at a less than ideal campsite. Our staff have held camp at churches, schools, community centers, parking lots, and even an airfield (don’t ask!). As much as possible, the property should be safe, clean, well-maintained, and set apart from normal life. Even the place should be determined by the philosophy.
Who we are
At The Wilds, we believe that doing God’s work requires a thoughtful philosophy grounded in unwavering principles. Our approach to spreading God’s Word and transforming young lives is broad, but these six values capture the essence of why we do what we do.
Faithful to the Bible
God’s Word is true because it comes from God the unchanging One (Isaiah 40:8). In every situation, we appeal to the Bible as the final, right answer. In God’s inspired and inerrant Word, we possess everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). By God’s grace, we will stand firmly on the Word of God.
Serving the local church
We recognize the local church as God’s divine institution and camp ministry as a support to that which God has ordained (1 Timothy 3:15). We endeavor to honor, strengthen, and help, but not to instruct the local church. Individually, our staff seek to serve faithfully in local church ministry as they live out this core value personally. The Wilds exists to serve local churches.
Refreshing enjoyment of life in Christ
Anyone who participates in one of our camp programs should leave refreshed. Those who know Christ can experience genuine joy (Philippians 4:4). An attitude of Christlike joy should permeate the atmosphere of our camps (Galatians 5:22). There’s something attractive about being with people who find satisfaction in God.
Christlike servants
In everything that we do, we want to mirror the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world as a servant (Luke 22:27). Whether counseling, clearing tables, cleaning cabins, or playing on the ballfield, we seek to serve others with the same joyful humility that Christ has served us (Philippians 2:3). Jesus served us so that we could serve others (John 13:14).
Committed to excellence
Our God does everything with excellence, and we should do the same to the best of our ability. God deserves our best (Colossians 3:23)! We work as though we are expecting Christ…because we are expecting Him. This urgency demonstrates that we really believe in the omniscience and omnipresence of God (Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:23-24).
Environment conducive to spiritual growth
Realizing that God’s purpose for believers is to grow in Christlikeness, we desire to cultivate an atmosphere that encourages campers to take their next spiritual steps. By removing distractions and filtering out the influences of the world as much as possible, God’s Word can be heard more clearly (Colossians 3:1-2). Cultivating godly friendships and mixing with spiritually mature believers come together to create a greenhouse for spiritual growth and encouragement (Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 11:1).
Statement of Faith
We believe that God’s Word is the final authority for every facet of The Wilds ministries. Our statement of faith has been written and sharpened by several generations of trained theologians. Many things in the world change, but the Word of God endures forever.
- We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are verbally inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21) and inerrant (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17–18; Matthew 24:35) in the original writings, and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16–17; James 1:22–25; 2 Peter 1:3–4).
- We believe in one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5–7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), eternal (Psalm 90:2; Revelation 1:8), omnipotent (Genesis 17:1; Revelation 19:6), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7–12; Acts 17:27), eternally existing in Three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one in nature, equal in attributes, power and glory (Matthew 3:16–17; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 2:18).
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–21; Luke 1:34–35), and that He is true God (John 1:1–2, 14; John 20:28; Colossians 1:15–16) and true man (Luke 2:52; Galatians 4:4).
- We believe that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9) and in a state of innocency (Genesis 1:26–27, 31; Ecclesiastes 7:29), but man willfully transgressed God’s law and lost communion with God, becoming dead in sin, corrupt in nature, and incapable of pleasing God (Genesis 3:8, 24; Romans 3:10–13).
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3) as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:4–6; 2 Corinthians 5:21), and rose again for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 4:25; Romans 5:1); and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood (Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:14) and are saved by grace through faith wholly apart from human merit and works (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 4:3–5; Galatians 3:26).
- We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus by faith are born again by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and thereby become the children of God, possessing eternal life (John 1:12–13; John 3:5–7; Romans 10:9–10, 17; Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 3:1–3).
- We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord (Matthew 28:5–8; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15), in His ascension into Heaven (Acts 1:9; Ephesians 1:20–21; Ephesians 4:10), and in His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 4:14–16).
- We believe in the personal (John 14:3) and visible premillennial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to reign upon the earth (Isaiah 9:6–7; Matthew 24:27–31; 1 Corinthians 15:25; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18; Revelation 19:16–20:6).
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead; the saved to a life of eternal glory and bliss in Heaven with God (John 6:39; Romans 8:10–11, 19–23; 2 Corinthians 4:14); the unsaved to eternal judgment of conscious suffering and woe in the lake of fire (Luke 16:19–26; John 5:29; Revelation 20:13–15).
- We believe in separation from all worldly practices (Romans 12:2; James 1:27; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 2:15–17), in whole-hearted devotion to the cause of Christ (Matthew 6:33; Luke 14:25–33; Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 5:9, 14–15), in a high standard of Christian conduct (1 Peter 1:15–16; 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Colossians 3:1–4; 2 Peter 1:5–11), since such separation, devotion, and standard is the only scriptural basis for a useful Christian life (Luke 9:23; Galatians 6:1; 2 Timothy 2:20–21). For this reason we oppose all practices which hinder Christian growth and detract from Christian influence (1 Corinthians 5:9–11; Galatians 5:16–23; James 3:14–18).
- We believe it is necessary to hold sound and aggressive scriptural convictions of separation from liberalism, apostasy, and compromise with unbelief (Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1–5).
- We believe that marriage is the original and foundational God-ordained institution of human society. In marriage, one man and one woman unite in a covenant of promise before God and witnesses to form an exclusive union, as delineated in God’s Word, the Bible (Genesis 2:18–25). The marriage partners leave their own families and are no longer considered two, but “one flesh” (Matthew 19:4–6; Ephesians 5:31). Marriage is God’s example and picture of the relationship between Christ (the Bridegroom) and His Church (the Bride), made up of all who receive and trust in His Son Jesus alone for salvation (Ephesians 5:30–32). Marriage between a man and a woman is God’s natural and righteous provision to bring children into the world (Genesis 1:27–28).
- We believe God immutably created each person as a male or a female to be His own image-bearer. The two distinct, complementary genders, both to be treated with dignity and respect, reflect the creative, natural order given by God (Genesis 1:26–27; Genesis 5:1–2).
- We believe that sexuality is a gift from God to be enjoyed within the bounds of marriage. We believe that no intimate, sexual activity should be engaged in outside of an exclusive marriage between a man and a woman (Exodus 20:14; Hebrews 13:4; Ephesians 5:3). We believe that any form of sexual activity outside of God’s boundaries (including, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, or incest) is offensive to God and, therefore, sinful (1 John 3:4; Matthew 15:18–19; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; 1 John 1:8–9).
- We believe all men and women by nature are sinners who have been willfully disobedient to God’s command of perfect obedience recorded in His Word (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:6–10). However, God loves mankind, whom He created. He has made a provision whereby men and women may receive needed forgiveness for all of their sins by trusting in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial payment for sins on their behalf (John 3:16; Acts 4:12: Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11). Men and women can, by repenting, believing, and receiving God’s free gift of forgiveness, be restored to fellowship with their Creator (Ephesians 2:8–22).
Position statements
From time to time The Wilds has deemed it necessary to state its position on particular issues in greater specificity than is possible in the above doctrinal statement. Those position statements are available below.