Volunteer Weekend 1: General Projects

Open to everyone — no prior experience needed, just a willing heart and ready hands. Help prepare camp for the season with cleaning, cabin prep, landscaping, and grounds work. Meals, housing, tools, and coordination are all provided.

Volunteer Weekend 2: Skilled Projects

Focused on higher-skilled projects. Especially welcoming those with carpentry, construction, electrical, plumbing, or trade experience. Meals, housing, tools, and coordination are all provided.

Family Camp 1: Ground Up Grace & Fine Arts Week

A week of faith, fun, and creativity for the whole family. Mornings feature age-specific learning, afternoons are filled with swimming, boating, arts & crafts, and hiking. Evenings bring campfire, worship, and the canteen.

Guest Teacher & Artist: Paul Oman & Johan Hinderlie. Preacher: Matthew McCormick. Musicians: Milt & Andrew Scott.

Family Camp 2

Another full week of family camp with Bible teaching, outdoor activities, and community on the shores of Lake Carlos.

Guest Speaker: Adam Francisco. Chaplains in Residence: Johan & Sonja Hinderlie. Musicians: Milt & Andrew Scott.

Family Camp 3: Theology Week

A week that goes deeper into Scripture and theological reflection, while still enjoying all the classic family camp activities and fellowship.

Guest Speaker: Luke Kjolhaug. Preachers: Mike & Martha Hanson. Chaplain in Residence: Paul Koch.

Family Camp 4: Mini Week

A shorter weekend camp option — perfect for families who can't make a full week. Same great Mount Carmel experience in a condensed format.

Guest Speaker: Hector Franco.

Family Camp 5: Parenting as Calling — Faith, Forgiveness, and Formation

The vocation of parenthood is foundational for all our other vocations. Dr. Leon Miles covers what the Bible says to parents — including loving, disciplining, forgiving, and bearing the cross of parenting.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Leon Miles, VP of Advancement and Dean of ILT's Christ College.

Family Camp 6: 500 Years of the English New Testament

2026 marks the 500th anniversary of William Tyndale's New Testament. Paul Cross traces this fascinating account and examines the array of English translations available to us now.

Teacher: Paul Cross. Preacher: Corey Bjertness. Music: Mike & Kristin Pierson.

Family Camp 7: Exasperating Your Kids for the Glory of God

Life Together as God's Family. Diving into Paul's letter to the Ephesians to explore what it means to live as part of God's family — with humor, humility, and a few good stories along the way.

Teacher: Steve Olcott. Preacher: Dave Wollan.

Lakeside Bible Retreat: Summer 2026

A Christ-centered week of Bible study, music, fellowship, and rest on the shores of Lake Carlos — open to adults of all ages, denominations, and backgrounds, from twenties through nineties. Our 2026 speaker will be announced soon, and we promise they'll be inspirational and excellent. Registration is open now.

Speaker: To be announced. Musician: Patsy Baglien.

Norwegian Christian Heritage Tour

A two-week journey through Norway's majestic fjords, historic cities, and the places where Christian faith took root in Scandinavia.

Marriage Retreat

Reinvest in your marriage in a Christ-centered setting. Step away from the busyness of life and reconnect with your spouse on the peaceful shores of Lake Carlos.

Lakeside Bible Retreat: Fall Hymn Festival

Return for another beloved week of hymns with Gracia Grindal — scholar, poet, and hymn writer. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll find yourself woven into a warm community of song. A cherished tradition, open to adults of all ages, denominations, and backgrounds.

Speaker: Gracia Grindal. Musician: Tim Peterson.

Women's Retreat

Rest, spiritual renewal, and recreation. Step away for a weekend of studying God's Word, fellowship, and refreshment on the shores of Lake Carlos.

Speaker: To be announced.

Youngish Adult Retreat: A Quarter Maybe Third Life Retreat

Definitely not a crisis. For young adults who have probably graduated something, might be married, and probably still have student loans. Whether you're navigating a new job, marriage, city, or just a new season of life, this weekend is for you. Your $50 covers two nights, five lodge meals, and all programming.

Guest Teacher: Gretchen Ronnevik — author of Ragged and The Story of Katie Luther, co-host of the Freely Given podcast.

Young Adult Retreat

A retreat designed for young adults to connect with each other and deepen their faith.

Speakers: Chris and Emily Adamow.

Ice Fishing Retreat

Bundle up and head out on frozen Lake Carlos for a weekend of ice fishing, fellowship, and fun. A unique Mount Carmel winter experience.

Family Camp Recharge

Miss summer? Family Camp Recharge brings back the Mount Carmel family camp experience over President's Day weekend. A great way to enjoy camp in a winter setting.

Family Camp 1: Ground Up Grace

Ground Up Grace returns for 2027. A 6-night family camp on the shores of Lake Carlos featuring preaching, teaching, age-level programming, and all the summer activities that make camp unforgettable.

Musicians: Milt & Andrew Scott. Teacher & Preacher: To be announced.

Family Camp 2

A 6-night family camp. Speaker and theme details coming soon.

Musicians: Milt & Andrew Scott. Teacher & Preacher: To be announced.

Family Camp 3: Theology Week

Our annual Theology Week returns — a 6-night camp for families who want to go deeper into Scripture and theological conversation while enjoying everything Lake Carlos has to offer. Teacher and details coming soon.

Family Camp 4: Weekend Camp

A 2-night weekend option — perfect for families who can't commit to a full week. Same Mount Carmel warmth in a shorter format. Teacher and theme details coming soon.

Family Camp 5: Grace, Freedom & Discernment

How do we parent with grace and freedom rather than fear? And how do we engage with education and the news with discernment instead of anxiety? Teacher Kelsey Kramer McGinnis leads this 4-night camp.

Teacher: Kelsey Kramer McGinnis, Ph.D. — writer, musicologist, and contributor to Christianity Today.

Family Camp 6: Church History & the Questions of Our Time

Dan van Voorhis brings a historian's eye and a pastor's heart to the questions families are genuinely asking. He reads the present moment through the long story of the church — showing that today's hardest questions are rarely as new as they feel. Dan adapts his teaching in real time to what's alive in the room.

Teacher: Dan van Voorhis, Ph.D. — Scholar-in-Residence at 1517, host of The Christian History Almanac.

Family Camp 7: Intimacy & Order — An Invitation to Religious Spirituality

Perhaps you've heard someone describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious." The invitation of Scripture is for an intimate spirituality with God — but that relationship is not meant to be divorced from Christ's church. Join teacher Gabe Kasper as we explore what this looks like together.

Teacher: Gabe Kasper. Evening Preacher: Rev. Paul Muther.

Lakeside Bible Retreat: Summer 2027

Our beloved adult Bible camp returns for four nights of enriching teaching, worship, music, and fellowship on the shores of Lake Carlos — open to adults of all ages, denominations, and backgrounds. Speaker and topic details coming soon.