Summer camp is a quintessential childhood experience, but children with special needs often don't get to attend due to accessibility issues. When a passionate mother asked where her son and others like him could make their own camp memories, a new ministry was born in Idaho.
Douglas and Darla Roe, Idaho Conference summer camp program leaders, were met with a list of questions 18 years ago: Where can kids who face challenges navigating a typical summer camp experience go? Don't children who are medically fragile, use wheelchairs, or live with autism or seizure disorders deserve to attend summer camp too? Where can they go to experience the joy and abundance of summer camp like other kids do?
The Roes contacted Milford Terrell, a supporter of Camp Ida-Haven, and they developed the concept of NeXt Camps — a camp for youth with special needs. Over several years, the summer camp experience evolved for kids who historically had not been able to participate in the usual summer camp programs.
NeXt Camp provides a spiritual retreat and allows campers of all abilities to go on the ropes course, paddle boards and wave runners. Campers have access to the archery range and fishing excursions, all under the watchful eye of staff members who are trained for safe supervision of the range of activities. Over the weekend, campers share talents, help each other with crafts, play table games together, support each other with physical challenges and make new friends.
Parents attend NeXt Camp with their children, who range in age from preschool to adulthood. Over the course of several NeXt Camps, parents bond with each other, sharing the challenges of raising a child with special needs and opening up about the heartfelt frustrations, questions and concerns that come with the gift of a child with out-of-the-norm needs.
In 2025, families from diverse backgrounds and geographies met once again as one large family to enjoy spiritual retreat, physical opportunities offered by camp and camaraderie with other adults who understand the commitment of raising children with special needs.
The first morning, moose graced the parking lot and deer gallivanted through the grounds. There was a pond for fishing, a warm lodge for singing and worship and meals, trails for hiking and bike riding, tables for games and puzzles, soft chairs to sit and talk, and God’s presence everywhere.
The youth enjoyed the opportunity to be "normal" for a weekend, as their parents let down their guard and didn't worry about them being too loud, too noisy or too different to fit in. At NeXt Camps, everybody fits in just fine and the weekend was a complete success.
