05/04/2026
"Community is everything!"
When Landon Harting came to Loucon as a middle-schooler in 2006, he was more concerned with running up and down the roofline of the old Robb Lodge than with his long term future.
“My mom was a youth pastor and dad was a pastor,” he says. “Camp was a place where I got to experience faith through the eyes of other adults and friends.”
Twenty years later, both Landon and Christina Harting are in full time ministry with young people. They have a family of their own, and a much more nuanced understanding of how God works through camps and retreats. But one thing has remained constant over the years.
In a word, friends.
“The camp friends we made are people we live our daily lives with now,” Christina says. “We have different careers and go to different churches, but we are still committed to our faith and to one another. And we have been for a long time.”
As someone who didn’t grow up as a camper, Christina found her way to Loucon through the college ministry at Lindsey Wilson. She remembers praying for friends who believed in living out their faith. In her sophomore year, she found exactly that.
“It just so happened that they all loved Loucon,” she says. “And when I joined pro staff, I got such a clear view of the life change that happens here. The fog lifts for kids and they see what real community is.”
Landon, on the other hand, traces his calling into ministry back to his years as a camper. Like many, he answered that call one night on Vesper Hill and has gone on to a career in ministry with youth and young adults. Still, his journey has led him to the same conclusion as his spouse.
“People are chasing community,” he says. “You have to have it in order to maintain a calling. Community is everything.
