Deb Roberts, new executive director at Lutherlyn, plays guitar at the camp she used to attend as a child.

CONNOQUENESSING TWP — When Deb Roberts took over as the first female executive director of Lutherlyn Oct. 1, she was new to the job but not new to the people, the place or the camp experience.

“I came as a camper for the first time in 1989. I cried when my parents dropped me off. I was homesick. I was that kid,” Roberts said. “I cried when they picked me up. I didn't want to go home.”

“I just kept coming back. The way that the camp shaped my faith, my character and my values really had a strong impact on me. By the time I was done being a camper, I knew this was what I wanted to do,” she said.

Roberts was part of the summer staff of the religious nonprofit camp from 1994 to 2001. In 2002, she became the full-time office manager, and in 2006 she became the camp's associate director.

“She knows the camp from the ground up,” said the Rev. Sandra Jones, the search committee chairman, assistant to the bishop for the Northwest Pennsylvania Synod and lead pastor at Good Hope/Zion Lutheran Ministry of Oil City.

Jones was impressed by Roberts' enthusiasm and commitment.

Roberts has a degree in parish education for youth ministry and teaching, customized for outdoor ministry, from Thiel College in Greenville. She is a deacon and rostered minister of word and service through the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

The Rev. Joel Benson, president of the Lutherlyn board of directors, said the search committee unanimously recommended Roberts for the job.

He said she has “an appropriate level of seriousness and honesty about the scope of her new position.”

“We have every confidence that Deacon Roberts will lead Lutherlyn with integrity, honesty and a passion to guide Lutherlyn into the “future.”

Lutherlyn is affiliated with the northwestern and southwestern Pennsylvania synods of the ELCA but benefits from the fees paid by groups and donations.

“Among the candidates that we interviewed, they were all strong candidates,” Jones said. “But Deb really stood out as an exemplary candidate.”

Lutherlyn's 660 acres of park and 17 miles of hiking trails at 500 Lutherlyn Lane provides the space for five areas of ministry: summer camp, environmental education, equestrian center, adventure programming and retreats and events. Roberts now oversees and manages these core areas with the director of each ministry.

The camp has 12 full-time staff and about 80 seasonal staff to handle its 15,000 guests a year. Roberts said the camp also relies on “a whole slew of volunteers.”

“Summer camp is nine weeks of busy,” she said. “It's the way we're able to have the greatest impact.”While summer camp is the main focus, the majority of guests visit at other times during the year.Nearly 7,000 school children visit for environmental education almost every school day from September to November and from April to June. College groups, church youth groups, family groups and others also stay at the camp every weekend except holidays and in December.“I lead a lot of our year-round retreats,” Roberts said. She also leads devotions, worship and Bible studies.Jones said churches, camps and other organizations struggle financially and struggle to engage people in things tied to faith.She said, “I found Deb to be very realistic about those challenges but also very excited.”“Legal and financial matters (will be) growing edges for her.”Many church camps in Western Pennsylvania developed in the 1940s and early 1950s, when churches were growing, Roberts said. Now that churches are smaller, Lutherlyn must rely on other ways to attract people.“We've had a lot of extra little add-ons over the past couple of years. At this point our focus is to really concentrate on the five core areas of our ministry,” she said.The indoor equestrian center now is available year round for lessons, therapeutic riding and other programs. A high ropes course now is part of the camp ropes course.Roberts, her husband, Jeff, and their two school-age children call Lutherlyn home. They live in a house that comes with the job.“It's a great place to live. My kids love living here,” Roberts said. Both children participate in summer camp.Roberts said, “It's really exciting to get to serve in this way and get to live out the mission of the camp.”“This is what she's wanted to do,” Jones said. “It's another step for her in terms of accountability and responsibility. It's a professional and also a spiritual move.”

Deb Roberts, right, new executive director at Lutherlyn, talks to staff members at the Camp in Connoquenessing Township.