Our Purpose
Raccoon River Bible Camp is a conservative, non-denominational Christian camp whose purpose is to help young people come to know Christ, grow in their relationship with Him, and then serve Him as Lord. This purpose is reflected in the many exposures to God’s Word given to campers throughout each day.
Our Beliefs
The Bible, God’s Word, is life-transforming and is without error. The Holy Spirit uses it to draw campers to trust in Christ and to yield their lives to serve Him as Lord. We believe that God deserves this surrender and that it is the only type of life that will bring campers lasting satisfaction, purpose, and joy. As God works from the inside out and campers are conformed to Christ’s character, it makes them better young people, students, and citizens. With this in mind, we prayerfully offer several opportunities to be in God’s Word in an age-appropriate, interesting way. We also strongly encourage the memorization of God’s Word. Our full doctrinal statement can be viewed here. But while we are serious about this mission, we also believe that by designing a wide variety of recreational activities, Christian camping can be loads of FUN! A typical day’s schedule can be viewed here.
Our Doctrinal Statement
- We believe in the Scripture of the Old and New Testament as verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith and life.
- We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and is true God and true Man.
- We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned, and thereby incurred, not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature.
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
- We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of the Lord, in His ascension into Heaven and His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate.
- We believe in “that blessed hope,” the personal, pre-millenial, pre-tribulational and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
- We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become children of God.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
- We believe that all redeemed are kept by the power of God and are thus preserved in Christ.
- We believe that the gift of speaking in tongues and the other sign gifts gradually ceased as the New Testament was completed and its authority was established.
- We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.) We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Raccoon River Bible Camp as an organization dedicated to serving Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Raccoon River Bible Camp members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Raccoon River Bible Camp in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22.
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11)
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Raccoon River Bible Camp.