Building the Bridge to Future Generations

At Alliance Redwoods, we are building the bridge to future generations using the dynamic tool of Christian camping. Thanks to church partners like you, each year thousands of children and young adults attend camp where they experience the life-changing love of Jesus.

More than 85 percent of those who come to Christ do so before they reach the age of 18. At Alliance Redwoods, well over 1,000 campers make decisions for Christ annually. Together we are living out the first C&MA core value: “Lost people matter to God. He wants them found.” Our campers experience authentic community as they receive ministry to the whole person and build relationships with God and with caring mentors. Major life commitments are made weekly here at camp and the result is that tomorrows leaders and being developed today.

The camp environment breaks down social, economic, and cultural barriers that the traditional church setting struggles to overcome. By working together with the churches in the CPD, we are able to provide Christian Hospitality to more than 20,000 guests in a spectacular outdoor setting under the majestic Redwoods of northern California.

Our stated mission here in the CPD is to be a place of renewal where guests meet the Creator in His Creation. Once our guests cross the bridge into the camp, God reveals Himself through His creation (natural revelation), His Word (supernatural revelation), and His followers (the Body of Christ). When walking the grounds around camp, people discover “Highway 66” signs that point to the God of creation, using Scriptures from all 66 books of the Bible.

Each person who crosses the bridge is on a journey of discovery writing another chapter in his or her life’s story. The time campers spend at Alliance Redwoods often changes the rest of their story. We get feedback every week from people whose lives have been changed at camp.

A 10-year-old boy, who attended one of our outdoor education camps along with more than 6,000 other children, shared his story with us. Like the majority of these campers, this boy did not attend church, and his dad was an avid biker. Soon after the boy’s arrival, he connected with Greg, one of our head cooks, who is also a biker. Greg wore easily identifiable biker gear that the young boy recognized. In addition, Greg just happened to be a chaplain for the Christian Motorcycle Association (CMA). Before the week ended, Greg had built a relationship with the boy and gave him his card for his dad.   

After returning home filled with excitement about his week at camp, the boy gave Greg’s card to his dad. Moved by his son’s experience, he attended a local CMA club meeting where he and his entire family eventually received Christ. They are now active church members, growing in their newfound faith in Jesus.

But the impact of the CPD at Alliance Redwoods does not end on the West Coast. Part of our vision is to become an international training and sending center for the C&MA, taking Alliance camping worldwide. Every winter since 2002, we have raised funds to run a month-long camp in South Africa that has served more than 6,000 impoverished kids. Well over 50 percent of them have indicated a desire to have a personal relationship with Christ. Many of these children have AIDS and will never see adulthood. Each one reached represents a life turned from despair to hope in Jesus Christ.

When Germaine, a 12-year-old street kid, came to our first Camp South Africa outreach in 2002, he was sniffing glue, selling drugs, and stealing to survive. He came to Christ during the camp, and at the following year’s camp, he testified that he was drug free, back in school, reading his Bible, and attending a local church—all with no parental care or supervision. It is amazing to observe what the transforming power of God can accomplish in the worst of human circumstances! Germaine is now a spiritually mature 17-year-old and will be working as a camp counselor for Camp South Africa 2008 this December. He has a passion to reach others for Christ.

International camp workers receive training at Alliance Redwoods and go out to harvest fields like Russia, Romania, and Hawaii. They have a sense of urgency to fulfill the Great Commission and bring back the King. Requests for training abound from all over the globe, and expansion of this vision is limited only by our current financial resources, making your partnership a vital link to building the bridge to future generations.

Jim Blake has served as executive director of Alliance Redwoods since 1998. His wife, Christine, is a physical therapist and member of the Camp South Africa 2007 team. College-age daughters Kate and Emily have been campers and summer staffers at Alliance Redwoods since moving to California.