A nonprofit organization born from one family’s journey of faith, foster care, loss, and an unshakeable conviction that every child — no matter their diagnosis, their limitations, or their family’s circumstances — deserves the transforming joy of camp.
Sheila and Brian Jacobson are Michigan natives who spent years raising their family in Arizona, deeply embedded in church youth camp ministry. Sheila served as a nurse and camp counselor; Brian taught archery, survival skills, and Bible study. Both of their children — Noah and Anna — accepted Christ at church camp in consecutive years. Those moments shaped everything that followed.
A pull they couldn’t explain drew them to North Carolina. It was there, while Sheila was working an ER shift, that a critically ill baby girl named Amari was brought in by life-flight. After nearly four months of NICU care and multiple surgeries, Amari was released to a care facility — but Sheila and Brian couldn’t walk away. They kept visiting. They became her foster parents. And in 2019, they adopted her as their daughter.
“She was also a beautiful gift from God. Through her life, Sheila and Brian learned even more deeply what it means to love, to serve, and to trust God.”
Not long after the adoption, a brain tumor was discovered. Surgery was successful — but complications during recovery took Amari Grace home to be with the Lord two months later. The Jacobsons celebrate where she is, even as they carry the ache of a life cut short.
Grace Ministries at Camp Albright was named in her honor. Her life — brief, medically fragile, and full of grace — is the reason this ministry exists.
A nonprofit organization created to carry the love of Christ into the lives of children and families who need it most — through biblical teaching, worship, outdoor recreation, and access to camp experiences that transform lives.
“Our vision is to grow Camp Albright into a place where events and bookings support future camp experiences and outreach for children and families who need them most.”
— Grace Ministries Vision
“Camp Albright offers a welcoming space for retreats, celebrations, and stays while sharing Christ’s love and creating meaningful outdoor experiences for children with special needs and their families.”
— Camp Albright Mission
“Grace Ministries at Camp Albright shares Christ’s love through teaching, worship, and camp experiences, helping plant seeds of faith in children, families, and guests.”
— Grace Ministries Purpose Statement
Every program, every booking, and every relationship at Camp Albright is shaped by these four commitments — the practical expression of the Jacobsons’ faith and Amari’s legacy.
Every faith-centered program at Camp Albright is grounded in scripture and anchored in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. From morning devotions beside the Hersey River to evening worship in the Tabernacle, the love of God is woven into every aspect of the ministry — not as a program feature, but as its foundation.
Sheila and Brian believe that God’s creation — the open sky, the running river, the firelit evening — has a unique power to open hearts and restore souls. The grounds of Camp Albright are not just an amenity. They are a ministry tool, intentionally used to draw children and families into a deeper experience of the world God made and the love He offers within it.
Families caring for children with significant medical or developmental needs carry extraordinary weight. Grace Ministries is building toward a camp environment where these families are not simply accommodated — they are genuinely welcomed, specifically prepared for, and given the chance to rest, play, and experience the outdoors in ways that restore them. Accessible facilities are the beginning of that commitment.
The deepest ambition of Grace Ministries is to provide fully sponsored camp experiences — at absolutely no cost — for medically fragile children, children with special needs, and disadvantaged youth who would otherwise never experience the transforming power of camp. Through individual sponsorships, full camp sponsorships, and other forms of support, no child should be excluded because of money or circumstance.
Grace Ministries at Camp Albright is funded through a combination of event bookings, facility rentals, and direct financial support. Every group that stays at camp, every wedding hosted in the Tabernacle, and every corporate outing booked on the property contributes to the mission of creating camp experiences for children who need them most.
But the vision goes beyond what the camp generates on its own. Sheila and Brian hope to one day see children with extraordinary needs arrive at Camp Albright fully sponsored — their families unburdened by cost, welcomed by a community that has been waiting for them.
Sponsor one child’s camp experience — covering their stay, meals, and activities in full so their family pays nothing. Your gift gives a child something they may never have had: a week to simply be a kid.
Sponsor an entire session of camp for a group of special-needs, medically fragile, or disadvantaged children. A larger gift with a multiplied impact — one act of generosity reaching many lives.
Churches, businesses, and organizations can partner with Grace Ministries through recurring financial support, volunteer involvement, in-kind donations, or promotional partnership that expands the camp’s reach.
Every booking at Camp Albright — every retreat, wedding, reunion, or overnight stay — directly supports the ministry’s ability to serve children and families. Coming to camp is itself an act of participation in the mission.
Through weddings, overnight stays, corporate events, family reunions, birthday parties, facility rentals, and fundraising activities, the Jacobsons hope to build an environment that supports God’s special children and the people who care for them.
This is not a someday dream. It is the reason they came to Camp Albright. Every step the camp takes — every booking received, every relationship formed, every child who arrives — moves the vision forward.
“Their desire is to show children the love of Christ through a camp experience in an outdoor setting — regardless of their diagnosis, their limitations, or their family’s financial situation.”
Grace Ministries cannot be understood apart from the people who created it. This is their story.
Sheila and Brian Jacobson are Michigan natives who built their lives in Arizona, raising their children Noah and Anna while pouring themselves into church camp ministry. Sheila served as a nurse and counselor. Brian taught archery, survival skills, and scripture. Camp was not a summer obligation for their family — it was the place where faith became real. Both Noah and Anna accepted Christ at camp in consecutive years, and those moments left an indelible mark on everything Sheila and Brian believed about the power of a well-run, God-centered camp experience.
Then came the season they couldn’t explain. A pull toward North Carolina — not backed by reason, not driven by opportunity — simply felt like obedience. They moved without a clear why. And then the why arrived in the ER on a life-flight gurney: a baby girl named Amari, born with severe medical challenges, her survival uncertain through surgery after surgery.
Sheila helped care for Amari in the NICU for nearly four months. When Amari was moved to a care facility, Sheila and Brian kept visiting. They became her foster parents. They brought her home, navigating the machines and medications and appointments that her care required. In 2019, she was officially adopted as their daughter, Amari Grace Jacobson.
The joy was immense. So was what followed. A brain tumor. Successful surgery. Complications that could not be controlled. And two months after her adoption, Amari Grace went home to be with the Lord. Sheila and Brian carry both the celebration of where she is and the grief of her absence — together, without pretending either feeling is less true.
Only months after Amari’s passing, they were called again — this time for a little boy with cerebral palsy, blindness in one eye, seizures, and multiple other diagnoses. For three years, their family loved and cared for him until he was reunited with his mother. Letting him go was its own grief. But they stay in contact, and the love remains.
These experiences — not theory, not theology, but lived, costly, grace-filled experience — are what Sheila and Brian brought to Camp Albright. Their desire is not simply to run a campground. It is to build a place where families like the ones they became can come, rest, play, and encounter the same God who carried them through everything they have walked through.
Reed City, Michigan
+1 (800) 000-0000
info@campalbright.org
