Kanakuk Kamp going strong after 82 years
By Josh Clark
jclark@tri-lakestribune.com
For well over 80 years, Kanakuk Kamps have been giving children from all over the world a summer to remember. Nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, all seven camps in Missouri are nestled on gorgeous lakefront property, and the Colorado camp is next to the Pine River in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains.
Featuring over 70 sports and activities, top-notch equipment and 2,500 hand-picked, dedicated Christian staff there’s fun and encouragement for every child.
The Kanakuk camps in Branson are hidden along the beautiful lake Taneycomo, providing great scenery for a summer full of fun. Other camps in Missouri include locations west of Lampe, south of Shell Knob and due east of Branson West. The original camp was founded in 1926 by C.L. Ford of Dallas, Texas.
In the early days, before the Table Rock dam, Ford would bring the campers via train to Hollister where they would get into a paddle boat. As the made their way up the White River, they were dropped off on the shore of the lake to rough it for nearly ten weeks.
One of the more memorable activities for those early campers included a hike out to Marvel Cave, where Silver Dollar City is located today. They were essentially emersed in the wilderness for this time and it served as a great leadership experience.
Things have changed since the camp was founded 82 years ago. In 1932, coach Bill Lantz became the Director of Kugaho, changed the name to Kanakuk, and instilled the “Four Square” and “I’m Third” Christian doctrines.
The “Four Square” comes directly from the book of Luke 2:52, which says “And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and man…” The “I’m Third” motto is simple, to the point and is still a big part of the Kanakuk way of life. It simply states that “God comes first, others come second and I’m third”.
Since 1976, Kanakuk Kamps owners and K-2 Directors, Joe and Debbie Jo White, have shared a deep passion for pointing Kids to Christ through the best in Christian sports camping. Together they have seen Kanakuk grow into something they are very proud of. Joe played football at S.M.U. where Debbie Jo was a cheerleader. Joe then coached at Texas A&M before moving to Missouri in 1972.
Joe has since written 19 books and speaks across the country for AfterDark, Pure Excitement and Focus on the Family Debbie Jo trains the leadership and staff in Precepts Bible study and leads and organizes with both dignity and grace. Joe and Debbie Jo have four grown children and eight grandchildren.
Kanakuk is a non-denominational camp that offers the best of sports camps and the best of Christian camps together. True each fills their summer with memories that they will take with them forever, but the camps also focus on the Christian element in athletics.
Campers have study and devotional time at the end of each day of activities.
And oh those activities are a big part of what brings campers back year after year.
Football, volleyball, wrestling dance, ping pong and archery are all traditional favorites, but all campers seem most impressed with the water slides, trampolines, rappelling, rock climbing and the zip line.
“The zip line was awesome,” said Garon Clark, a first time camper. “It went over and into the water. It was great.”
Fellow camper Maggie Grace added “I liked to swim every day, especially jumping off the trampoline by the pool.”
This year alone, 14,397 campers are enrolled at Kanakuk. Some campers come from as far as Iraq, but representatives from five of the seven continents are represented. As the camp grew, expansion was a necessity.
The original site, now known as K-1 is for children ages 7-13. While first a camp for just boys, the ladies began attending several years later.
K-2, for teenage campers ages 13-18, was opened in 1978, followed by K-Life in 1979 which is a ministry for teen mentoring.
1983 saw more expansion with the K-West Kamp for ages 12-14, which is located just outside Lampe, followed by K-Kountry for pre-teen campers in 1988. Kids across America for urban youth began in 1991 with nine more camps between then and 2006.
Kanakuk Kamps currently offers 25, 13 and seven day camps. Parents also won’t be left out in the dark as to the goings on of the camp while the children are away.
On the Kanakuk website there is a place just for parents to see pictures, send emails, manage family information and even enroll returning campers.
The camp also offers “Last Minute” scholarships, which are fully paid trips to camp for those without the means to pay the fees. The last minute scholarships are for campers within a certain radius of the camps that can show up in just a matter of days.
While attempting to stay below the radar in many respects, Kanakuk sponsors several events in the community and is always eager to assist the Tri-Lakes area.
Many of the families have made Kanakuk their summer home for generations.
The bonds of Christian friendships built there literally last a lifetime.
Full camps every summer and long waiting lists in the spring attest to the priority families place on getting their kids to camp each year.
