Ewalu’s new servant adventure for high school students
Find Your Adventure—Find Your True North!
True North is part service camp and part adventure camp with a reality game show-inspired format. It is a unique, immersive experience for 9th- to 12th-grade youth to come together and build resilience in a faith-centered camp environment while serving and playing in the beautiful driftless region of NE Iowa.
Timeline
Mid-June – October 2025: Fill out the interest form below! Express your youth group’s interest in True North Summer Camp 2026. Lock down your spot!
September 2025: Registration Opens for True North Spring Event 2026 at Wartburg College
December 1, 2025: Registration Opens for True North Summer Camp 2026
March 14, 2026: True North in a day Spring Event @ Wartburg College
July 26-31, 2026: True North Summer Camp 2026
What is True North?
Watch the video below as Frank and Emily share more about the program, which will begin in 2026:
Basic Information: True North is a high adventure service leadership camp for youth in grades 9-12. The week-long camp runs from Sunday, July 26 – Friday, July 31, 2026 and takes place at Camp Ewalu near Strawberry Point, Iowa. True North is open both to church youth groups AND individual high-school students.
True North-in-a-day is a one-day event at Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) on Saturday, March 14, 2026. It is also open to youth in grades 9-12 to register as individuals or as church youth groups.
Summer program in 2026
True North is a high school servant leadership camp modeled after a reality game show model where participants work collaboratively—rather than competitively–to complete challenges. The camp is designed to build resiliency and grow faith in high school youth through service, team-building, and high adventure activities. Participants will attend Sunday through Friday, staying in cabins at Camp Ewalu and working in teams to complete service and adventure challenges. Teams will be guided by an Ewalu counselor, receiving daily bearings with instructions for the day that include guiding questions that are designed to dive deeper into faith and fun challenges that are meaningful and oriented toward building character and developing resiliency.
Themes of the day include:
Monday: Exploration – Teams will evaluate their resources and learn about themselves.
Tuesday: Service – Teams will grow in love and empathy as they complete service projects in the local community
Wednesday: Connection – Teams will grow together through fun activities centered around water—including a pool party—with connections to baptism and our unity in the body of Christ.
Thursday: Adventure – Teams will face their capstone event for the week. A series of challenges set in a beautiful wild space will help teams build resiliency through cooperation by participating in a scavenger hunt/adventure event unlike anything they’ve experienced before!
Friday: Reflection – Teams will bring it all together, debriefing their week and asking, “Where do we go from here?”
Why True North is a great option for youth group service trips:
Serving our neighbors is one of the pillars of True North. At True North, service is done in the context of group-building, faith, and character development that will create a lasting impact on your young people. Not only will youth serve in the local community, they will also consider how that service changes them, as they learn and grow as individuals and as a team. From rappelling and exploring underground caves at Backbone State Park, to making a real impact through community service projects, campers will be challenged and grow in their faith AND their sense of belonging.
Want to learn more?
Connect with Frank Johnson, Ewalu Executive Director at frank@ewalu.org
Rooted in the fruits of the Spirit in the book of Galatians, True North will help high school students develop character and build inner strength through every challenge and adventure. Whether campers join us for a week of adventure at Camp Ewalu or a dynamic day at Wartburg College, True North is where adventure builds resilience.
Great Give Day launches new program
On May 21, 2025, Ewalu raised $33,000 to help launch True North during Great Give Day, a 24-hour online fundraising event. Funds will help pay for staffing, development and other resources for this brand-new program at Ewalu! Thank you to all our donors who are helping make this new program a reality for high school students.