Details

August 14 – 18, 2023

Registration deadline is July 15, 2023. Registrations after that date will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Cove Valley Camp
5357 Little Cove Rd
Mercersburg, PA 17236 

Situate between two mountains in rural south-central Pennsylvania, our setting is one of refreshing natural beauty. Follow your wanderlust in exploring 169 acres of forest trails and grassy swards, or be surrounded by scenery while playing sports, fishing on the lake, or simply from your motel porch. Lodgings are rustic, well-designed, amply furnished.

• Morning services including congregational singing and the morning message.
• Break-out sessions after the main service.
• Talent exhibition—an opportunity to reveal your special skills and interests! Individuals and/or families are encouraged to participate.
• Holey canoe race. Can you row and bail at the same time?
• A Doubles Volleyball Tournament, pairing guys with girls to form two-person teams—we can pair you with someone, or you may sign up as a team with your friend or spouse!
• Activities for singles ages 16 and older.
• Other spontaneous and organized activities, including volleyball, nine-square-in-the-air, biking/skateboarding, talking, horseshoes, gaga ball, fun on the playground, talking, disc golf, swimming in the pool, talking, fishing in the pond, hiking, climbing trees, talking, card/table/board games, group singing, campfires, talking, morning Bible studies, talking, and maybe even a water-balloon fight!

Jared Dodd

Jared Dodd has been invested in full-time ministry for the last 20+ years. In 2012, he and his family started a ministry focused on Family and Discipleship; currently they reside in Texas, homeschooling their nine children, and frequently traveling the country to share on many different subjects such as Apologetics, Family, Homeschooling, Discipleship, and others. Besides their weekly broadcast radio show, The Blessed Family, they currently also have three full-length, 10–20 week video series on RightNow Media.

Over the years, Jared has had the opportunity to speak at various conferences both large and small. In 2020, he was a featured speaker at the North Dakota Homeschool Convention, returning as their keynote speaker in 2021. He had the privilege of being a featured speaker at the MÂCHÉ Convention in 2021; additionally, he is hosted regularly by churches around the country that are using his resources on RightNow Media, as well as at festivals, revivals, church conventions, camps, and more. To learn more about his family and ministry, visit his website at https://jareddodd.com/.

Ben Sargent

Ben was raised in Romanism, and Karen as an active member of the United Methodist Church. Before they met, they had a couple of defining life experiences in common. Despite their religious upbringings, they hadn’t heard that they were lost, nor that they needed a Savior and needed to be born again.

Ben heard the gospel for the first time at 17 and at 20 he gave up, quit playing church and trusted the Lord Jesus as his own. (Thanks for preaching to servicemen, Mike Pearl!) Just a couple of years later Ben and Karen had an inauspicious beginning as recorded in the following excerpt in an article from No Greater Joy Magazine: “When the meeting ended, I introduced myself to Ben and he impressed me by forgetting his name (true story). He opened the front of his Bible and found it there.” Shortly after that fun event Karen trusted Jesus as her Savior and God brought them together as man and wife in 1984.

But God. It’s been the story of their lives together as they raised 5 children while Ben served in the Navy, eventually retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. Through deployments, regular changes of duty stations, extreme illness (Ben tried his best to die in 1991) and all of Ben’s visionary direction(less?), a constant theme throughout has been “but God” who has sustained us, blessed us, and cared for us every single step of the way.

Today we serve, along with several others, on the staff of Onward for Christ, where our heart’s desire is to win souls to Christ and to challenge, empower and train young people across the country and around the world to seek the lost for the glory of God.

Richard Swartzentruber

A farmer who likes to talk about Jesus!

For an added fee, you can sign up for the FULL CAFETERIA PACKAGE which includes all meals from Monday supper through Friday breakfast (11 meals total), or for the PARTIAL CAFETERIA PACKAGE which includes lunch and supper (no breakfast) from Monday through Thursday evenings (7 meals total). This year we have again decided to manage the cafeteria ourselves in order to provide good quality, healthful food: for this reason, our cafeteria cost is slightly higher than it was in 2021. Please see PRICING for more details. Dietary restrictions? Gluten sensitivities are the primary dietary need we’re able to accommodate.

Of course, the cafeteria is optional, and those who so desire are welcome to bring their own food!

We are accepting free registration for a supper potluck, where families bringing their own food can share their evening meals together. The potlucks will probably be held in the main kitchen along with the cafeteria, where there are ample cooking, brewing, electric, refrigeration, and dishwashing capacities. If you are interested, please select this option at registration!

• Soap, towels, washcloths, and bedsheets.
• Blankets (if you’re staying in a cabin).
• Enough clothes for the week. There are some laundry facilities at this camp, but they are limited.
• Bible and notepad.
• A special skill or project: options range from a well-polished piece you can play on the piano, to something tangible like your latest art or embroidery project. Ideas are limitless – please be a part of our talent exhibition!
• Musical instruments for the talent exhibition or for playing music with friends.
• Gear for volleyball, fishing, disc golf, spike-ball, cornhole, soccer, badminton, and whatever other sport you deem important.
• Card games, board games, etc.
• Camera.
• Lawn chairs.
• Hymnals in you’d like to sing with friends!
• Modest swimming clothes for the pool.
• Bug spray.
• Umbrellas.
• First aid kit (this is a campground!).
• Bicycles! Biking and skateboarding are allowed, so bring them if you wish.
• Supplies to set up as a vendor, if you wish. There is no cost to do this.
• A testimony to share!

• Each individual or family is responsible to clean their own rooms before leaving the Shindig.
• Please wear modest clothing. Low-cut shirts and bikinis are not permitted. Please wear skirts, dresses, or shorts to below the knees, and wear a shirt at all times including swimming. Thanks for understanding!
• Please do not post photos or videos online or on social media without prior permission from all persons photographed.
• No smoking, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
• Adults must carefully monitor campfires, biking, skateboarding, canoeing, fishing, and swimming.
• Camp quiet hours are from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Because the camp needs the premises clear by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, we are planning a time of extended fellowship at Cowans Gap State Park on Friday after the Shindig. At this park there will be lunch and supper potlucks on Friday, as well as RV and tenting options for Friday night and perhaps longer. You may sign up upon registration or wait until the Shindig to sign up.