Denominational Affiliation

Ross Haven Bible Camp is owned and operated by One Hope Canada.  As such, we are non-denominational and evangelical in our operations.  Some of the local churches which partner with and support the camp are: Onoway Baptist Church, Onoway Evangelical Free Church, Beach Corner Evangelical Free Church, Whitecourt Hilltop Community Church, Rich Valley Community Church, Entwistle Community Church, and Edson Baptist Church.

Doctrine

One Hope Canada Articles of Faith and Doctrine

We believe in:

The divine inspiration and consequent authority of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. By the term “Divine inspiration,” we mean the truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament scriptures in their entirety as the only written Word of God, without error in all that it affirms in the original manuscripts, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

The doctrine of the Trinity: one God revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect.

The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His miraculous conception, humanity, miracles, bodily resurrection, ascension and imminent return.

The personality of the Holy Spirit, whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and during this age to convict men, regenerate the believing sinner, indwell, guide, instruct and empower the believer for godly living and service.

The total depravity of man, who was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and in that state are incapable of pleasing God; and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become culpable sinners, utterly lost, and only through being born again through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through His blood, can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.

The resurrection of the body, the eternal life of the saved, the eternal punishment of the lost; after death all men continue in conscious existence, the believers being “…absent from the body but present with the Lord,” the lost in everlasting conscious torment.

The personality of Satan as a created being and an adversary of God.

Sign Gifts

We endeavor to take our Bible teaching directly from the Bible.  We try to focus on the most essential teachings concerning Christ and His loving work of salvation.  While we do not compromise on telling the truth of scripture, we do try to focus on those areas which are clearest, most essential, and least controversial among Christians.  For this reason we do not seek to practice the “sign gifts” of healing or speaking in tongues.

Staff Selection and Screening

Our staff are carefully recruited, screened and selected.  We endeavor to have a mature adult cabin leader and a younger, energetic leader sharing the duties in each cabin. Each staff member is run through criminal records and social service checks.  We check personal and pastoral references, and do thorough intake interviews.  We give our staff significant and meaningful training both before they begin to serve and throughout the summer.  We also actively monitor our staff throughout their time at camp.

Dress Code

Our dress code is designed to help each person at camp demonstrate respect for people and property. It is expressed publicly in four simple statements:

1) Please wear clothing which covers modestly.

2)Please wear clothing which fully covers underwear.

3)Please ensure that bathing suits give modest coverage and are one-piece in construction.

4)Please only wear pictures and text on your clothing which attract appropriate attention, and which avoid glorifying the occult, illegal or anti-biblical themes.

Below is the full text of the dress standards we teach our staff:

A. Intro

Mature Christian leaders seek to dress and carry themselves in the way which brings the greatest possible glory to their Creator and offers the least possible discomfort and temptation to their fellow man. They will also actively seek to inculcate these values into those under their care, especially those who are old enough to evaluate and make clothing choices for themselves.

The following standards of dress and deportment need to be maintained by all people, at all times on the camp property or while engaged in camp business off campus. These may be considered the minimum standards. It is expected, however, that the mature Christian leader will desire, within the spirit of the community, to exceed the minimum standards in order to provide the least possible cause for offence, and thus to bring God the greatest glory.

B. Coverage

In order to set the highest possible example and provide the least cause for offence, we will observe at least the following standards of coverage.

1. Transparent or semi-transparent clothing will only be worn in addition to completely appropriate attire.

2. All shirts must meet the waistband all the way around during normal activities.

3. Undergarments suitable to physical maturity must be worn under clothes. They may not show at any time in public. This includes undergarments of intense contrast which show through clothing

4. Skin tight or form-accentuating clothing is not appropriate.  Tights or leggings are not pants.

5. Scoop or deep slit necklines offer unacceptable views.

6. A minimum reasonable in-seam measurement would be 3″, you can gauge this by standing  with arms at the sides.  The bottom of the shorts should be at or below their fingertips.

7. Skirts, if worn, must provide coverage to the knee.

8. Bathing suits must be one-piece in construction, and should not include peek-a-boo openings or sheer fabrics.

C. Themes and Ideology

1. Pictures, text, or other markings, as well as design features in clothing, may not support or glorify occultic or cultic philosophies, patently immoral or illegal themes, ungodly or anti-biblical ideology. This includes items like, but not limited to, Pokemon, Harry Potter, and Golden Compass crested clothing.

2. Pictures and text may not be screened, painted or embroidered across the seat.

3. Extreme jewellery, makeup or hairstyles are not to be worn.

4. Clothing or jewellery which are not permitted by the dress code are not to be kept at camp. In the event that an inappropriate item cannot be disposed of or sent off campus, it must be packed away out of the cabins where campers will not see it, as this could lead them to assume that we condone these items or to detect dissension between staff or with the established policy.

D. Health and Safety

1. Bathing suits are only to be worn while swimming or while en route to/from a swimming activity.

2. Wet clothing is not to be worn in the dining hall or chapel

3. Footwear must be worn in the dining hall. Kitchen workers must wear closed toe shoes.

4. Clothing should be kept clean and in good repair.

5. Foundation garments, hats and shoes should never be shared. If bathing suits or other clothing items are shared, they need to be washed in hot water, preferably with a disinfectant, between uses by different people.

6. Night wear should be designed as night wear. Campers should be encouraged not to sleep naked, in only their underwear, or in daywear. Nightwear fabrics are flame retardant.  Nightwear is not permitted to be worn during daytime activities.

Music

Music is an extremely powerful tool, both for good and for bad.  We believe that good music needs to be an integral part of our camp experience.  We recognize that among our constituents there is a wide spectrum of opinions and convictions about what music styles are appropriate in the ministry setting.  Our goal is to pick that spectrum of music which we can all agree is godly and non-offensive.  As we choose music for chapels, we are careful to pick those songs which are enjoyable, didactic, scripturally and doctrinally accurate, present a clear message and avoid uneccesary allusion or allegory, are easy to follow and easy to pick up, without complicated meter, but rather, conducive to congregational singing.  We play songs in a music style which will be non-offensive to the broadest spectrum of our staff, campers, and their parents.  For this reason we no not play rock music in our services.