OUR HISTORY
1970 | How it All Began
In 1970, brothers Jack, Dave, and Ron Carter decided to start a youth camp. They wanted to provide young people the opportunity to see that Christians can have fun. In fact, they can have the most fun.
The first session took place at Camp Christian. Over the years, the location has changed, but the dream and success have remained the same.
Hundreds and hundreds of young men and women have attended Koinonia. Many came from other states and even other countries. Many of them now consider Koinonia a spiritual turning point and often say it made all the difference in their relationship with God. Many people can trace profound blessings directly back to Kamp Koinonia.
The First Generation of campers has grown up, and some of them have children who have become the Second Generation of Koinonia. Believe it or not, the Third Generation is on its way.
The year 2020 marks 50 years since the three Carter Brothers set Koinonia in motion. As far as we can tell, God may very well bless Kamp Koinonia with another 50 years and beyond.
What We Teach
Kamp Koinonia emphasizes a reverence for God. The fun of being a Christian comes from a solid connection with God. That connection is determined by respect for God and His Word.
We do not treat young men and women like teenagers. We treat them like young men and women. This essentially means we treat them with more respect than the world does. Although the world treats youth as an excuse, we believe a young person has the capability to step up to a higher standard in their everyday life. Time and time again, hundreds of young people at Koinonia have proven the point.
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, fully shaped by His will and plan. Because of this, Koinonia encourages young men and women to be daily Bible readers. Prayer and Bible study are held up as the way to grow spiritually.
We believe baptism connects a soul with the death and resurrection of Jesus and is therefore necessary for salvation.
The age range is 9 to 18. This is for a specific reason. Although many youth camps separate the younger from the older, we have discovered some profound benefits to keeping them together. This gives the older ones a chance to be examples to the younger ones. Strangely enough, it also tends to make the younger ones an example to the older ones.
At its core, Koinonia strives to follow Jesus’ teachings: put God first, others second, and yourself last. And this ends up being the secret to having what the founders wanted all along—a whole lot of fun.