Who We Are

Camp Ch-Yo-Ca is non-denominational Christian camp located in the piney woods of North Louisiana in Calhoun, near West Monroe. For over 50 years thousands of campers have come to Christ in deeper ways through their experiences at camp.

It is our mission to provide a camp experience where young people can play excitedly, study intentionally, sing deliberately, and seek God wholeheartedly.

We are a team of highly dedicated people who love camp and want more than anything for each of our campers to have the best summer camp experience possible.

Letter from the director,

Thank you so much for considering Camp Ch-Yo-Ca as your camp home. I have been at Camp Ch-Yo-Ca since I was born. My great grandfather, Alton Howard, started Ch-Yo-Ca in 1967, my grandparents met here and became directors, and even my parents met here and became directors. I believe every child should have a summer camp experience and I have dedicated this portion of my life to creating the best experience possible. I studied Camp, Outdoor, and Adventure Leadership at Liberty University in Virginia. I spent four years studying the best practices of summer camps around the world. I have personally visited many of the top camps in the nation and have spoken to high level directors to ensure Camp Ch-Yo-Ca is putting in place the safest facilities and most fun programs out there. Our theme nights, games, and schedule allow for intentional time for our campers to build relationships, play fun games, study, sing and seek God. I decided to follow Jesus Christ at camp and it has been the best decision I have ever made. I believe summer camp is the most efficient way to reach young people for Christ. In the Bible, people often met God in the lonely places, in the wilderness. Camp will be the most wilderness a lot our campers will ever experience. We do everything we can to limit distractions and outside influences so the camper can focus on camp. We speak only pure things to campers and strictly stick to the Gospel that every Christian believes in (check out our belief page). I believe Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus lived as a human, Jesus died on the cross, and Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus did all of this for us. He did it to bring forgiveness and eternal life to humanity. At Camp Ch-Yo-Ca we do not stray from that into controversial topics. We do not preach any kind of “isms” (Calvinism, Arminianism…), politics, or secular issues. We stick to what C.S. Lewis called “Mere Christianity”. We only speak what we believe is necessary for a camper to understand that grace and forgiveness comes through Christ, and Christ alone. If a camper does want to talk about the more controversial aspects of Christianity then we set up a talk with a wise elder who has done extensive study on such topics. One of my mottos is “Camp is the real world.” I believe camp is a lot like what heaven is like and what the world should be like. Camp should have a culture of joy, grace, forgiveness, where everyone is included and understood. Getting away from the normalcy of life allows for campers to see the world from a different perspective. We encourage our campers to meet new people and listen to their stories to see how God is working in the lives of others. Our counselors are taught to be intentional in interacting with campers to make sure they feel included and listened too. Again, thank you so much for considering Camp Ch-Yo-Ca as your camp home. We are very much looking forward to seeing your family involved. Please contact us with any questions who have.

• John Luke Robertson, Executive Director