Ready for an Alaskan summer

full of adventure, community, and growing in your faith?

Echo Ranch Bible Camp exists to echo God’s glory by building the body of Christ through Christian camping in partnership with the church.

Each summer, we rely on committed, faithful volunteers to fill many roles to help us achieve this mission. There are opportunities available whether you want to serve for less than a month, a full summer, or explore a long-term commitment! Keep exploring this page to find your Echo Ranch opportunity!

Click to jump to a section (or just keep scrolling):

Spend the summer of your life here.

Summer Staff Basic Requirements

  • Be age 19+

  • Have a love for Jesus, kids, and the outdoors

  • Be in agreement with our statement of beliefs

  • Be willing to serve on a team, listen to leadership, make sacrifices, and be flexible

  • Be able to commit to serving with us from mid-May to early August (some exceptions can be made, but coming for only part of the summer is strongly discouraged)

  • Raise $500 support, plus travel costs

Want to know more about summer staff life? Click the button to the right to download our packet of Everything You Need To Know, including:

  • Firsthand account of what life at Echo Ranch is like

  • Summer Staff qualifications

  • Sample daily schedule

  • Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t commit to a whole summer?

Serve for a few days or a few weeks.

  • Volunteer

    If you only have a day or week to spare, don’t worry — we are always open to extra help! You might be washing dishes, mowing grass, folding laundry, fixing vehicles, or stacking firewood. Let us know your availability and skills, and expect God to work in you and through you because of your willingness to serve!

    Our housing for short-term volunteers is limited during the summer, so please let us know your abilities and availability ahead of time and do not arrange travel plans until we confirm with you.

    Click here for our volunteer application or contact
    EchoRanch@avmi.org

  • Work Team

    There are plenty of projects around camp that need a team of hands to complete! Much of our maintenance work and new construction projects at both our Juneau and Haines locations are done by weekly teams of 5-12 people willing to give their time and energy to serve and improve camp. Experience in maintenance type work and/or ability to do physical labor is preferred.

    God has richly blessed us with volunteers and all our work team slots for 2024 and 2025 are full. Please contact Daniel.Schoenthaler@avmi.org for future availability or more information.

  • Junior Staff (age 16-18)

    Junior Counselors and Junior Wranglers come from local churches and are seeking to grow their personal relationship with Jesus and step out into serving. They assist our counselors in the cabins and in activities with the kids. Through this experience, they are able to get a glimpse of what ministry as a full-time counselor can look like.

    Click here for our junior staff application or contact Parker.Schroeder@avmi.org for more information.

  • Chapel Speaker

    Chapel services are the central focus of each week of camp, meant to make the Gospel clear to campers and spark opportunities for great questions and conversations within the cabins! Speakers share age-appropriate messages twice a day, focused on the foundation of the Gospel.

    If you are interested in being a chapel speaker, please click here to see our speaker application and return completed questions to Parker.Schroeder@avmi.org

"Being able to listen to campers' stories and being given opportunities to encourage them in light of our Savior is one of the greatest gifts that God has given me this summer." - Peter (2021-23 counselor)

"Absolutely incredible. I met some of my closest friends at Echo Ranch and we were able to encourage and pour into each other through the good times and bad." - Michaela (2022-23 counselor)

"Being able to listen to campers' stories and being given opportunities to encourage them in light of our Savior is one of the greatest gifts that God has given me this summer." - Peter (2021-23 counselor) "Absolutely incredible. I met some of my closest friends at Echo Ranch and we were able to encourage and pour into each other through the good times and bad." - Michaela (2022-23 counselor)

"Because of Echo Ranch, I am confident in working with youth of all ages now." - Susanna (2021-22 counselor)

"Absolutely AMAZING! It was so hard to say goodbye because we grew to be such a tight-knit family." - Karlie (2022-23 wrangler)

"Because of Echo Ranch, I am confident in working with youth of all ages now." - Susanna (2021-22 counselor) "Absolutely AMAZING! It was so hard to say goodbye because we grew to be such a tight-knit family." - Karlie (2022-23 wrangler)

"Camp was a fantastic growing experience. Not only was I able to see kids coming to Christ, my personal walk with Him was also greatly enhanced." - Garrett (2022 counselor)

"At Echo Ranch, I learned so much about myself, God, and how to talk about the Gospel!" - Samantha (2022-23 counselor)

"Camp was a fantastic growing experience. Not only was I able to see kids coming to Christ, my personal walk with Him was also greatly enhanced." - Garrett (2022 counselor) "At Echo Ranch, I learned so much about myself, God, and how to talk about the Gospel!" - Samantha (2022-23 counselor)

Is God calling you to full-time ministry?

  • Full-Time Staff

    All of our full-time staff members (click to meet them!) are members of Avant Ministries, meaning that they have answered God’s call on their lives into full-time ministry. To commit to serving with Echo Ranch year-round, our full-time staff all raise their own financial support and only begin serving with Echo Ranch 12 months a year once they are fully supported.

    None of what we do at camp could continue without the full-time team God has assembled and continues to add to! Want to know more about what it would look like to serve with Avant and Echo Ranch as your career? Contact us to talk more!