RMCNews – Montrose, Colorado … Continuing to serve as a spiritual gathering point for Adventist across the region, the 11th annual Western Slope Camp Meeting was held at the Mountaintop Retreat outside of Montrose, Colorado, August 12-16. Here, a space is created for faith to be experienced beyond the sanctuary through worship, music, shared meals, and relationship-building activities.
Dr. Karl Haffner, vice president for Student Experience and Enrollment Management at Loma Linda University Health, served as this year’s featured speaker. His background as a pastor, author, speaker, and mission strategist has given him perspective on spiritual fatigue, purpose, and discipleship connecting to the camp meeting’s purpose of taking a break from the everyday to reconnect with God and one another.
When asked what he believed people most need when they step away from their normal routines at a gathering like this, Haffner remarked, “To connect with Jesus in a personal way, and that changes everything relative to purpose. The foundation of spiritual life is a relationship with Jesus—that everything is abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us—and living in and in the presence of Christ. That is the most important principle of spiritual life.”
“I have to tell you, Dr. Karl Haffner—our main speaker—I love how he tells stories and the stories are from the Bible that we can relate to our own lives,” commented Eileen Field, attendee and deaconess from the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church. “One night’s story touched my heart so deeply I started to cry. It was so beautiful and so relatable.”
The camp meeting also included music service led by Wylie and Dawna Stevens of the Last Song Ministry duo and a health workshop by Fred Hardinge, DrPH, registered dietician, and the director of Montrose Church Health Ministries Committee. “I talked about some of the principles involved in assessing nutrition information in this social media age,” Hardinge commented.
“[Social media] has introduced a lot of confusion and frustration and a lot of misinformation. [People should be weary that] good science does not evolve from one individual or one study, and that, if it goes against the body of data, that’s another red flag. And that antidotal evidence does not constitute data. A novelty makes lots of noise, but science rarely makes much noise.”
Extra attention was placed this year on inviting and including all generations at the camp meeting with special kids programming and activities included a popsicle stick bridge build, arts and crafts, and more. All generations enjoyed painting classes led by Eliezer Roque-Cisneros, lead pastor of the Colorado Riffle District, daily puzzles, and free Christian literature tables.
Camp meeting activities were paused briefly for the 2026 Northwest Colorado Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Town Hall meeting. RMC president Dave VandeVere began with a discussion on conference-wide mission and vision and did an introduction to the preparations for the 2027 RMC Constituency Session.
Attendees also received an introduction to the new vice president for Administration Nathaniel Gamble and the new Ministerial director Sean Lee. The session was closed out with reports from the remaining department representatives.
“The churches in the Western Slope have always enjoyed getting together, and this is a perfect excuse to gather for a spiritually uplifting time,” reflected Roque-Cisneros. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of people who have poured their heart and soul into this ministry. And beyond simply attending another church event, the goal is that people have a chance to connect with Jesus in a way that’s different than their everyday life. The hope is that—as people go home—they will feel the value of getting together.”
—RMCNews. Photos by Liz Kirkland and Eileen Field.
