Getting Started

Joy Bible Camp started as a result of the vision of William Belch, an itinerant Brethren preacher based in Stirling, Ontario. In 1946 Mr. Belch was invited to speak at a children’s camp in Minnesota for one week. He was so impressed at what he saw happening in the lives of the children there that he felt compelled to begin a similar camp ministry to serve the Belleville, Peterborough, and Bancroft areas.

In the summer of 1947, Mr. Belch obtained the use of an empty one-room school just north of Bancroft. A large gospel tent served as chapel and dining room; smaller tents housed staff and campers; a woodshed was converted into a kitchen. There were two ten-day camp sessions, one for boys and one for girls, costing $10 per camper. During the Girls Camp session, a contest was held to suggest a name for the fledgling camp. The winning suggestion: JOY BIBLE CAMP, ‘Joy’ being an anagram for ‘Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last’.

Following that first encouraging summer, Mr. Belch sought out people committed to the same vision of seeing lives transformed through Christian camping. Men from chapels in Belleville, Bancroft, and Kingston came together to form a board of directors, and seek a more permanent ministry site for JOY. In the spring of 1948, a 2-acre piece of property was purchased on Faraday Lake, a few minutes west of Bancroft. Boys’ and Girls’ sessions were held again, and a Family Camp was added for adults.

Growing Larger

In the 50’s and 60’s, youth camps were added to serve older teens. Family Camp was expanded to 4 weeks, with children’s and youth camps filling the other 5 weeks of the summer. A 40-site trailer park was added, giving families more options for a vacation in a Christian setting. More motel-style accommodations were built to replace small cabins and dorms so that we could reach 100-150 youth per session. By the 80’s, facilities were winterized to allow retreat ministry year-round, including retreats for married couples and seniors.

Today & Tomorrow

As God has provided over 70 years, we’ve replaced and renovated those original buildings, providing comfortable accommodations that meet today’s expectations. Our modern dining room and kitchen accommodate 240 people; our beautiful chapel can hold 300 people. A gymnasium allows indoor recreation in any weather. JOY has been able to purchase a number of adjacent parcels of land over the years until today we own almost 700 acres, with waterfront footage on both Faraday and Card lakes.

We continue to be committed to the vision of Bill Belch, who was passionate about seeing a place where people could come away from their normal routines and enjoy the outdoors; where children could hear the Good News for the first time; where families could be built up with great biblical teaching.