Disciple-making DNA

Changing the DNA of Ministry: How QCCC is Building the Next Generation of Leaders

For nearly a century, Queensland Baptists’ Camping Ministry has shaped generations through hospitality, community, and leadership development. Its story began with Mr Lethem, a banker who invested his resources so others might enter ministry. He envisioned camping as a place to nurture spiritual, mental, social, and physical growth, with profits reinvested to ensure long-term impact.

Camps have long been recognised as a powerful instrument for leadership, uniting young people across Queensland. In the 1970s QB Magazine commented: “Ask around most Baptist churches, and you will find someone whose Christian life began at camp – some of these people are ministers now, others lay men and women. For others, camp was the place where conversion deepened into commitment.”
Today, QCCC carries this vision forward, equipping the next generation of leaders to live out their faith with courage and conviction.

“We’ve actually been able to change the DNA of QCCC to be one of a disciple-making ministry,” says Andrew Grant, Director of QCCC. His words are not mere rhetoric. They echo a deliberate strategy that has seen the organisation invest in training the next generation of staff for spiritual growth, practical leadership, and lifelong transformation.

Watch the video story here:

Beyond Camping: A Movement with Purpose

QCCC operates three major sites—Mapleton, Tamborine, and Brookfield (QCCC Brisbane)—along with expedition programs across Southeast Queensland. Together, these sites welcome 30,000 school students and more than 50,000 guests each year. But for QCCC, numbers only tell part of the story.

“At the heart of it, ministry is the most important thing,” Grant explains. “We wanted to ensure we weren’t drifting from our mission, and that meant building a pipeline of committed staff.”

That pipeline took shape in 2017 with the launch of Campfire, a two-year internship combining outdoor education, vocational training, and intentional discipleship. Campfire interns not only learn the technical skills of outdoor leadership—canoeing, rock climbing, high ropes—they also discover how to guide others through experiences that fuse adventure with faith.

Building Leaders Through Experience

For many interns, Campfire is their first taste of full-time work, independence, and adult responsibility. Supervisors like Chris, who oversees the program, see it as more than training. “It’s a journey in mentoring and discipleship,” he says. “We’re raising outdoor leaders who are passionate about impacting young people through combining adventure with faith.”

Mentorship lies at the program’s core. Interns are guided through the Project 11 discipleship program, meet peers from across Queensland and beyond, and learn what it means to carry faith into daily life. The transformation is tangible: interns begin often feeling nervous about living away from home, but emerge as confident leaders. Some even take charge of multi-day expeditions, while others experience personal renewal.

Camplife: A Gap Year of Purpose

At QCCC’s Tamborine site, a newer initiative is taking root: Camplife, a gap-year program blending ministry, practical service, and theological study. Unlike the two-year internship, Camplife offers a one-year immersive introduction to Christian camping and church ministry. Participants live on-site, explore hospitality roles, partner with local churches like CrossLife Baptist, and even take part in mission trips abroad.

For Ian Partridge, Operations and Ministry Manager at Tamborine, the program’s strength lies in its breadth. “Camplife gives young people the chance to step off the treadmill,” he explains. “They learn skills in hospitality, outdoor education, and church partnership, all while exploring their faith in a residential community.”

The blessing is mutual: QCCC gains the energy of fresh staff each year, while young adults carry new skills—barista training, catering, administration—into their next season of life, whether that’s university, the workforce, or ministry.

Discipleship at the Coalface of Mission

What makes QCCC unique is its missional identity. In a cultural moment when many denominations have closed their camping ministries, QCCC has doubled down on its calling.

“Many of the young people who come through our sites might never step into a church,” Grant admits. “But here, they encounter a genuine Christian community. That matters.”

From the quiet rainforest setting of Mapleton to the beauty of the mountain top ministry hub at Tamborine, QCCC is doing more than hosting camps—it is shaping leaders, discipling young hearts, and ensuring the next generation of camping leaders has the courage to live out their faith and serve Jesus together.

As Grant reflects on the last decade, his conviction is clear: “We are discipling young people, linking them with churches, and staying at the coalface of mission in Queensland. That’s something worth being proud of.” Kenneth Lethem dreamed of leaders who saw every part of life as consecrated to Christ – where His call shaped work, service, and witness.

That vision still beats at the heart of QCCC. Queensland Baptists have long recognised that camping “has provided one of the most significant instruments for leadership within the Baptist denomination. Camping drew young people together in a sense of purpose and oneness.” Today, QCCC’s discipleship pathways carry that legacy forward, inspiring a new generation to live with courage, faith, and conviction in every sphere of life.

Learn more about CAMPFIRE Internships here: qccc.org.au/campfire/

Learn more about Camplife Gap Year here: qccc.org.au/camplife/