About Camp Pitt

Camp Pitt is Pittsylvania Christian Service Camp, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian Camping Ministry owned and operated by independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ from across Southside Virginia. We offer summer camps for children and youth and seasonal retreats and programs for various age groups.

Our Mission

We exist to provide opportunities for Christian discipleship through the ministry of Camping.

Our Staff

Austin Roach grew up in Chatham, VA. attending, volunteering and working at Camp Pitt. In 2016 he graduated from Kentucky Christian University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and Ministry with an emphasis in Youth and Family. For four years Austin worked in the Student Ministry at Bridges Christian Church, located in Russell, Kentucky, before joining the Camp Pitt staff in the fall of 2020 as Camp Manager. Since then he met his wife, Allison, who is a teacher here in Pittsylvania County. Both Austin and Allison love Camp Ministry, and are excited to see God use them through the ministry of Camp Pitt.

Our Heritage

Christian camping ministry in America finds its origins in the outdoor youth movements which arose at the beginning of the 20^th Century. The successful character building and moral training experiences of organizations like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and YMCA camping programs caught the attention of Christian groups interested in Bible training. Shortly after the mid 1940’s the concept had caught on among the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Many camps of similar affiliation from across the nation trace their origins to this period.

As early as 1944, Christian camp was held in Pittsylvania County, Virginia as a cooperative effort of several churches in South-Central and Southside Virginia. In 1947, realizing the potential of the ministry held for making disciples and calling the next generation of church leaders, a permanent facility was provided by generous members of the Sheva Church of Christ. According to Commonwealth of Virginia records, Pittsylvania Christian Service Camp was incorporated that same year, but was and still is known among supporters and campers as Camp Pitt. Over the next 39 years, Camp Pitt saw considerable success among youth in the region at both making disciples for Jesus Christ and calling volunteer and vocational leaders to service in God’s kingdom.

Beginning in 1984, Camp Pitt relocated to its present campus near the Climax community of Pittsylvania County. Summer youth camps have been held annually as well as programs and retreats for adults. Presently Camp Pitt has a membership of 30 independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ which provide oversight, funding, volunteers and campers, although campers from many diverse backgrounds attend each year. Camp Pitt continues to see success discipling and calling the next generation of Christian leaders and is well positioned to expand its reach into the community it serves in the coming years.

Our Beliefs

There is one divine being who created and sustains the entire universe, who is known to us through His creation and His own Word as three co-equal yet distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Only through faith is it possible to fully know, relate to and please God. Disobedience and unbelief has broken the relationship between God and mankind (Genesis 1:1-31; Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 3:23).
The Bible is truly the Word of God. It is our authority in matters of religion and as the basis of all our faith and practice. True knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ comes to us through the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 3: 15-16; Acts 2:42-47; Titus 2:1; Romans 1:16, 17).
Jesus Christ is our only Savior and Lord. He is the only begotten Son of God who died on the cross for the salvation of all mankind. God the Father raised Him from the dead and this is our assurance of salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; John 3:16; 1 John 4:14; Romans 10:9).
God has offered to every person everywhere the forgiveness of sins, the Spirit of God, and the inheritance yet to come on the basis of what Christ has done to save us (Mark 10:45; John 12:32; Acts 2:38,39; Romans 5:18; Colossians 2:13-15).
In order to receive this gift of grace, God summons everyone to faith in Christ, repentance from sin, confession of Jesus as Lord, and on that basis, immersion into Christ (Romans 5:1,2; Acts 10:43; Romans 10: 9-10, 17; Acts 2:38,39).
Jesus Christ created the church, and it is made up of all those who have obeyed the Gospel and belong to Jesus Christ, the Head of the church (Matthew 16:15-18; Matthew 28:16-20; Galatians 3:26-29; Colossians 1:15-20). The mission of the church is to bring the message of salvation through Christ to all mankind, and summon them to obedience (discipleship) to Him as Savior and Lord (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Matthew 18:12-14; 1 Timothy 2: 1-7; 2 Timothy 2:1, 2).
Every good work is done under the sovereign Lordship of Christ and with the ultimate goal of making Him Savior and Lord in the heart of every person, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11; Ephesians 2:10; Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12; Colossians 3:17).
Marriage is a covenant established by God as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. All sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, as defined in the Bible –whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin; furthermore, we believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender in opposition to one’s biological sex at birth is immoral and therefore sin (Genesis 2:24-25; Exodus 20:14, 17, 22:19; Leviticus 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matthew 19:4-6, 9; Romans 1:18-31; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 15-20; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Jude 7; Genesis 1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5).

(Excerpted from the Camp Pitt Statement of Belief and Practice)