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About Us

Guided by God’s Word, Committed to Life Change

At Cedar Lake Ministries, our foundation is the Word of God. We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible guide for faith and life. We affirm one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, came to redeem a fallen world. Through His death and resurrection, those who believe are justified and made new. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, the hope of eternal life, and the urgency of the Great Commission. Everything we do—from camps to community—is grounded in these truths and dedicated to leading lives toward Christ.
A group of thirteen people wearing tie-dye shirts poses for a photo under an open pavilion, with benches and trees visible in the background.

Our Mission

Cedar Lake Ministries exists to provide a life-changing environment for evangelism and spiritual growth.

Our Vision

We are called and committed to the spiritual growth and evangelism of individuals by these means: Adult, Youth, and Family Camps; Conferences and Retreat Programs; Christian Residential Community.

Our Statement of Faith

  1. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New testaments to be the Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
  2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  3. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
  4. We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also that spiritual death
    which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born in sin.
  5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as representative, substitutionary and complete sacrifice, and that all that believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
  6. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us, as High Priest and Advocate.
  7. We believe in the second, eminent, visible and personal coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to establish His Kingdom on the earth.
  8. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God.
  9. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscience punishment.
  10. We believe in the great commission which our Lord has given to His Church to evangelize the world, and that this evangelization is the great mission of the church. Furthermore, we exhort the people of God everywhere to stand by these great truths and to contend earnestly for the faith that our God has, in His Holy Word, ‘delivered unto the saints’.​

Our Core Values

Cedar Lake Ministries exists to provide an environment for evangelism and spiritual growth.

God’s Word

Complete obedience to God’s Word is our highest priority. The Bible is the foundation for all beliefs, instruction, practice, policy, and procedure (James 1:25, 1 Peter 5:1-4)

Evangelism

Lost people both locally and regionally matter to God; therefore, they matter to us (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)

Integrity

Integrity is non-negotiable in our board and staff in all we do (Proverbs 16:8, Leviticus 19:11)

Stewardship

We manage all of the God-given, God-owned resources entrusted to us, in order to achieve the goals and vision God has put before us (Matthew 25:14-30)

Prayer

We firmly believe prayer makes the critical difference in all we do and produces the highest return to our ministry (James 1:5, John 16:24)

Family

Because the family is God’s primary tool to pass on Godly values for our generation to the next, we will strategically invest our time, talents and efforts to build strong, Godly, everyday commission families (Deut. 6:6-9 Psalms 78:5-7)

Excellence

We pay close attention to details, pursuing excellence in order to honor God and inspire greatness (Col. 3:23-24)

Loving Relationships

Because people will know we are disciples of Christ by our love, we desire to treat everyone with respect and honor regardless of race, color, age, sex or denominational affiliation (John 13:34-35 and 1 Thessalonians 2:8)

Our History

With all that God has done and is doing here at Cedar Lake Ministries, it is easy to race into the future and forget the past. While CLM embraces and anxiously anticipates all that God has in store for us, we still want to take time to remember where we came from. Here, we reflect on how God has worked every step of the way as well as all the blessings of our rich and vibrant history — and we encourage our visitors to do the same.

ca. 1905 to 1914

In 1881, the Monon Railroad was completed and originally skirted the western shore of Cedar Lake. The railroad considered the possibility of running special excursion trains daily to and from the lake, which at the time, were known to many as a quiet fishing and camping adventure. The railroad envisioned hotels and a park, where people could relax and enjoy themselves. They also envisioned two depots along the lakeshore. About that time, the railroad established a picnic grounds about two blocks south of where the conference center sits today. It was called Monon Park. By 1895, it was a popular place for picnic groups from Chicago and was becoming congested. More space was needed. At about that same time, the Monon Railroad purchased twenty acres of land and moved the park to where Cedar Lake Ministries is located. By 1890, Monon Park was considered a huge success. The grounds were crowded on a daily basis. In May of 1897, the dancing pavilion, now Torrey Auditorium, the old dining hall and the bowling alley were completed.

ca. 1914 to 1923

By 1912, Monon Railroad was not satisfied with the current management and began looking for new park managers. E.Y. Woolley, Associate Pastor of the Moody Church of Chicago, had the vision of conference grounds and a summer camp for those who attended the Moody Church. Early in 1914, Woolley’s vision was fulfilled when the Monon Railroad gave the Paul Rader church permission to become the new manager of Monon Park. In 1915, Paul Rader became pastor of the church and was very instrumental in the work at Cedar Lake. The church accepted the wooded park as a gift and promised to take good care of the grounds and lakefront. The excursion trains would continue by selling tickets to Christian groups in need of summer outings. The church made many improvements to the park, which resulted in an increase of picnic crowds. By 1919, Monon Park was officially sold to the Moody Church for the total sum of $1. The park was now the Moody Assembly Grounds at Cedar Lake.

Incorporated April 23, 1923

By 1923, Moody Church experienced financial difficulties, which stopped its work at Cedar Lake. Simultaneously, the work was handed over to Mr. Bowles, Mr. Erickson and Mr. Swanson, three elders of the church. On April 23, 1923, the Cedar Lake Conference Association was incorporated. As a means to purchase the grounds from Moody Church, association stocks and summer homes were sold.

ca. 1920 to 1940

The middle and late 1920’s were prosperous at Cedar Lake once the economy picked back up after World War I. When John Duff became the association president in 1927, great things occurred. In this same year, the annual conferences, which began in July and ended Labor Day, had commenced. In 1928, the Fundamental Young People’s Fellowship Conference included Arthur McKee as the speaker. Despite the Great Depression, work continued, but it was impossible to generate any cash surplus. In 1929, the first boy’s camp took place; this was followed in the next year with the first girl’s camp. The association felt that it could not handle the financial responsibility to pay the insurance for the Glendenning Hotel and dropped it in 1935. Around Labor Day of that same year, it burned to the ground and the damage was estimated at $25,000. Despite this, Hotel Rest-A-While was completed in July of the following year.

ca. 1940 to 1960

During the 1940’s conferences, concerts and camps continued. By 1948, the Monon Railroad moved the section of the tracks that skirted the western shore of Cedar Lake about a quarter of a mile west, which left about a half of a mile of lakefront open to purchase by the Cedar Lake Conference Association. Soon enough, this land was purchased from the railroad for $15,000 with the help of a short-term loan from the First National Bank of Crown Point. Several loads of dirt were brought in and the lakefront was re-landscaped. By about 1950, South Gate Chapel was built and construction of the west wing of Hotel Rest-A-While began. In 1958, Richard Boldt became the new manager.

ca. 1960 to 1990

In the 1960s, the Conference Association realized that guests were wanting more modern conveniences. Construction of Cedars #1-6 was underway by 1964. During the mid-1980’s, rooms in Hotel Rest-A-While were being remodeled, and by the early 1990’s, Cedars #7-12 were constructed. Along with these updates for modern facilities, the Cedar Lake Bible Conference Grounds was renamed the Cedar Lake Bible Conference Center by about 1980. At this time Al Lackey became Executive Director. One of the largest struggles for Mr. Lackey and the conference association during the 1980’s was the efforts to get the grounds septic system hooked up to the town’s sewer system.

1990 to Present

An even greater effort ensued to provide modern facilities to the groups coming to Cedar Lake. As a result, several key improvements were made and essential buildings constructed on the grounds. In 1995, a 30-site RV Park and Bathhouse was completed and opened for the season. A new 350-seat Dining Hall & Conference Center was also completed in 1996. The fall of 2000 and winter of 2001 saw Hickory Lodge (built in 1924) renovated and air-conditioning added. Eight rooms in Rest-A-While Hotel were gutted and renovated, and two handicap accessible rooms were added. The fall of 2001 through the spring of 2002, Torrey Auditorium, built in 1897, was completely renovated with a new foundation, windows, carpet, drywall, lighting, sound system, siding, seating, heating and air-conditioning. Rest-A-While Hotel, built in 1936, also was improved. The west wing had not been updated since its original construction in the early 1950’s. It now contains 18 brand new rooms with a new conference room on the lower level. In 2009, Rest-A-While underwent a renovation and redecorating project which improved rooms and updated the lobby and fireplace into not only a beautiful but comfortable lounge area, perfect for reflection and refreshing.
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