Campus by the Sea (CBS) is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

camp and is located at Gallagher's Cove on Santa Catalina Island, California, United States. The camp was founded in 1951 by Mel Friesen and can now host 250 people. CBS offers the chance for people to take a break from their regular lives so they can study the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, rest and play. The camp offers a number of recreational activities, including

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

horseshoes Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape. Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to: Places * Horseshoe Valley (disambiguation) ...

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and has a play yard for children. CBS hosts groups of InterVarsity college students from various campuses in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

during the year, primarily in fall and spring through early summer ("Fall Conference" and "Chapter Camp", respectively). Additionally, CBS hosts outdoor education retreats through marine science organizations, during the spring and fall. For many summers, CBS hosted family camps and high school camps led by Paul and Virginia Friesen. CBS is often noted as the birthplace of the "Mark Study," an in-depth inductive study of the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

. The originator of the inductive method (and co-founder of CBS) was Paul Byer. Byer graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and was on the staff with InterVarsity there for many years. A copy of his original Mark manuscripts (along with teaching notes and other documents) can now be found on display in the library of CBS's building, named the "Crow's Nest", which opened in late summer 2006.

History

Campus By the Sea has gone through many stages of development since its founding. After torrential downpours in the early months of 1980, the narrow valley in which the facilities are located was flooded. The swiftly moving creek which normally ran along one side of valley, overran its banks, washing eight cabins and buildings out to sea. The fresh water

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery ...

was destroyed and the camp was on the edge of ruin. However, those loyal to the camp rallied to see that it was cleaned up and renovated. Frantic preparations began that spring for the summer camping season. Fund raising and

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had already begun for a new dining facility/multi-purpose building, and soon volunteer and professional

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

teams arrived to make this a reality. The new building, dubbed "The Lighthouse" for its first-in-camp use of Edison electricity, upgraded the service that Campus by the Sea was able to offer. (Prior to construction of the Lighthouse, the camp had relied upon generators for its power needs.) "The Lighthouse" was initially powered also powered by a generator, but it drew so much fuel that it was only turned on when camps were in. Within a year or two, this was deemed unsustainable, and three electrical/telephone poles were installed. A "winterized" facility (that is, insulated), the addition of "The Lighthouse" and some enclosed cabins enabled the camp to extend its booking dates late into the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

, and to start much earlier in the spring. A core of year-round staff was hired and retained to meet the needs of this expanded camping schedule. The rest of the 1980s was a time of continued development at Campus by the Sea. Two historic cabins, "Rock Cod" and "Sea Horse", were insulated, wired with electricity and expanded, in order to better house the year-round staff.

Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

and

telephone line A telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit industrywide) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system. It is designed to reproduce speech of a quality that is understandable. It is the physical wire or ot ...

s expanded during the 1980s as well. A permanent

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

set on pilings was installed in the winter of 1986/87, replacing the rope-and-pulley shuttle system which had been the means of bringing campers from boat to shore for over 35 years. This, along with a central bathroom-shower pavilion built in 1990, prepared the camp for year-round use. However, the camp still usually closes down for two months, from mid-December to mid-February. This is usually the worst weather season for Catalina due to high waves and downpours. 2007 Catalina Burn

Development of Campus By the Sea continued through the 1990s. Notably, three cottages were constructed in the back of the canyon to add an element of privacy and permanent housing for the year-round staff. A maintenance shed was also built outside the main part of camp to provide a safe work area for

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

in which to service the numerous

boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

and

heavy equipment Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...

that are so necessary to the camp's operation. In May 2007,

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

on Santa Catalina Island came dangerously close to the camp and threatened several buildings. At seemingly the last moment, winds shifted and the camp escaped relatively unscathed.Article about May 2007 fire, and evacuation of CBS
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External links

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USAcampusbythesea.org

References

{{Summer camps in California Summer camps in California Santa Catalina Island (California) Youth organizations based in California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California