Exterior Peterson Lodge building at Big Sky Camp with blue sky and evergreen trees

Peterson Lake Lodge at Big Sky Bible Camp was dedicated in 2024

The Lodge is Live at Big Sky Bible Camp!

By Sean Kirnan, Director of Development, Big Sky Bible Camp

King Solomon, who oversaw the building of God’s temple in Jerusalem, stated a powerful truth: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). As staff and volunteers at Big Sky Bible Camp in Bigfork, MT, look back over many years of hard work leading up to this summer’s inauguration of the new Peterson Lake Lodge, we can truly say it is the Lord who built this “house.”

The new lodge is first of several phases guiding BSBC’s facility expansion, focused above all on the needs of Camp Promise, a program founded in 1990 for campers with special needs. Summer camps have since expanded to monthly Bible clubs, “Friday Night Out” fellowship and fun evenings, online Zoom clubs, and a fall retreat. Since the beginning, a core objective and prayer has been that Big Sky Bible Camp would always be a place individuals with disabilities could call home.

A colorful ball goes over a net as a group of campers play

Camp Promise campers enjoy games at camp.

A camper in a black shirt stretches an arrow across an archery bow to aim at a target

A camper takes aim during Camp Promise.

Camp Promise

The only overnight Christian camping program in the state of Montana serving both children and adults with disabilities, Camp Promise has a tremendous opportunity to impact a growing number of special needs individuals along with their families. But while Big Sky Bible Camp continues experiencing steady growth in both programs and the population they serve, they’ve had to make do with aging, inadequate facilities stretched increasingly to their limit. So was envisioned “A Promise Kept,” a multimillion-dollar commitment to provide a fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant facility where campers could learn from the Bible while experiencing new activities and making friends and where caregivers and families could be ministered to as well.

The first stage was a multi-purpose lodge with dining hall, full commercial kitchen, and meeting room, all ADA-compliant. With an estimated outlay of five million just for the first stage, this was a huge undertaking. From the cost and sheer magnitude of the facility to all the fundraising campaigns, grant writing, permitting, inspections, and construction details involved, only the Lord could make this “house” possible!

And He did. The Swenson Family Foundation from Orange County, CA, a family-run non-profit focused on underserved and at-risk demographics, donated $3.5 million for the facility. A wide gamut of individuals, churches, and foundations contributed the remainder. Ground broke in May 2022 (see “A Promise Kept,” BCM World Magazine, November 2022), and construction on Phase One was completed mid-2024.

A Promise Kept

On July 13, 2024, special representatives from the Swenson Family Foundation along with other donors, friends, campers, and their families gathered for a morning of prayer, worship, and praise to officially dedicate Peterson Lake Lodge to God’s service and celebrate this “promise kept.” Many a “Wow!” and “This is great!” could be overheard from guests. At which the Big Sky host team sheepishly shrugged and pointed upwards to the Master Builder. Truly, this was the Lord’s doing, and “it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23-24).

It was a joy over the past summer and fall to begin sharing the new facility with others. To say BSBC and Camp Promise staff, volunteers, campers, and their families are thankful would be an understatement. The site has permitted a growing number of campers and guests to enjoy food, fellowship, fun, and most importantly, to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and grow in Him. To have such a facility that adorns the gospel is an answer to prayer.

Groups are seated around tables in a dining hall

The dining hall is filled with people celebrating the dedication of Peterson Lake Lodge

Man stands on stage by podium with audience members facing him

Camp director Jamy Landis addresses the audience at the Lodge’s dedication

Stunning Views

And what a beautiful lodge it is! The twelve-thousand-square-foot facility overlooks Peterson Lake, a ninety-seven-acre spring-fed oasis framed by the stunning Swan Mountains in the Flathead Valley not far south of Glacier National Park. The main dining area seats upwards of three hundred. A warm and welcoming coffee lounge features a large stone fireplace, adding to the rustic charm. A conference room seats one hundred-fifty, providing a professional space for special events and chapels. The commercial kitchen has all the tools needed to serve large conference and retreat groups. Outside on the spacious back patio area, guests can relax in Adirondack chairs with the lake and mountains in full view.

Campers are already enjoying the lodge. Camp Promise alone had 99 overnight campers and 53 day campers for a total of 152. In November, the lodge hosted the Camp Promise annual fall retreat, a big hit. The lodge is also being used for traditional camper programming, including weekend Winter Camps. What a blessing for campers to eat and stretch out in the spacious dining hall. Dozens of church and retreat groups will enjoy the facility over the year along with about thirteen hundred campers.

Peterson Lake Lodge room with stone fireplace and brown leather furniture

The fireplace warms the lounge at Peterson Lake Lodge

Pink flowers in foreground with lake and tall pine trees in background

Peterson Lake is near the new building

A Higher Purpose

While the new facility is certainly impressive, it is just a tool for a higher purpose. That purpose is to enable BSBC’s year-round ministry to campers and guests, the “living stones” whom the Lord is building into His holy temple (1 Peter 2:4-7). At Big Sky, we believe it is people, not programs or progress, God is ultimately interested in, and we never want to lose sight of that fact. Thankfully, God continues to increase camp and guest populations each year, whether through retreats, winter camps, traditional day and overnight summer camps, backpacking adventures, or Camp Promise programming. Our hope is that Peterson Lake Lodge will serve as the hub which houses burgeoning ministry activity for many years to come.

Now that the lodge is complete, Phase Two of the expansion is moving forward to build eight new ADA-compliant duplex cabins, each housing eight special needs campers for a total of sixty-four. These cabins will enable Camp Promise to serve dozens more campers each week and remove many from our waitlists. With existing cabins, Phase Two will permit a total of 216 overnight campers and 120 day campers, more than doubling Camp Promise’s current capacity. This will also provide for hosting family camps, respite retreats, and community outreach events as well as specialized training for parents, professionals, and caregivers in the Flathead Valley of Montana and beyond.

Partner in Growth

The estimated project cost to complete the cabins is 3.6 million dollars. BSBC’s regular giving partners went above and beyond to make Phase One a reality. Our earnest prayer now is for a new wave of giving partners who will be stirred by God to champion this worthy project. Please pray with us, and please consider making a tax-deductible gift to the project. Learn more about the “A Promise Kept” facility expansion here.

group of campers seated in chapel
Group of people doing archery at camp outdoors

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