About

PLFC  is located on a wooded 120-acre tract of rolling hills in east central Mississippi just north of Meridian.  Hiking trails, a Tree house, and the Swamp Trail allow campers and guests to retreat and enjoy the variety of trees, flowers, plants, fish, birds, and other animals.  Recreational activities include a playground, rope swing, basketball and volleyball courts,  swimming, boating, disc golf, fishing, ropes course, zip line, and many more!

Pine Lake is the perfect setting people for to draw nearer to God.  A summer camp program for youth ages 7-17 is held in the summer.  Pine Lake also has lodging facilities that are available for groups to relax and fellowship.

The mission of Pine Lake Fellowship Camp is to provide an environment that draws people of all ages and of diverse backgrounds into the renewal of spirit, soul, and body and into reconciliation with God, creation, and each other.

History

“The reason for the camp’s existence can be given in one word—reconciliation,” wrote Orlo Kaufman in the Mennonite Weekly Review. It was during the tension and violence of the 1960’s that the camp was developed.

This was the South in the sixties. Racial issues involved not only black and white, but also Indians who were discriminated against and who were a subject of controversy. Many persons, both young and old, put themselves in dangerous positions in taking a stand against the injustice. The Nevin Bender Family and its involvement with these injustices, played an important part of the Christian camping in Mississippi.

Nevin had both experienced and observed injustice. He had a long-felt desire to live and work among people that suffered injustice. When he came to visit his son, Titus, in Meridian, Mississippi, he saw the possibility of doing something to ease the tensions. The first several years were full of hardships and certainly a test of their dedication.

The Benders remained and later purchased a plot of ground near Meridian. Within a year they had organized an association to provide freedom for Indians, Blacks, and Whites to come together for fellowship and reconciliation.

**The story above is an excerpt from the book, A Vision and A Legacy, by Jess Kauffman, written in 1984, about the camp's history.

Since the 1960's, Pine Lake Fellowship Camp has continued its ministry to many people of different races and backgrounds, and still today the spirit of fellowship and reconciliation shines upon everyone who comes to camp.