New Life Island: Christian Summer Camping on the Delaware River

"Good Things Happen Here" is the motto for New Life Island, a Christian summer camp that is centrally located on an island in the middle of the Delaware River, between Pennsylvania and New Jersey-the address is actually New Jersey. New Life Island is a camp run by the General Association of Regular Baptists-a group of Baptist churches.

New Life Island has a variety of camping programs each summer. They have a teen week for ages 14-18, two junior high weeks for ages 11-13, two junior weeks for ages 8-10, and a junior "mini week" designed for juniors who do not feel ready to spend a whole week at camp away from home (this runs from a Thursday to a Saturday). New Life Island also runs a unique "Adventure Camp" week for ages 14-18 during which the campers participate in extra exciting activities such as paint ball, high ropes, and rock climbing.

New Life Island has a lot of activities to offer the weekly campers. Of course, there is a special speaker each week for the morning and evening chapel times. There is swimming in the pool, canoeing, tubing on the Delaware, and lots of games. The dining hall staff serves up hearty meals. Campers will definitely not be bored! One of the highlights of camp is spending time with old friends and making new ones.

In addition to the youth camps, New Life Island offers a week of family camp and two mini "family" type camps. One of the mini weeks is for families who are in vocational ministry (pastor's and missionary's families), and the other mini week is designed for families who are home schooling. For these weeks, families may opt to stay in a cabin or bring their own tent or RV. Meals are provided, so the families are free to relax and enjoy all the activities the camp has to offer.

New Life Island has been flooded a few times in recent years, but has been rebuilt each time. Volunteers have generously helped out with fundraising and rebuilding efforts. The summer staff is primarily composed of college students who commit to a summer of ministry or high school students who commit to a week or more helping out in the kitchen or maintenance departments.

All year round there are activities taking place at New Life Island. They host a variety of retreats including a "scrapbooking" retreat, a young adult's retreat, a teen retreat, a ladies' retreat, a men's retreat, and even a quilter's retreat.