the camp hammer blog

Hey Friends!  I hope this blog finds you well!  As I have been saying for the last few weeks, Camp is busily preparing for what promises to be the best summer in Camp Hammer history.  Amongst all of the things going on around here, there are some exciting transitions coming up!  This blog will give you a glimpse of who is leaving and who is coming in!

First off, as I, Andrew, write this, my mind is flooded with all of the incredible memories my wife Lori and I have made at Camp Hammer.  I say that because this summer will be our final summer at the place we love.  Last fall Lori and I felt that God was calling us to step out in faith and leave the place that we have called home for nearly 5 years, as well as 2 summers before that.  In August, the Bradford’s are headed to Portland, Oregon.  It will be a crazy transition to say the least, but an exciting one as well.   Lori and I are expecting a new addition to our family this summer, and that is a big reason we decided to move.  We want to be near family as we start this new chapter of our lives, and Portland will allow us to do just that.  Please pray for us as we pack and plan over the next few months.  We are confident in what God is doing, and feel unbelievably blessed by the time we have been able to spend in the redwoods.  Also, we are so excited for one final full summer here at Camp.  We are determined to make it the best ever!

Ok, so enough about me.  Let me tell you about three amazing people who will be joining us in the next few weeks!  First, coming back for his seventh summer of service at Camp, and his 2nd summer as the Apostle Director is Will Witt aka “Noobie.”  Will is going to be running our Apostle program which is our two week discipleship program designed for high schoolers.  We are incredibly blessed to have him back for another amazing summer in the redwoods.  Apostle will continue to foster authentic growth in our campers with Will heading up the program!

Working alongside Will beginning in May is Rosemary Conn aka “Okra.”  Rosemary is joining us as the Apostle Female Lead.  This summer will be Rosemary’s 5th summer on staff at Camp.  Last summer she served as an Apostle Counselor, and we are so glad she will be coming on board to work with Will to make this the best summer of Apostle ever!

Finally, I wanted to let you guys know who will be taking over for yours truly.  Starting next Tuesday, Jeff Neckers will be coming on full time at Camp to train in as the new Program Director.  Jeff is a dear friend and will be an amazing person to fill the Program Director position.  Jeff has spent the last few years working for Twin Lakes Church, more specifically 2701, the High School group at TLC.  It is always a scary thing turning over something you love to someone else, but I am confident that Jeff will do an amazing job and that Camp will flourish with him serving here!

So, needless to say there is a lot of transition happening!  With all of that in mind, please take time to pray for all of the people coming and going!  We are excited for what God is doing, and hope you will share in that by praying for camp!  Thanks for reading.  Check back next week!

Peace.

Andrew aka “Liger”

Tags: 2011, 2701, Apostle, camp, camp hammer, God, hammer, liger, noobie, okra, pray, program, Summer, transition
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Hey Friends!  Happy New Year!  What a great opportunity a new year brings to praise the Lord for all that he has done, is doing, and is yet to do!  2010 was an amazing year at Camp Hammer, full of growth, blessings, and love.  After such an incredible year, we have no choice but to be beyond excited for what 2011 will bring!  With that in mind, we wanted to take a bit of time to tell you some of the amazing things that are happening at Camp right now, and some things to get excited about for the upcoming year!

Staff.

Camp has undergone some staffing changes, and we would love to let you know who has left and who has arrived.  Our Office Administrator, Michelle (Picadilly), has moved into Santa Cruz to intern at Vintage Faith Church, begin a Master’s program, and work with the Youth Theater.  She was an amazing blessing to Camp, and we are sad to let her go, but are confident that God has some amazing things planned for her!  Taking over for Michelle is our new Office Administrator Andrea!  Andrea joins us with an amazing background in camping ministry, and a heart to serve!  We are beyond excited to welcome Andrea to our community, and believe God will do amazing things through her!

In the Maintenance/Guest Relations departments, we welcome Tim!  He will be assisting our facilities director Dennis with general Camp maintenance, and will also be hosting for our weekend retreat groups!  This is Tim’s first year at Camp, and we are excited to have his fresh perspective and willingness to partner with Camp!

Lastly, we want to welcome back Katie (Copper), who will be a Kitchen Lead for us this year.  Katie has been around Camp for years, and we are excited to welcome her back in a year round position!  She is an amazing addition to our kitchen staff and camp community!

Recruiting/Summer Camp Jobs.

Like I mentioned above, we are beginning summer preparations, which means recruiting and interviews!  If you are interested in working at camp, make sure you check out the link on our main page for working at camp!  Applications must be submitted by March 15th, so don’t wait!

Registration.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!, and you know what that means!  Summer is just around the corner!  Although it seems a bit far off, we are beginning summer preparations already, and cannot wait for all of the amazing things that will take place here in 2011!  If you haven’t already, when you are finished reading here, go back to our main page and begin the registration process!  If you register by February 15th you receive $50.00 off the cost of registration. High school students, you can get a total of $200.00 off the total cost of registration if you register for Apostle and High School Camp before February 15th!  That is the biggest discount we have ever given!  Take advantage now, space is limited!

Once again, all of us here at Camp Hammer hope your new year has started out well, and if it hasn’t, remember that each day is an opportunity to begin fresh.  We look forward to seeing you soon, and hope you will continue to pray for our ministries here!  Much Love.

Andrew. aka, Liger.

Tags: 2011, Apostle, blessing, camp, camp hammer, February, hammer, High School Camp, jobs, liger, love, New Year, recruiting, registration, staff
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Hey Friends!  I hope this long overdue blog finds you well!  We are officially in our off-season for the next few weeks, and it is nice to take a short break!  We are all still working up at Camp, but in different ways.  The best part of December is that it means we start planning for next summer in just a little while!  We are already in the midst of putting out brochures and postcards, doing some advertising for some of our deals for next summer, but that is just the tip of the iceberg!  Soon we will begin recruiting summer staff and planning all of the amazing activities for Summer 2011.

The air is cold and fresh at camp, and it is not uncommon to see a group of wild turkeys or deer roaming the field trying to soak up some sunlight!  What an amazing place Camp Hammer is!  It is almost as if December is a month where not only camp’s employees, but camp itself gets a bit of a breather.  Don’t get me wrong, we all enjoy it much more when the forest is filled with kids laughing and playing, but it is nice to allow things to slow down and recuperate from an amazing year filled with the work of God!  We are currently working on some new ideas for the blog, so whether you are a parent, camper, or just a lover of Camp Hammer, let us know what you would want to read about!  We would be more than willing to have multiple feeds for different topics if people were interested!  Some examples are (Apostle, General Camps, Facilities, Daily Bible Verse/discussion, Projects, etc.).  You are our audience, and we want to write about things that you would love to read about!  So let us know!

Ready for Summer 2011,

Liger.

Tags: Apostle, break, camp, camp hammer, december, deer, hammer, off season, recruit, Summer, turkeys, weeks
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Camp Hammer, Summer 2010.  How does one even begin to describe what happens in a summer spent at Camp Hammer?  There are really no words in the English Dictionary (or any language for that matter), that can fully describe what goes on here from June to August.  Don’t get me wrong, Camp is amazing all year, but something changes in the summertime!  For over 40 years Camp Hammer has changed the lives of young men and women, and Summer 2010 was no exception.  From the moment summer staff arrived, to last Wednesday morning when they drove out of Camp, down the mountain, and back into their everyday lives, God moved through these servants for eight incredible weeks.

Over 700 campers came and spent time with us this summer.  Campers heard from amazing speakers, played crazy team competitions and night games, ate the best cookies on the planet, were loved by an amazing staff, and many met a savior for the first time!  Our Apostle (High School Program) campers learned what it is to serve others, and who they can be when living a life consumed by their creator.  Camp Hammer is this incredible haven in the Redwoods that staff and campers get to come to and experience a little bit of what heaven might be like; a body of believers loving each other because of the love they receive from God.  For a few weeks a year these Redwoods are filled with laughter, and the sounds of people living and loving amongst God’s creation.

I truly wish I could convey just how amazing this place is, and specifically how incredible the Summer of 2010 was, but like I mentioned before, there just aren’t enough words.  If you spent time with us this summer, we miss you already, and look forward to seeing this year, or next summer!  If we didn’t see you this summer, and you just happen to be reading this blog, we hope to see you in the future, but only if your ready for the time of your life!  Praise God for Camp Hammer.

Truly,

Liger.

Tags: 2010, Apostle, august, camp, camp hammer, cookies, hammer, high school, june, love, night games, redwoods, Summer, summer 2010, team competition
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Hey Guys.  Sorry for how long this entry has taken.  As I am sure you can imagine, things are only getting busier around here!  That is no excuse though, so I will do my best to keep you guys updated on Camp for the next few weeks, especially because so many incredible things are going on!

The Cedar Deck is finished and looks amazing!  It is so incredible to see what God is capable of doing through some dedicated men and hard work!  Thank you to TLC Men’s Ministry!  We are now in the process of putting in the new bridge from the Fire Circle to the Horserails area!  It will be another incredible addition to our facilities here at Camp Hammer.

Summer is quickly approaching and Camps are filling up!  Don’t miss out on an incredible week (or two) of Camp this summer!  It is going to be the best summer Camp Hammer has ever seen!  We’ve got all kinds of great new stuff, and we are confident you will love it as much as we do!

Just this week we have had two new employees come on board!  Will Witt (Noobie), and Chelsea Fenwick (Nitro) are officially here, and working on this years Apostle program.  It is going to be an amazing year with these two additions!

Camp Hammer will be at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos’, 3rd Annual Mock Rock this evening (Friday April 16th).  We will be giving some information on our High School programs, judging the competition, and raffling off some incredible stuff (Sweatshirt, Sweatpants, Stainless Steal Water Bottle, new Sunglassess, Ipod Shuffle!)!  Don’t miss out.  Come out to the church, bring a dollar for the raffle, and enjoy the show!

Ok, so that is the fly by of what is going on at Camp today!  Stay tuned for more info on all of the incredible things happening at Camp Hammer between now and summer!

Love,

Camp Staff.

Tags: 2010, Apostle, camp, camp hammer, Cedar, fun, hammer, Ipod, love, men, ministry, mock, Mock Rock, rock, Summer, TLC, Twin Lakes Church
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Hey Friends and Family!  It is another wonderful Friday here at Camp Hammer.  Unbelievable to think that it is officially Spring and that April is just around the corner!  In the coming weeks a lot of great things are going on!  We have had the Twin Lakes Church Men’s Ministry up here for the last several weekends working on the Cedar/Apostle Lodge Deck, and it looks incredible.  What an amazing blessing it will be to the generations of campers who will get to enjoy it!  We are still raising funds for the project, but God has been entirely faithful through the project, and his provision is evident!

Now for some really exciting news!  In the coming weeks we are starting all of the Program Projects for this upcoming summer!  We will start with the construction of Camp Hammer’s very first 9-hole Miniature Golf Course.  As of right now we haven’t named the course yet, so if you have suggestions, be sure to comment and let us know what you think the name should be!  It is going to be awesome.  I can’t wait to play put-put with the Campers!  The next project will be the filling of our pond.  We have been so blessed this year with the amount of rain that has come in, and as far as we can see, there should be no problems filling the pond again this year for all to enjoy!  Third, we will be putting together a brand new basketball hoop kindly donated to Camp Hammer!  So for at least a little while we will have a basketball hoop that doesn’t have a terribly flimsy rim!  It will allow for some great basketball games, and knockout competitions this summer!  Lastly, we are going to begin construction of our set for this years skit.  If you haven’t already done the word search puzzle in this years brochure, you better do it now to find out what this years theme is!  So many exciting things going on in these next few months that it is hard to contain my excitement!

Next topic is our scholarships.  Every year Camp offers scholarships to families or students who normally wouldn’t be able to attend camp for financial reasons.  Each summer we are incredibly blessed by men and women who want to support our ministry in this way!  If donating to our scholarship fund is something that you feel led to doing, please check out our “Give” section or call our front office (831.338.3200 x10) for more information!  Our hope is that any camper who wants to attend Camp Hammer, is able to, and that money would never be a hindrance to making that happen.  If you don’t feel led to give financially, or even if you do, please take time to pray for this portion of our ministry here!

Finally, if you haven’t registered yet, take some time in the next few days and register!  All that is required upon registration is a $50.00 deposit!  Camp is such an amazing experience where kids can be kids and grow to know a loving savior!  You can register by clicking on the “Register Now” tab on our home page!  This is going to be an incredible summer of laughing, loving, learning, and playing!  Don’t miss it!

Love. Peace.

Camp Hammer Staff.

Tags: 2010, Apostle, camp, camp hammer, Cedar, deck, donate, golf, hammer, laugh, learn, love, men, mens ministry, mini golf, ministry, play, register, scholarship, skit, Summer, summer 2010
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Hey Friends and Family.  I have to apologize for how long it has been since our last post!  Things have been crazy around here, and the whole staff just finished spending the week at a Conference for Camps!  Anyway, I hope everyone is doing wonderfully!  Today is a beautiful day in the Redwoods!  So, whats going on at Camp?  Well, let me tell you!

The Apostle (Cedar) Deck is in the works.  We are still raising money for it, but we have started the initial work to make the project happen!  It is going to be amazing, seriously amazing!  MC (Dennis) and Auger (Josh), as well as the Twin Lakes Church Men’s Ministry are working so hard to make this an incredible blessing to Camp.  It is a much needed improvement, and will benefit all of our weekend groups as well as our Apostle Campers from this summer on.  It is a really exciting project!

Registration has been open for several months, and Camps are filling up like crazy.  It is always exciting around this time of year to see new and familiar names on our registration list!  As the numbers get higher, it reminds us that summer is just around the corner, and we are more excited than ever!  Our Ride and Ropes Course inspection is happening this week which is just one more indicator that Summer 2010 is quickly approaching.

We are also in the process of re-stocking the Camp Store with fan favorite merchandise as well as some great new products.  This summer we will be introducing a new stainless steel water bottle in 6 different colors, authentic Camp Hammer sunglasses, some new t-shirts, and a new style of sweatshirt!  We are also looking into bringing back Camp Hammer trucker hats!  They won’t be camo this time around, but they will be even more awesome!  And of course we will have the famous Camp Hammer sweatpants!

Ok, so Camp is preparing tirelessly for Summer 2010.  What does that mean for you?  REGISTER TODAY.  Don’t miss out on an incredible opportunity to hang with old and new friends, ride the rides, laugh at the cab, go nuts during night games, and find out what the crazy new camp names are.  From Junior Camp to Apostle, you don’t want to miss camp this summer!

Lastly, if you feel like you would be interested in donating financially to the ministry of Camp Hammer, be sure to check out our “Give” tab on the homepage!

Love.  Camp Hammer Staff

Tags: 2010, Apostle, Auger, beautiful, camp, camp hammer, Cedar, conference, fun, hammer, hope, merchandise, ministry, project, redwoods, staff, Summer, summer 2010
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