Snowbird reopens under guidelines

    Andrews - A visual representation of good versus evil was clearly on display last week at Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters.
    The gospel-driven, adventure discipleship camp performed its Revelation Skit in front of a crowd for the first time this year.
    “We do this skit to show students that, in the end, good will triumph over evil,” said Brody Holloway, CEO and lead pastor of Snowbird. “We use biblical passages to illustrate that, one day, Jesus is going to conquer sin, death and hell forever, and we’re going to be free. Christ is going to bring all injustice to a place of justice and peace.”
    After Gov. Roy Cooper issued guidance for overnight camps on May 20, Snowbird resumed operations, albeit at 50 percent of normal capacity. Ten churches sent teenagers to Snowbird’s 100-acre property last week to participate in six days of fellowship and worship that includes outdoor recreation and song.
    To ease fears of contracting COVID-19, Snowbird officials produced a video that outlines the measures they’re taking to ensure camp attendees remain safe and healthy.
    “I knew the teaching and the worship was going to be good, I knew our kids were going to be loved, but I was trying to figure out how they were going to [socially distance] in a camp setting; and they’re doing it excellently,” said Joe Mulroney, senior pastor at Vertical Church in Charleston, S.C.
    “That gives me great confidence as a pastor because I’m responsible for these kids. I can go home with confidence and say to parents, ‘Your kids were cared for, protected and loved physically, emotionally and spiritually.’ ”
    In preparation to reopen, Snowbird officials moved half of their staff off campus to provide more room for student church groups. They also constructed an additional shower house, plus added sinks and hand sanitizer stations at the entrances of each building. Moreover, attendees remain in a cohort with their travel partners, so there is no intermingling between church groups.
    “We stagger the time spent at each recreation site and when the cohorts rotate, we pause and sanitize everything,” said Spencer Davis, risk management director at Snowbird. “Meals and shower times are also rotated, and we have a nurse and a medical advisor on campus.”
    Snowbird officials record the temperature of each attendee every morning and maintain a log of results. Snowbird staff and camp attendees are also prohibited from leaving the campground and visiting other places in the county, except for the music hall on the former Bear Ridge Mall property owned by Cherokee County Commissioner Cal Stiles and his wife, Janet Stiles.
    Since the main worship hall on Snowbird’s property is only 4,000 square feet, the Stileses allow the organization to use the 20,000-square-foot music hall off U.S. 19/74, which has hosted national concert acts in the past.
    The Stileses paid Snowbird officials to replace the old wood siding on the building’s exterior with metal siding. They also added railing and a wheelchair ramp to the front entrance, rehabbed the bathrooms, reconstructed the sound stage, added security doors and rollup doors, revamped the concessions area and installed a new sound system.
    Students remain with their cohort while they are bussed from the Snowbird campground to the Stileses’ property. They also remain seated with their cohort while separated from other church groups throughout the worship service.
    “The churches never have contact with the community, and a church from Florida and a church from North Carolina won’t touch each other while they’re here,” Davis said.
    Cal Stiles tried to hold back emotions while explaining how the partnership with Snowbird developed.
    “We bought this property with the intention of changing the business model and getting out of the recreation business,” he said. “But little did we know that the Lord had another plan. We didn’t know that Snowbird was going to need space.
    “This was really God’s will. There’s a bigger plan out there than we could ever imagine.”