Besides offering quality summer camp and year-round retreats, Ingham Okoboji is committed to encouraging campers of all ages to continue growing in faith BEYOND their time at our youth and family programming. As a part of IOLBC Beyond Ministries, this site is designed to offer engaging content and ministry resources for all.

Advent: Our Manna Season The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 NIV This season is one many of us look forward to while many others of us dread. Some of us can’t WAIT for Black Friday; others of us feel the weight of financial stress pressing down harder than ever. Some of us are eager to prepare the house for holiday celebrations; others of us can’t bear to think of the table this year: missing a treasured loved one, wishing they wou

**This post originally kicked off a 4 weeks series on the themes of Advent in 2019. Click on the links to visit the rest of 2019 Advent series: - Hope - Love - Joy - Peace - Christmas Season This Sunday kicks off the season of Advent. It is honestly a season I don’t remember doing much with as a child. For me, it was all about the countdown to Christmas. The aspect of waiting and anticipating the birth of Christ, of God taking on human flesh and becoming one of us, it was

If your life is anything like mine, a month or two ago you thought to yourself, "Wow, December isn't looking that busy." And before the next 30 days are gone, you'll be saying to yourself, "Wow, December was really busy! Good thing January won't be as busy." for the moment we will ignore the likely reality that kicking off 2020 will find your calendar filling up faster than you ever thought possible and talk a little bit about December and the season of Advent. Let me firs

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. Genesis 2:8 Several years ago on Jimmy Kimmel Live, a challenge was issued. Let your kids open a Christmas present early and film the reaction. The catch? Give them something they would never, ever actually want to get for Christmas. Predictably, the children reacted with varying levels of dismay and disappointment. While they were set up in what was intended to be a harm

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 I love music. I grew up taking piano lessons and playing percussion in the band as well as singing in the choir. I have a list of instruments I would love to acquire and learn to play someday. During my college years, I saved my pennies and used my Christmas money to buy an acoustic guitar. Nothing fancy. I spent the better part

" … but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4 I might be a little bit biased, but I believe my Grandma and Grandpa Quam were pretty much the best grandparents the world has ever known. I loved going to their house as a kid. I found a lot of comfort in the routines and traditions of visiting my grandparents. It seemed no matter how much changed in my life or the worl

Towards the end of November, Americans will celebrate our annual holiday of thankfulness; Thanksgiving. It is meant to be a day where we give thanks for the blessings in our lives, not just a day to eat a lot of food and watch football! I came across this a few weeks ago and thought I would share it here as the month of November kicks off. It's called the Thanksgiving Challenge. For each day in November, there is a different scripture to help us learn and remember to be th