Camp Cornerstone in Jefferson has been the home of Children’s Bible Ministries (CBM) since 2008. CBM offers faith-based summer camps to area children and teens with varying focuses like Adventure Camp that features a host of outdoor pursuits and regular week-long camps for elementary, middle, and high school students that consist of chapel meetings, crafts, games, music, and traditional fire-side fun. Campers also enjoy the woodland zipline course and indoor rock wall during their stay. Additionally, Christian schools utilize the gymnasium for athletic practices outside of camp season.
But the facility doesn’t just serve the young people in our area. Cornerstone is a hub for retreats, celebrations, and organizational gatherings. All kinds of groups utilize the camp, from retired teachers to the participants of Kyros Prison Ministry.
But this vibrant, Greene County ministry center didn’t start out as warm and colorful as it is today. In fact, CBM’s Camp Cornerstone site was originally a cast-off portal belonging to Dilworth Mine’s CONSOL Coal Company, now Core Natural Resources.
Children’s Bible Ministries chapters have existed within the country since 1935, beginning as a way to teach Bible lessons to school-aged children. CBM entered southwestern Pennsylvania in 1970, when Bible Release Time first became available to students. These hour-long weekly classes and later summer camps would be held at various rented facilities across the region, as CBM had not yet been able to secure a home of its own.
All that changed in 2007, however, when lifelong CBM missionary Judy Virgili recognized an opportunity amidst the soot and old rusty pipes. Along her frequent walks down a side road near her home, Virgili was always drawn to the gated entrance of the mine portal site, and soon recognized that it could, with the right attention and support, become a beautiful campsite for local students.
Virgili and thousands of prayer warriors were overjoyed when CONSOL Energy decided to donate that very site to CBM of Southwestern PA. “It could have gone to someone else, but God had it for us,” Virgili remarks gratefully.
The following year, renovations were underway to convert the dank and dusty buildings into a thriving Christian campus. On top of the gift of the building and grounds, more miraculous donations kept making their way into the CBM fund as the once-daunting renovation project grew nearer to the finish line.
Forty churches contributed to the transformation by adopting rooms inside and taking ownership of the renovation and furnishings within.
Virgili calls the 18,000 square foot building and other adjacent structures on the 27-acre property a “gift that has kept on giving.” “Physical things are great,” she says, “but the lives of the children that are changed is the biggest blessing.”
Today, CBM’s Cornerstone Ministry Center serves around 800 children every month from 28 schools in 14 districts.
And the impacts of the camp are far reaching. A number of former CBM students now serve in missionary capacities around the world, located in Africa, Thailand, and beyond.
Just this month, Virgili invited land agents from CONSOL Energy to witness the transformation at Camp Cornerstone for themselves and say a proper “thank you” for that gift given 17 years ago. On that tour was the original agent, who still remembered Judy. The reunion was an exciting one, with new goals for the growth of the camp and staff housing needs being discussed.
If you feel led to share God’s word, engage with campers during summer programming, or offer prayer or financial support, the CBM team invites you to connect with them at 724-966-9157 or office@cbmswpa.org. For more information, visit www.campcornerstone.org.
