As Christians, we know that everything in this world is by God's design. Nothing is outside of His will or takes Him by surprise.
Praise the Lord! After months of planning and prayerful consideration, it's finally here. Pioneer Camp & Retreat Center is pleased to announce the launch of our very new website! It's been a long process (and a few areas are still under construction; for instance, the 'Register Online' feature is not functioning just yet), but we decided to publish the new website online and allow all of you to weigh in. So, please feel free to tell your family, your friends, your church, your youth group, and by all means send me an email (jeff.radt@pioneercamp.com) and let us know what you think.
We are very excited to unveil a whole new look as we begin a whole new year in Christ and look forward to the future with great expectation and hope (Titus 2:11-14). We also realize that change can be difficult, especially at first. In fact, it's been over a decade since we've done any major redesign to the Pioneer website.
However, in this day and age, it is absolutely imperative that we continue to strive to emulate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and meet people where they are (2 Corinthians 5:20). While that does not mean that we ever change the message of the Gospel to become culturally relevant (2 Corinthians 11:4), it does mean we sometimes have to be creative in our approach, and use all the resources and tools that God blesses us with to bring Him glory, honor, and praise (Psalm 143:10).
That being said, it is important to us that you know that we didn't take any of this lightly. Yes, we rest on 67 years of Christian heritage here at Pioneer, a true legacy within the local community, but we also rest on over 2,000 years of the Christian faith, and it's His Word that motivates us "to show the face of Jesus to all - by words and actions - amidst the splendor of God's creation." As a ministry, the only way we can "show the face of Jesus to all" is to show our face first, to interest people to come here so that we'd have the opportunity to do that, and we realized that if an organization's website is their 'public face' so to speak, then we needed a bit of a 'facelift' in order to present ourselves in the best possible way to the rest of the world.
We didn't just decide to do these things just from an advertising/marketing standpoint and in a 'worldly' sense either. God forbid! We truly believe that this new website is just one change that will contribute to helping us be more effective in sharing the Gospel with more people because it will attract more people. No, it's not 'perfect' (because nothing man touches ever really is; Isaiah 64:6).
You'll also be happy to know that the provider we partnered with (that He led us to) helps us be the best good stewards we can possibly be. How so? Well, typically, to create a website with all the unique features that ours now has would generally cost an organization several thousands of dollars, or money we simply do not have in our budget. In addition, it would normally take several months (sometimes 6 months to a year!) to complete the entire process from beginning to end. The fact that it cost us no more than what we were currently paying (less than $150 total for the year!), and that it only took us a little over 2 months from start to finish, is evidence enough for us that the Lord has blessed this endeavor mightily (Proverbs 16:9). It is our sincere hope that you will feel the same way.
I apologize for the length of this announcement. I'm sure it's a little longer than what everyone was thinking it would be, but this is a big deal for us, for our supporters like you, and for our community, which is why I wanted to take the necessary time to really explain things properly.
Thank you to everyone who played a key role in this process. Thank you all for your feedback, patience, and continued support. We'll need more of the same as we continue putting the finishing touches on things over the next few days.
Bottom line, God is good and we're thankful for His guiding hand and help throughout this major project (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Please visit us online at www.pioneercamp.org and let us know what you think of our new look-and-feel.
We love Pioneer. You love Pioneer. Let's stay connected!
In Christ,
Jeffrey K. Radt
Director of Retreat Services
Share|
Praise the Lord! After months of planning and prayerful consideration, it's finally here. Pioneer Camp & Retreat Center is pleased to announce the launch of our very new website! It's been a long process (and a few areas are still under construction; for instance, the 'Register Online' feature is not functioning just yet), but we decided to publish the new website online and allow all of you to weigh in. So, please feel free to tell your family, your friends, your church, your youth group, and by all means send me an email (jeff.radt@pioneercamp.com) and let us know what you think.
We are very excited to unveil a whole new look as we begin a whole new year in Christ and look forward to the future with great expectation and hope (Titus 2:11-14). We also realize that change can be difficult, especially at first. In fact, it's been over a decade since we've done any major redesign to the Pioneer website.
However, in this day and age, it is absolutely imperative that we continue to strive to emulate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and meet people where they are (2 Corinthians 5:20). While that does not mean that we ever change the message of the Gospel to become culturally relevant (2 Corinthians 11:4), it does mean we sometimes have to be creative in our approach, and use all the resources and tools that God blesses us with to bring Him glory, honor, and praise (Psalm 143:10).
That being said, it is important to us that you know that we didn't take any of this lightly. Yes, we rest on 67 years of Christian heritage here at Pioneer, a true legacy within the local community, but we also rest on over 2,000 years of the Christian faith, and it's His Word that motivates us "to show the face of Jesus to all - by words and actions - amidst the splendor of God's creation." As a ministry, the only way we can "show the face of Jesus to all" is to show our face first, to interest people to come here so that we'd have the opportunity to do that, and we realized that if an organization's website is their 'public face' so to speak, then we needed a bit of a 'facelift' in order to present ourselves in the best possible way to the rest of the world.
We didn't just decide to do these things just from an advertising/marketing standpoint and in a 'worldly' sense either. God forbid! We truly believe that this new website is just one change that will contribute to helping us be more effective in sharing the Gospel with more people because it will attract more people. No, it's not 'perfect' (because nothing man touches ever really is; Isaiah 64:6).
You'll also be happy to know that the provider we partnered with (that He led us to) helps us be the best good stewards we can possibly be. How so? Well, typically, to create a website with all the unique features that ours now has would generally cost an organization several thousands of dollars, or money we simply do not have in our budget. In addition, it would normally take several months (sometimes 6 months to a year!) to complete the entire process from beginning to end. The fact that it cost us no more than what we were currently paying (less than $150 total for the year!), and that it only took us a little over 2 months from start to finish, is evidence enough for us that the Lord has blessed this endeavor mightily (Proverbs 16:9). It is our sincere hope that you will feel the same way.
I apologize for the length of this announcement. I'm sure it's a little longer than what everyone was thinking it would be, but this is a big deal for us, for our supporters like you, and for our community, which is why I wanted to take the necessary time to really explain things properly.
Thank you to everyone who played a key role in this process. Thank you all for your feedback, patience, and continued support. We'll need more of the same as we continue putting the finishing touches on things over the next few days.
Bottom line, God is good and we're thankful for His guiding hand and help throughout this major project (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Please visit us online at www.pioneercamp.org and let us know what you think of our new look-and-feel.
We love Pioneer. You love Pioneer. Let's stay connected!
In Christ,
Jeffrey K. Radt
Director of Retreat Services
Share|
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Thank you for taking the time to visit The Pioneer Press Blog/Newsletter for Pioneer Camp & Retreat Center, or "A warm place in the SON..."
We hope you will visit us often online and even more so in person during the course of the year.
Please feel free to leave us a message to let us know how we're doing and how we might be able to make your time here at Pioneer even more spiritually rewarding the next time around.