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.

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” – Mark 4:30-32 Just the other day, my mom and I took a bit of a road trip to visit my Uncle Mark. While we certainly were glad he was open to having guests again aft

He [Jesus] also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” ~Mark 4:26-29 Every once in a while I, like so many others I know, get the urge to dive

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on go

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens Ecclesiastes 3:1 Living in the upper Midwest, the change of seasons is a fact of life. In many ways, spring came early this year. The snow melted early. We didn’t that huge late-winter snow storm. We had a relatively mild winter. The flowers have been poking up and out of the ground. The deer at camp have already eaten my tulips. Yes, in many ways, spring has come early this year. And with the

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up – Ephesians 4:11-12 There are times in life where the flow of life demands that we re-define, re-shape, and re-form our view and definition of community. As children, community changes when we start school or whenever we change schools. It becomes less and less defined by family and more defined by f