The Naming Project

Christian camp for LGBT folks that says God loves them as they are

The Naming Project is a Christ-centered camp experience for people of all sexual and gender identities. Our primary focus is to provide a place for Christian youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning or allied to learn, grow, and share their experiences through a lens of faith. 

The Naming Project Summer Camp is for 14-18 year olds or those who have completed 8th-12th grades who are of any sexual orientation or gender identity or expression who are interested in discussing and understanding sexuality and gender in terms of their own spiritual journey and are excited to spend time with other teen campers and staff while canoeing, swimming, hiking, singing, doing arts and crafts.

Over the past ten years, more than one hundred youth from all across the country have been a part of our program. We have been blessed to be featured on the documentary Camp Out, as well on an episode of Our America with Lisa Ling.

In the summer of 2020, The Naming Project will for the first time be holding a camp for adults (21+). We're very excited to bring all the fun camp experiences our youth receive to those who are out of high school! The weekend will include all the great camp activities - swimming, canoeing, campfire, Bible study and worship, arts and crafts, and more! 

You can see more about The Naming Project and our camps at: www.thenamingproject.org 

We do what we do with about 6-8 volunteers, some who work year round, and some who give a week to make this the best week of camp for the campers possible.

A week of youth camp roughly costs about $10,000 each year. Campers are asked to pay a $300 registration fee, but no camper at The Naming Project is turned away for a lack of funds. We often grant registration scholarships, and occasionally purchase plane tickets. Our other regular costs include: the cost of renting Bay Lake Camp for our camp site, transporting campers to and from the Twin Cities, and purchasing the supplies we need to run the camp.