A Legacy of Servant Leaders
LEADING BY SERVING…A SEEMINGLY UPSIDE-DOWN CONCEPT. But Jesus clearly states in
Matthew 20:26, “…whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” At Alpine we both reap
the benefits of others who have gone before us in this manner, and we continue to send out those who
have experienced those same leadership/servanthood lessons here.
B
ECKY AHLBERG is living
out that leadership legacy, and
attributes part of that legacy to
her time at Alpine in 1975-1976 as
a program director under Jay Carty.
Since that time, Becky has served as
a college administrator, a worship
leader and family life minister with
Anaheim
First
Christian
Church, and
is now the
Executive
Director of
My Safe
Harbor
which offers
Becky & Dan
long-term
Ahlberg
support in
Becky and Dan Ahlberg
providing
have a long history with
resources
Alpine. Dan’s father, Wes
for the
Ahlberg, was one of
transfor-
Alpine’s founding fathers.
mation
of and the breaking down of
generational dysfunction for low-
income single moms.
“At Alpine, I learned
administration skills that helped put
legs on the creative intuition and
process that came naturally, learning
to effectively communicate, organize
and train others. The people around
me at Alpine influenced my approach.
They gave of their expertise willingly.
It was a place where they made
investment in our lives so that we
were able to invest in other’s lives.
I experienced faith in action at
Alpine, and hope to leave a similar
legacy of faith to those who come
behind me.”
2
Rance
Hughes
was a Makuala
camper back in
1996 and 97, a
youth worker and
camp counselor
for 4 plus years
Rance Hughes
and was hired as
one of Alpine’s
program managers in 2014. “My job
in the body of Christ is to cultivate
and mentor leaders.” For Rance
at Alpine, that involves leading by
example, knowing well that servant
leadership comes with a cost.
Rance loves being part of the
transformation process for Alpine
campers and summer staff. He
remembers the big rain of 2014
when a group of Makuala campers
were just arriving. “The rain washed
out Makuala Village, and all the
camper’s sleeping bags and clothes
were soaked. We did not want their
encounter with Jesus to be sabotaged
by bad conditions, so Andrew
(Alpine’s program director) and I
pulled an all-nighter to dry more than
70 sets of bedding and clothes and
to power wash the mud out of
the bathhouse. If Andrew and I had
any doubts about each other before
that, we knew then that we could
trust each other as team leaders, and
that we would choose to sacrifice
for the sake of the campers.”
Since Sept of 1998, Matt Davis
has worked for Calvary Church of
Santa Ana in various capacities
including worship pastor and
children’s ministry. He was a student at
Biola when Eddie Passmore recruited
him for Alpine’s summer staff.
Matt worked at Alpine the
summers and winters of 1995-1998
in several capacities: worship leader,
camp counselor, Bible teacher.
“At Alpine, I learned to be a
worship leader, stepping up in front
of kids and really discovering my love
for doing children’s ministry. Being
the only male in
the Children’s
Ministry track at
Biola, I realized
kids need strong
guys to love
them and set
an example for
them. As I tried
Matt Davis
out 5 related
majors at Biola,
I realized that ministry was essentially
everything I got to do at Alpine.”
“At Alpine, I grew in my calling.
It was unmistakable. I was given a lot
of freedom and trust to serve and be
passionate about the Kingdom. My
dad said that if you love what you do,
you’ll never work a day in your life. It
was true of my four years at Alpine, and
it has been true ever since. God used
my time of preparation at Alpine to tell
me I’m loved, I’m good at this and this
was how God wanted me to serve.”
“In my current work at Calvary
Church, I have a team I get to oversee
and invest in as the next generation of
leaders. I’m doing for others now
what Eddie Passmore
did for me then.”
THOUGHTS
Servant Leadership
at Alpine…and Beyond
The Many
Faces of Giving
W
e wanted to share a
letter we received with a
donation in January from Luke,
a freshman at Los Alamitos High
School. It reads:
Jonathan continued as a camp
program director and now serves
as a children’s ministry director in a
large church. Each one of them has
influenced hundreds of children and
adults through their leadership roles.
It would have happened without me,
but I got to be a part of each of their
early, formative years…and that is
because others influenced me while
I was a camper in such a way that I
wanted to serve Jesus by providing
camp experiences and Jesus-
encounters for others.
I truly wish I could tell you how
many campers and staff have learned
leadership insights, lessons and skills
at Alpine, but 60 years of random
rosters and records do point toward
between 3,000-6,000 staff, volunteers
and board members, and well over
1,000,000 campers have likely learned
to serve well, lead well and follow
our Father well into ongoing
servant-leadership roles around
the world; living out the
promise of Ephesians 2:10. “I decided to donate to Alpine,
because my experience during
one of your Jr. High summer
camps greatly strengthened
my relationship with God and
I want the same for all who
attend your camps. I hope my
donation contributes towards
new believers and followers of
Jesus Christ too. In February
I will be going to your winter
camp with my church, Hosanna
Christian Fellowship. I look
forward to it!”
UPCOMING PROGRAMMED EVENTS All are welcome!
To register, visit www.alpine-cc.org
or call (800) 350-6289.
To lead like Jesus
is to serve. (Duh,
everyone knows
Joel Rude
Executive Director
that.) To serve like
Jesus requires sacrifice (Double Duh.)
To serve well on summer staff at
Alpine (or any other Christian camp)
can be exhilaratingly exhausting.
The days are long. The needs of
campers, guests and fellow staff are
never-ending. Dave, Robbie, Kyle and
Jonathan are all former summer staff
who, at the end of their first summers
as program directors at various camps,
each said in their own way through
their personal fatigue-induced daze,
“This leadership role was exhausting!”
However, the fruit of their labor
– transformed lives – was evident
weekly and sometimes daily…and
knowledge of that experience kept
them coming back. Dave is now
director of a Bible camp with two
sites and four ministries. Robbie
continues serving in an extended
family of ministry-oriented relatives.
Kyle is a seminary dean and professor.
60TH ANNIVERSARY
REUNION AND
CELEBRATION WEEKEND
SEPTEMBER 15-17
This reunion celebration is open to present
and former Alpine staff, board members,
campers, supporters and volunteers…and
to those who are new to Alpine and love
it’s mission!
WOMEN’S RETREAT MEN’S RETREAT
OCTOBER 13-15
with Author and
Speaker Laurie Short NOVEMBER 3-5
with Frank Sontag,
Inspirational Radio Talk Host
Come Away! This retreat is designed for
women of all ages and stages of life to
come together and take a break from the
busyness of life to relax, reconnect and
experience restoration in Jesus.
Play Hard, Make Friends, Meet God!
Come connect with other men as we
strive to become more like Jesus through
community, biblical teaching and good old
fashioned back-woods fun!
3