Take advantage of your time away from the daily grind by settling in for a nap in one of the deck chairs at the new pool.

Restore your body and spirit with quiet devotion and prayer in the Prayer Chapel on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7 am.

Start the day by building some camaraderie and watching the sun peek over the mountaintops during the 5K run on Saturday morning.

Night owls can get in late night swims and basketball games, or simply lay on the cool grass under a clear nighttime sky outside Shiloh to see more stars than they knew existed.

Don't miss the Saturday morning workshops to hear practical truths on relevant issues.

For those who are inspired to serve, take part in the Demolition Olympics or encourage others to be involved in an activity then cheer them on.

Add depth to your prayer time by arriving early to the sessions.  As the band warms up, pray for the Lord to do a work in your heart.

Make the effort to connect with other men.  Introduce yourself to someone new at the campfire Friday night, join a tournament team, or strike up a conversation over early morning coffee in Altitude Cafe (use your coupon).  

Have some big issues you're carrying alone?   We want to partner with your church in helping you sort things out. Look for a PVBCC Ambassador with a colored name badge, and let us know you need to talk.

The ''pickers'' are committed men of God from the Cornerstone Worship Band in Long Beach who are also sensational, seasoned musicians who have played on scores of gospel, bluegrass and contemporary Christian albums and tours over the past 30 years.

God will be praised and lifted up - along with our spirits and our faith.  Get ready for a fantastic night of fun and praise bluegrass style on Saturday night!

Keep in mind that running is one of the fastest growing sports, and that San Diego is one of the most health-conscious cities.  More and more men (and women) are learning to enjoy the fresh morning air.  At Pine Valley, it's fresh morning mountain air, and there is something extra special about that.  We don't sell this event as a true ''race''.  Really, it is more of a fun run, and several guys last year didn't run at all but walked the whole way.  It's really better to get out there and just have fun without worrying about breaking records (though the camp recognizes the first place finisher and gives a little gift to him).

The distance of a 5K (five kilometers) is 3.1 miles.  Click here to see the entire route for this year's run.  Most guys will be able to run it in less than half an hour or walk it in less than an hour.  And then comes breakfast!  Believe me, cinnamon rolls never taste as good as they do after exercise!

Dave Fenska

There is much in this world I don't understand and a lot I still need to learn about God's wisdom and grace.  As a godly man, I'm expected to stand tall among the others of my generation and to lead with compassion and understanding.   It's impossible to do either on my own.  

I confess.  I don't always feel empathy for God's children.  I grope around in the darkness looking for answers just like the next guy, and, don't tell anyone, sometimes I even make matters worse.  The problem is, I want to do God's will but I don't always know what that is or how to go about doing it.  

The only answer is to persistently seek God.  

This year's Saturday morning workshops have been put together with Jeremiah 29:13 in mind.  A few are highlighted below, and you can read full descriptions of all the workshops here.

Purpose - Men are driven by a strong sense of purpose.  What is yours?  There's More To This Life is a workshop that will explore tangible truths in Scripture about God's purpose for men.

Father/Son Relationships - You both want a fulfilling relationship with each other, so what's keeping you from having it?  The workshop Raising Up The Next Generation examines how you can have it.

Money - It seems to fly out the window.  You can only get control of it by releasing control to God.  Discover how to do that in How To Weather The Financial Storms.

Sex, Anger, Pride - Why do these 3 little words dominate your life?  Figure out how to win the stare down against these intimidators in the workshop How To Confront 3 Menacing Giants In A Man's Life.

Being on summer staff at camp is hard work.  No doubt about it.  It means sacrificing family, friends, vacation, and lazy days by the pool.  It means spending less time hanging out at the mall and more time doing stuff like cleaning toilets, wiping tables, and digging holes.

Sometimes the job seems pointless.  Who cares if you vacuum the floor or prep the paintball markers or wash the potatoes?  Sure, it means a paycheck at the end of a couple of weeks, but can’t you do the same thing at McDonald’s and be closer to your friends, your own bathroom, and your Wii?

God has a point to this summer, a reason for each of the summer staff to be here.  After several weeks at camp, I asked a few of them what they thought that reason was.  

Here are there replies...

God put me here this summer to:

• Minister to others through my works and actions
• Prepare
• Serve the little day camp campers
• Be a light to those who are struggling
• Serve
• Love
• Become stronger
• Serve Him
• Serve others
• Grow
• Meet awesome people
• If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be here.  The lesson would be learned already!

Do you have a special memory or funny anecdote from a PVBCC Women's Conference?  Send it to me at andrea@pvbc.net to share it on our weblog.

Anyway, this is how the past couple of weeks have struck me.  I had previously been tinkering with an idea for a mission that would give me the opportunity to reach out to the hopeless, but I hadn't given it any serious thought to complete it.  So after praying, I have made it my mission to present the love of Christ in homeless shelters and recovery groups in an entertaining and engaging manner: rock 'n roll!  I am bringing together a band of sorts to play artfully-crafted Christian music to, hopefully, break the hearts of the broken and lead them to the only real peace and salvation: Jesus Christ!  (I hope to tie in donations and an evangelistic presentation of some sort as well).  I don't know how exactly it is going to work, if it will be successful, or whether I can even get it off the ground, but I am following the still, small voice and heeding His will for me.

I know that many of you are already knee-deep in some form of ministry or another already, but I hope that this will encourage you to share your faith in a real, tangible way and see what Christ has in store for you.  I guarantee that it will be hard, that you won't want to do it at times, and that the enemy will throw everything he has at you to get you to stop.  I also guarantee that you CAN succeed (whether you think you have or not), that Christ WILL work through you for the good of His kingdom, and that you will be blessed (even if it isn't what you expect).

I hope this has inspired you to do something great for God, no matter how big or small it is.  Good luck!

by Dustin Rhodes.  Dustin previously served as summer staff in 2010 and continues to assist in recreation at PVBCC.

We have all tried at times to do this walk on our own.  It usually doesn't go so well, does it?  So then why do we keep trying to go it alone?!  I'll tell you why.  It's because Satan is so good at keeping us on our solo mission, walking in our own strength.  Lone Ranger.  Lobos solo.  Status quo.  Safe.  The enemy even gives us enough tiny victories to instill a false sense of victory.  "Hey, look at what I can do!  I can do this!"  But as soon as we reach a little higher, the enemy steps up his propaganda machine.  "Hey, slow down!  Don't get carried away!  Pace yourself!"  The result is stops and starts.  Ups and downs.  We even buy into the belief that this roller coaster rider is normal.  That's a lie.  A scheme.  The enemy will do anything to keep us alone because he knows that alone is the same as marginalized, neutralized, and far, far short of our God-given potential.

God never intended for us to walk on our own in such a state of repeated defeat.  He calls us to wake in victory, walk in victory and rest in victory - a victory that has already been won for us!  We can't do it alone, but God can, through us if we will put on the full armor of God and take a stand against the enemy in this spiritual battleground we live in.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  - Proverbs 27:17

After 7 military deployments and 12 different moves from one duty station to another, I finally realized that I needed to get off of the roller coaster and quit trying to walk on my own.  Sure, I always attended Sunday services, and I always served in ministry when I wasn't away.  I had godly fellowship in my life, but my relationship with Jesus was not growing.  I had to admit that I just didn't have the discipline to grow on my own.  So in obedience I stepped outside my comfort zone and joined an IronMen discipleship curriculum.  It radically changed my life through real life Biblical application and genuine accountability relationships.  With other men alongside me to lift my arms when they grew weary, my walk grew in ways I never imagined.  Worries were replaced with peace.  Doubt was replaced with confidence.  Through the renewing of my mind, I was becoming the man God called me to be.

The IronMen Ministry is committed to equip and train an army of men to be godly and faithful servant leaders in ministry, the workplace, community and family. 

If you desire a continual love relationship with Jesus Christ that is real and personal, come to the "Rooted and Grounded" IronMen Conference November 19-21 at PVBCC.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks in the funniest of ways.  Earlier this week, I was sitting watching a Jesus movie (one of those old cartoon movies from when I was a kid) with my little sister.  She was completely enamored by the story of Jesus walking on the water, watching with wide-eyed wonder as Peter stepped out of the boat and also walked on the water toward Jesus, who held out his hand, waiting patiently, even when Peter began to fall beneath the waves.  But my five-year-old sister wasn't the only one sucked in by the awesome power of the story.

As Jesus came closer, stepping on the rippling waves, I started wondering, "How did he do that?!  Did he somehow make the water congeal as he stepped on it or something?"  (A funny kind of question, but you have to understand that's how I think.  I want things explained to me in logical terms.)

As I mulled over the options, all of which defied the laws of physics, of course, two thoughts (for lack of a better word) popped into my mind.  

"Autumn, I just did it."  I stopped, suddenly forgetting about the cartoon character and listening to the real thing.  

"Because I wanted to."  There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit was communing with me, answering a question I had put to him.  He didn't dismiss my question.  He answered it, and so simply.  It was simply God's power that allowed him to walk on water.  He didn't need to have an explanation on how he did something - he just did it because he wanted to.  Apparently.

But here's what really blew my mind away.  The Lord of the universe placed a part of himself inside of me that wants to talk with me and answer my questions, and he's there, all the time, waiting to talk.  And he even answers the 'silly' questions.  As a matter of fact, he enjoys answering our questions, even when they are a little silly.

Learning to listen to God's voice isn't hard at all.  In fact, it's simply wanting to hear from him.  If you won't listen, he won't speak.  But if you open the ears to your soul, I promise you'll hear his counsel ... sometimes when you least expect it.  And it's a wonderful thing to experience!

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"  Luke 11:13

Laura* got a taste of what if feels like to be stuck in an invisibility cloak when she moved across the country to Southern California. Back home, Laura stayed busy with friends and classes and family.  There was always someone to talk to and share with.  But after moving to east SD county, Laura began attending a new school, one filled with strangers instead of friends, loneliness instead of busyness.  The challenge to meet new people and create new relationships was scary.  Isolated from what was familiar and surrounded by people unwilling to reach out to the new kid, Laura spent each school day wandering from class to class completely alone.

Before the loneliness could completely engulf Laura, she took a chance and attended one of Grossmont Union High School District's three-day camps called Camp Lead at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center.  As part of the Project Shield youth development program, Camp Lead is designed to give high school students the opportunity to break free from the preconceived stereotypes that force them to stay behind boundaries of intolerance and hate.  They discover that every single person desires to be and is worthy of being accepted and respected.

When Laura was given the chance to see how boundaries are self-imposed, how changing one's self compels change in others, and how powerful her personal influence is, she committed herself to transformation.  Not only did she begin making the first move to make new friends, she began walking across a crowded room to say 'hi' to someone who was alone.  She began reaching out to the person sitting alone at lunch, stopping to talk to the person reading alone at break, and walking side-by-side with the person walking by himself to class.

Once she learned how to destroy the cloak of invisibility, Laura didn't stop with her own.  She set out to destroy the cloak trapping others inside a solitary world of rejection.  And that one small decision that Laura made is rippling across the divisions of age, gender, culture and race, and twisting invisibility into acceptance and hope.

*names have been changed

Your mother may never be sober.  Your father may preach hatred.  The hand you've been dealt isn't fair and resentment simmers underneath your skin.

And everyday you say to yourself, 'Who even cares?'.

Somewhere a grandmother, folding her stiff, arthritic body in prayer, is calling out for God's protection to surround her grandchildren and keep them safe.

Somewhere a cop, reading the same rights to the same perp for the third time in a month, is silently praying for God to pull this young person's life out of the gutter.

Somewhere a teacher, noticing an empty desk, is opening her roll book and quietly praying for the student who's truant again.

Someone cares.  Someone who may not even know your name.  They only know what God can do and that He wants to do it for you.

And sometimes God answers those prayers in the most unusual ways, using the most unlikely resources.  Like a secular school program that can't teach the Bible and can't mention the name Jesus.

"Now to him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY more than all we ask or IMAGINE, according to his power that is at work within us."  Ephesians 3:20

Each year Project Shield, a youth development program of the Grossmont Union High School District, brings hundreds of high school students to camp where they learn how to wield the powerful tool of truth.

When I was asked to write something in the blog, I had no clue what I was going to talk about.  I said 'yes' and then a couple minutes later, I'm like, "What am I doing?!  I don't have anything to write about!  I should have just said 'No thanks!'".  What WAS God doing in my life this summer?  I decided to just ask God and wait for the Spirit to give me something ...

That's when it hit me - THAT was the high point of my summer!  I had been learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit's voice and obeying.  The Holy Spirit had given me an answer, so clear and so obvious to me, that I couldn't ignore it.  That's what I was supposed to talk about.

John 14:26 says 'But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and bring all things to remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.'

It doesn't take a great person to be able to hear God's voice.  It doesn't take some kind of life impacting situation to realize he wants to talk to you.  It only takes having the Holy Spirit inside of you, and realizing God has the wish to talk and commune with you.  It's a mind-blowing thing, realizing that he wants to talk to us.  Personally, it's completely humbling and awe-inspiring.

God's voice is often so quiet, we disregard it.  I look over it because I don't realize what it is.  A thought, a suggestion, so quiet and sometimes a little silly, it seems.  And then, it's gone.  It's in one ear and out the other, forgotten.  God may not speak with a thundering voice in a whirlwind or out of a burning bush anymore, but Jesus promised his Father would send the Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel me and you.

Listening to God's voice isn't always pleasant either.  Sometimes it's hard to listen to what he's telling me to do.  I've discovered that myself this summer, but I have to keep in mind, God may ask me to do hard things, and I should be honored that he speaks to me at all.  Anything he asks me to do, I count it an honor to do.

I arrived at the beginning of the summer ready to learn new things and ready to serve.  And there sure were many things to learn.  I learned about jobs I knew I would hate and jobs I knew I would love.  But my attitude would quickly change.  In the beginning of the summer, I read "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence.  I read that he did every single job for the glory of God, even if it was a job he despised.  I took this lesson to heart.  Even in jobs that were boring and repetitive I found joy, knowing that what work I do is for the Kingdom.  

I suppose I better tell you all what job I had if this is to make any sense:  I was on Rec staff.  I have never before enjoyed working so much with so many great people.  Yes, there were jobs I disliked.  After all it is hard to get fired up about standing in the middle of a paintball war zone and getting hit every once in a while.  What I really looked forward to was High Ropes.  I usually worked at the bottom, making sure people got hooked in and knew the safety procedures.  It was so much fun getting to know people from all over the place, hearing their stories (for the few minutes we had to talk), and being able to encourage others to step out of their "comfort zone" (as the ropes course is named).  

More along the lines of drudgery were the times when the Rec staff helped in the kitchen.  While not exactly the best of jobs, after washing possibly thousands of plates and silverware, I no longer hold any fear of most things considered disgusting or menial.  In fact, menial tasks are sometimes the best tasks.  

For what it is worth, this summer has been one of my favorites.  I have connected with God on a deeper level, and while I may not see the fruit of my labors in this lifetime, I look forward to the eternity that God has placed in my heart and meeting many of the people who spent their time here at Pine Valley.

At the last, final breath and acceptance of that momentary despair?

That death, that life was only temporary.

Don't you know that this "end" is fleeting, this "death" flying, and His life never over?

Take heed, and take hold of your head, which hangs in sorrow and disbelief;

Lift your soul high and delight in the fulfillment of the promise:

Not death, but life!

The only life that sustains and completes the purpose of our years upon the Earth.

Our staggering, melancholic spirit is relieved of us, and our hearts are lifted high-

Freed from destruction and flame!

Not death, but life;

Ultimately received by the lowest of men, the highest of them

That have a true heart in the joy of The Everlasting.

They who have strength from The Healer of the weak,

The One, the only One who will make our life complete.

Therefore, I say to you, "Not death, but life!"

This is the gift of living water,

The bread of life,

The Maker of all,

The Messiah.

GRAND OPENING of the New Pine Valley Swimming Pool and Bathroom Facilities.

Thank you to our many friends who came out and enjoyed the perfect day and great food and fun.

All finished and ready to go...just add campers.

How big, or how small, are we?  We seem to never understand that, no matter how often we exclaim that God is omni-"everything" (I know it's redundant), we fail to admit how minuscule we are in comparison.  Like quoting something out of context, we have no reference point to gauge how big He is in comparison to us if we don't recognize just how small we are.  We don't afford ourselves the maximum benefit of such praise to our Father without admitting to Him that we are as small as He is big. seems to me that whenever I am totally in tune with what God is saying to me, I am not in the picture.  I offer up to Him everything that I was, am, and will be, giving my entire being away, just to be an inch, a millimeter closer to His right hand.  When I give myself freely to Him, He is free to give me His Self, the Holy Spirit.  I am a vessel of the Holy Spirit; nothing more than a shipping container holding precious cargo.  Just as we cannot stop the Earth from revolving around the sun, we cannot, as flesh, do anything for Him of our own sake.  

I am not saying that I am worthless or that God doesn't care about us.  He does!  That is why He allows us to draw close to Him in the first place.  I am only saying that we are merely fleshly, sinful obstacles to God's true purpose if WE are still trying to force our way into His throne room.  No matter how hard it is for us to say that we are ants and He is the Pacific Ocean, we should be grateful and honored that we are His.  If my only path to discovering the truth of His majesty is to become an amoeba, I am even more honored to be close to Him despite my status as a one-celled blob, because I am sitting at His feet - and that is better than anything else in this life.

I loved coming to Pine Valley when I was a teenager.  I remember being challenged spiritually by so many people who loved the Lord Jesus.  And now, working on summer staff, I get to eat, live and serve with them.  I look forward to seeing how God will continue to use this camp to help visitors grow closer to Him.

Steve Malan, Lifeguard

The two heads of the Rec department, Kris and Hilary, decided that for us to be a team, we needed to do team-building activities.  I was the one who wrote the Low Ropes manual last summer, so I had the privilege of leading our group through the course.  But that was not enough.  So Kris looked through his book of San Diego hikes and found one he thought would be suitable to "grow our teamwork skills" and "break people."  After forty-five minutes of convoy driving, four or five hours of hiking, three miles of goat trails, bouldering, climbing down a hill by use of a rope, stopping and starting, finally reaching the goal of a series of waterfalls and pools called Three Sisters, actually making it back to the cars and camp, and having a late dinner together in the dining hall - I know he was right.

It wasn't just that someone ended up broken, which was kind of true because one of our number went into this hike of madness with a hurt knee, and ended up with a swollen and hurt knee, but the hike itself was an experience of growing.  We talked and laughed and got to know each other better.  We tried to catch each other when a misstep would have sent us tumbling hundreds of feet.  We looked for ways to make the trail easier for the less sure-footed, and lent a helping hand when it would have been dangerous for another to go it alone.  When there were dangers on the trail such as sandy declines or poison oak, we would radio the information to the ones in the back, or shout it down the length of our group.  We worked on learning that a group is only as strong as its weakest member, and that it is much better to stay together as a team than to forge on by oneself.

As Christians we are called to be the body of Christ, and as the body of Christ we are called to understand that we are all connected, yet having different roles, to accomplish the task set before us by God, namely to make disciples of all nations.  Hundreds of people from all over the southwest, and sometimes all over the world, come though Pine Valley Bible Conference Center in the course of a summer - and our job is to serve them the very best we can, as a team, while they are on our grounds.  Every day we work hard, but we also talk and laugh and get to know each other better.  We try to catch each other before we make mistakes, or pick each other up when we fall below the standards of service for which we aim.  Through prayer partner groups we are trying to learn to help each other in our Christian walks - to point out dangers in life and not let another be caught in them.  We learn about each others' strengths and weakness so we know in which positions we work best in a pinch, and what we can do to help our summer staffers grow and change while we are here.

I'm not saying we have these concepts down.  The cry of "ten nice things" rings out plenty of times every day when we fail to be kind to each other, but we're working on it.  As Christians, we should struggle daily to become more like Christ - freely admitting that perfection is a goal we will never attain in this life, but with the strength of our Lord, we can work towards.  It is so incredible to know that the summer is just beginning, and that God has so much more to teach us during it - about our personal walk with Him, about how we fit into His plan for the world, and about the importance of teamwork in completing even simple daily goals.  Praise God that He chooses to use our silly raucous Rec team to do His will!

Hello everyone,

Summer is just about here and things have been busy.....the pool is awaiting final inspection, the zip line is zipping, and Base Camp is being reawakened for the summer.  We have a couple of projects going on that will help Base camp be more effective for serving you guys and gals that make it out.  We will have steps and hand rails for each tent platform, new bunks instead of our old trusty wooden ones, a deck for the cook tent, and some others changes that will help make Base Camp it's own area.

We were truly blessed to have a work party from Apostolic Christian Families come out this past weekend to lend a hand.  Their group comes to Pine Valley and has been doing so for over 30 years!  About 15 came out and worked all day Saturday and all I can say is they got A LOT DONE!

After waiting many days for the frost to take a break...the team from Diamond Pools came out and applied the plaster to the new pool...later that very day, Jim was filling it with nice cold water. See more photos of the pool project...

On April the 5th, after waiting for several days for the morning frost to calm down, the crew from Diamond Pools came out and applied the plaster to the pool. They where done by 1:00 and water began to flow later that day. On Wednesday the 6th, it was full enough for Jim Johnson (our Project Director) and Kris and Ginny Cram to take a quick dip. Quick it was because the fresh water came right out of the well at a brisk 55º.

Pack them water wings and get ready for the summer and our long awaited, brand new, and hopefully warmer Swimming Pool. Last one in...........
PS...Don't forget to mark the Date of May 29 on your calendar and plan to join us as we celebrate the Grand Opening and Dedication of the New Pool. "The Spash Zone"

The plaster was barely set when these brave men prepared for the inaugural swim in the new Pool.

Notice Kris in his full coverage wetsuit....Then we see Jim, (New Project Manager) in his c.1930's Swim Costume.....says a lot about both of these men.