Project Purpose
For over 50 years, Camp Firwood has been operating on the front lines of The Firs’ mission through its resident camp programs for children and youth in Whatcom County and beyond. Responsibility for upwards of 2,500 campers each summer highly motivates us to ensure that our people, programs and facilities are optimal to meet our objectives. No wonder we are so excited about improving the camp experience at Firwood by constructing a new and much-needed Centerhouse facility.
The structure as designed is simple and “honest,” as described by the architect, with simple components designed for a basically simple task; feeding people. It’s clear, however, that when campers and staff are fed three times a day, in an efficient and safe environment, their entire camp experience is enhanced. In fact, a dining facility is an indispensable tool in our arsenal.
It goes beyond utilitarian, though. We’re willing to be that for most campers and staff who have shared the Firwood experience, many indelible memories took place in the context of mealtimes. Because experiences like eating, skits (“Melvin, Melvin, Melvin, my good friend Melvin”), receiving mail from home, staff training, banquets, Entertainment Tonight, and Centerstage (aka Fireside) on rainy nights take place in the Dining Hall, it has become the backdrop for precious mental camp photos and — with this project — can continue to be for decades to come.
This project’s specific focus is a building and the help we will need to see it through to completion. The bigger picture is all about making room for impact, actively clearing the way for lives to be saved and changed for eternity. This means removing distractions and creating a better environment, and with the Firwood Centerhouse, we will have done so tangibly. One more step toward impacting lives with the truth of Jesus, completion of a new dining facility is the means to a much greater end.
As we set out to “Make Room for Impact,” we are reminded of Paul’s encouragement to the Ephesians (3:20, NIV). He states that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.” It’s His power working through us that will accomplish not simply a building, but more in the lives of our campers than we could ever imagine, to His glory.