Elim Lodge is like a Conference Centre, Summer Camp, Trailer Park and vacation getaway all-in-one. During 8 weeks of the summer (July & August), trusted pastors, teachers, missionaries and worship leaders are invited to minister to the spiritual needs of our guests.
Coming with your family? Programming for kids and teens is available throughout each of those 8 weeks that includes Bible teaching and all sorts of games and activities.
Elim Lodge Trailer Park allows for 157 permanent trailer sites where families have come for generations to relax and enjoy time together; but there are plenty of cottages, apartments and camp sites for anyone looking for a shorter getaway.
Our spacious grounds and meeting venues (Elim Chapel, Rustic Chapel and Rec Hall) are perfect for church picnics, business retreats or any other year-round function with groups of 25 or more. (Elim grounds and venues are reserved through the Summer Season – July & August – for our Conference meetings, guests and special events.)
Knowing how busy life can get(!), Elim strives to be a community where family and friends can have fun together while being given the opportunity to grow in our faith. We love that, on summer days, you might see kids and teens riding their bikes to Westview Beach for Slip-n-Slide, friends challenge (or support!) each other for 1st place in the weekly ‘Elimpics’, special days are celebrated with parades and picnics, and long-time trailer owners hold BBQs for friends and neighbours. Every opportunity is given for people of all ages and backgrounds to gather together to worship God and rejoice in Him.
Wherever your home, we’re committed to making Elim your home away from home!
MISSION: Elim Lodge is a gift from God to the Church.
As such, we are entrusted with a calling to serve the Elim community for the purpose of renewal, refreshment and enabling of God’s people to represent Christ and to clearly present the Gospel both here and around the world.
VISION: To serve Christ’s community through all seasons.
Exalting God: Worship and glorify God in everything we do.
Living in Community: Work together with integrity, purpose and diligence to grow the kingdom of God.
Inspiring: Provide an environment for the purpose of relaxing, refreshing and being renewed in body, mind and spirit.
Mission: Collaborate with local churches, missions and organizations to grow the worldwide Body of Christ.
MOTTO: Relax | Refresh | Renew
Relax: Release stress and enjoy relief from the busyness of life.
Refresh: Gain strength and vision for renewed service.
Renew: Discover Truth for Life-giving transformation.
Our History
Elim Lodge was founded by Mrs. Pearl Arnold in 1946 on 15 acres of land as a place of retreat for Bible study and fellowship with followers of Christ. Bernie Aldridge, formerly the Director of Extension at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, purchased the property in 1963. Together with his wife Ruth, the ministry of teaching and encouragement continued in this beautiful and tranquil setting.
In 1974, four Brethren churches from Peterborough banded together to purchase Elim Lodge from Mr. & Mrs. Aldridge and determined that it become a not-for-profit corporation called Elim Ministries. Over the next years, Elim expanded to 48 acres; new buildings were added, including a 500-seat chapel which has been made available for many purposes.
Presently, Elim Lodge covers 75 acres of land where friends and families are able to relax, refresh and renew, being served by a community of believers who are devoted to Christ and His Church. Inspired by (over) 75 years of meaningful history, we continue to invite established speakers, missionaries and artists to invest time at our summer conferences so that guests can be encouraged and challenged in their faith while being refreshed and renewed to engage with grace and compassion at their place in the harvest.
Elim belongs to God, and we are all blessed with the privilege to steward it for His glory. As we commit to improving the infrastructure and facilities of Elim Lodge, we depend on God’s wisdom and provision; pursuing excellence in management.
Our buildings and programs are not what make a difference in peoples’ lives at Elim; people inspire people. We pray that God will reveal Himself to each of us in such a way that we will be eager to reflect Him faithfully in our lives and relationships.
Our Statement of Faith
- The Holy Scriptures, as originally given by God, are divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy, and constitute the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
- There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Our Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh; we affirm his virgin birth, sinless humanity, divine miracles, vicarious and atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, ongoing mediatorial work, and personal return in power and glory.
- The salvation of lost and sinful humanity is possible only through the merits of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith apart from works, and is characterized by regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit enables believers to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The Church, the body of Christ, consists of all true believers.
- Ultimately God will judge the living and the dead, those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, those who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
