LifeCampUSA

Mark and Jane Neumann are no strangers to ministering to youth.

“We’ve always worked in that area,” Mark said, “and we know the struggle of that time of life for any kid, irrespective of their family situation.”

Through a charity event that the Neumanns host each year, they crossed paths with some military families. After learning of the challenges specific to service members, their spouses, and their children, Mark began thinking of ways he could serve these children.

Mark soon discovered a lack of nationwide programs devoted to offering Christ-centered mentorship to children whose fathers had died from service-related causes.

So, in 2021, Mark and Jane founded LifeCampUSA (lifecampusa.org), a camp-based mentorship program that “provides support, inner strength, and purposeful direction” to young people, ages 11-14, “who lost a father due to U.S. military, law enforcement, or first responder service,” according to the ministry website. The children of these fallen heroes are guided on “a faith-driven pursuit of character, resilience, and fortitude.”

“A lot of camps focus on grief care and helping the kids, but they don’t take a stand on any moral issues,” Mark explained to The Stand. “Our camp is based on the Bible and the principles in Scripture, so that we have something to mentor toward.

“It’s really special for these kids to realize that although they lost their earthly father, they have a heavenly Father who still loves them and has a plan for their lives,” he added.

The mission

LifeCampUSA hosts multiple one-week sessions at various locations throughout the year.

“We have 10 kids come at a time, and we have 10 volunteer mentors that come as well,” Jane said. “They form a team of 20, and they spend the week together … hiking, fishing, [shooting] archery, rafting, and horseback riding,” and learning survival skills.

“We [also] teach them about integrity, work ethic, resisting addiction, and even finances,” she explained.

The mentors

The extensively vetted volunteer mentors are an integral part of each week, as they share their testimonies and come alongside participants. At least half of these mentors are in the military or service-related fields. The youth look up to these men who boldly tell them that “Jesus is the answer.”

“That’s powerful,” Mark admitted, “[especially since] 80-90% of our kids come from unchurched families. We are seeing between 60-80% of those kids make decisions to follow Jesus at camp.”

The motive

Therefore, the Neumanns created LifeCare as a follow-up discipleship program.

“In the beginning, we didn’t have a follow-up system,” Mark said. “But after having some students give their lives to Jesus and be baptized at our very first camp, we realized we had to do more.”

Through LifeCare, former campers are invited to participate in a weekly virtual Bible study. There is also a monthly virtual opportunity for participants to reunite with their specific camp groups and mentors.

“We don’t want it just to be a mountaintop experience and for them to go home and never hear from LifeCamp again,” Jane said. “We truly want to come alongside them and continue to mentor them.”

“But to mentor them over the long run is not our goal,” Mark explained. “Our goal is to get them plugged in locally. … We want to get them walking with a spiritual family back home. We tell them to save our numbers and call us for the rest of their lives, but the goal is still to let them leave us to be mentored locally.”