The Story of SpringHill’s Founding Director, Enoch Olson

How God Used One Man’s Faith to Shape Generations

WE DO THE POSSIBLE

On a Sunday afternoon in northern Michigan, a familiar ritual unfolds.

Parents pull away slowly, waving through open car windows as counselors greet children by name. Sleeping bags disappear into covered wagons and cabooses. Nervous smiles become laughter. By evening, strangers have become cabinmates; counselors have become trusted guides, and another week at SpringHill has begun.

It has happened hundreds of thousands of times.

For most campers, it simply feels like camp.

Few realize they are stepping into a vision that first took shape more than half a century ago. Fewer still know the name of the man whose convictions continue to shape nearly every part of their experience.

That would not have troubled Enoch Olson.

He never hoped to build a place that would remember him. He hoped to build a place where young people would remember Jesus Christ.

In that simple distinction lies the story of SpringHill.

Every ministry has an origin story. SpringHill’s began long before the first camper arrived.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

SpringHill Honors the Life and Legacy of Founding Director Enoch Olson

 

EVART, MI (July 13, 2026) — SpringHill today honors the life and legacy of its founding director, Enoch Olson, who passed away Friday evening, July 10, surrounded by his family. He was 96.

For more than seven decades, Enoch devoted his life to helping young people know Jesus Christ. While the SpringHill family grieves his loss, it also celebrates God’s faithfulness through a church that has impacted generations and continues to transform lives. While SpringHill stands as one of Enoch Olson’s enduring legacies, it represents one chapter in a lifetime devoted to advancing the Kingdom of God through church ministry, leadership development, Christian camping, global missions, and faithful discipleship.

“Enoch Olson showed us what it looks like to follow God’s call with humility, courage, and unwavering faith,” said Molly Ramsayer, President of SpringHill. “His vision continues to shape SpringHill every day—not because we preserve his legacy, but because we remain committed to the mission he so faithfully pursued: helping young people know Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with Him. We are deeply grateful for Enoch’s life, and we rejoice knowing he is now in the presence of the Savior he faithfully served.”

Founded in 1969, SpringHill began with a simple yet profound conviction: that stepping away from the distractions of everyday life creates space for young people to encounter Jesus Christ in life-changing ways. What started as a small Christian camp has grown into a year-round ministry serving campers, families, churches, schools, and leaders from across the Midwest and beyond.

Although SpringHill has grown significantly over the past seven decades, its mission has remained unchanged—to glorify God by creating life-impacting experiences that enable young people to know Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with Him.

Those who knew Enoch best often point not to the camps he built, but to the culture he cultivated. He believed ministry was never about one leader or one generation. Instead, he faithfully invested in people, trusted God with the results, and encouraged others to carry the mission forward long after he was gone.

Today, Enoch’s vision lives on through thousands of campers who hear the Gospel each year, staff members who faithfully serve, churches and families who partner in raising resilient disciples, and alumni whose lives continue to reflect the impact of SpringHill.

Near the end of his life, Enoch often expressed one simple hope for the ministry’s future—not that it would become larger or more well known, but that it would remain faithful to God’s Word and continue pointing young people to Jesus Christ.

That prayer continues to guide SpringHill today.

SpringHill will host a Celebration of Life at our Evart campus on August 22 at 1:00 PM EST in the Olson Auditorium. CLICK HERE for details.

Those wishing to learn more about Enoch’s remarkable life and lasting influence are invited to read SpringHill’s commemorative feature article.

Read the full story: We do the possible.
https://springhillexperiences.com/we-do-the-possible/

For media inquiries or interview requests:
SpringHill Marketing & Communications
Kimberlee Mitchell
kmitchell@springhillexperiences.com
www.springhillexperiences.com

About SpringHill
Founded in 1955, SpringHill Camps exists to glorify God by creating life-impacting experiences that enable young people to know Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with Him. Through summer camps, retreats, and leadership development, SpringHill partners with families, churches, and schools to help the next generation build a resilient faith that lasts a lifetime.

About Enoch Olson

Enoch Olson (1930–2026) was the founding director of SpringHill Camps and a lifelong servant of Jesus Christ whose ministry spanned more than seven decades. While best known for establishing SpringHill, Enoch’s influence extended throughout the Christian camping movement as a mentor, teacher, and advocate for reaching the next generation with the Gospel. He championed the importance of the 4–14 Window—the understanding that children and adolescents are most receptive to placing their faith in Jesus Christ—and invested in developing Christian leaders both nationally and internationally. Following the opening of the former Soviet Union, Enoch spent numerous summers equipping emerging Christian camp leaders in Russia. Even after retiring from SpringHill in 1991, Enoch continued faithfully serving through Bible teaching, mentoring, and discipleship in his church communities in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Ludington, Michigan. His legacy lives on through the countless lives transformed by the ministries and leaders he helped inspire.