BigStuf™ has opened registration for its 2027 summer camps and is bringing the camp experience closer to more churches than ever before. Our hope for every week is the same: that students encounter Jesus, find people they can be honest with, and take their faith into everyday life.
For the first time, BigStuf™ is launching two new camp experiences in the same summer. BigStuf™ Midwest will take place at Lake Williamson in Carlinville, Illinois. Irresistible Week, Powered by BigStuf™ will gather churches at Camp Tejas in Giddings, Texas. Both join BigStuf™ Florida, our longtime beachfront experience in Panama City Beach.
This expansion began with listening.
You told us the road to camp was getting longer
The way churches plan summer has changed. Transportation costs have risen. Driver requirements, school calendars, volunteer capacity, and crowded ministry schedules make a long-distance trip harder to carry than it was a decade ago.
Over the past several summers, youth leaders have told us what that pressure feels like. Some groups love BigStuf™ but cannot make another 10-hour bus trip work. Others have students and families who want to come, but the distance turns an exciting week into a difficult logistical decision.
We heard that. In 2027, we are bringing BigStuf™ closer to you. We want to come alongside your church as you help teenagers know Jesus and follow Him. A shorter trip can make room for a student who might otherwise miss that time with God and their church family.
Each camp should have an identity of its own. Place matters. A week beside a Midwestern lake should feel different from a week on the Gulf. A Texas camp built with a committed community of churches should carry the warmth, energy, and traditions of that community. Each setting will shape the week in its own way while worship, honest teaching, group time, recreation, and leader support hold the BigStuf™ experience together.
BigStuf™ Midwest: lake days, long evenings, and room to breathe
BigStuf™ Midwest will take place July 7 to 11, 2027, at Lake Williamson in Carlinville, Illinois.
Lake Williamson gives this camp a personality all its own. The 435-acre property unfolds around a lake, wooded paths, open fields, and recreation spaces that can carry the energy of the week from morning into the evening. Sand volleyball, basketball, mini golf, hiking, blacklight games, and time by the water give the property plenty of ways to bring a group together.
Even meals feel connected to the setting. The whole camp can gather in a dining room overlooking the lake, reset together, and head back into the next part of the day. Think lake air, green space, friendly competition, and long summer evenings where the best conversation does not have to end because the bus is leaving.
Expect the familiar rhythm of shared worship, relevant teaching, time with your own group, and the unplanned conversations that make camp matter. Around that rhythm will be something distinctly Midwestern: lake mornings, open land, a little more breathing room, and a camp culture shaped by the churches and students who call this region home.
A look at Lake Williamson
Lake days at Lake Williamson
The waterfront at Lake Williamson
The location also changes the trip for churches across the central United States. Lake Williamson is approximately:
- One hour from Springfield, Illinois
- About 75 minutes from St. Louis
- About four hours from Indianapolis
- About four hours from the Chicago area
For many churches, that difference can turn a full travel day into a regional trip and make the week possible for more students, families, and volunteers.
Lodging and all 11 camp meals are included at Midwest, which helps leaders keep the week in one place and spend less time moving students between venues.
Irresistible Week: BigStuf™ energy with a Texas heartbeat
Irresistible Week, Powered by BigStuf™ will take place July 14 to 18, 2027, at Camp Tejas in Giddings, Texas.
Irresistible Week brings BigStuf™ to Texas through a dedicated partnership with churches that were ready to build this week together. The inaugural camp filled before public registration opened, which is why it is already sold out for 2027.
Camp Tejas gives that week a strong home. The property is built for days that move: a pool and lazy river, water slides, lakes, inflatables, a climbing tower, zip lines, outdoor gathering spaces, and room to play. Private rooms, cottages, cabins, and bunkhouses give groups places to land after the energy of the day.
The week will have its own Texas character: sun, water, adventure, shared porches, big energy, and the warmth of churches building something memorable together.
Camp Tejas is approximately:
- One hour from Austin
- Two hours from Houston
- Two hours from San Antonio
- Three to four hours from Dallas-Fort Worth
A look at Camp Tejas
A view across the Camp Tejas property
Room for adventure on the water at Camp Tejas
BigStuf™ Florida: the beachfront experience that shaped generations
The map is growing, but Florida remains a central part of the BigStuf™ story.
BigStuf™ Florida returns to the Boardwalk Beach Hotel & Convention Center in Panama City Beach for two 2027 weeks, June 14 to 18 and June 18 to 22.
Florida has a rhythm unlike either of the new camps. Students wake up beside the Gulf. Sessions, lodging, group time, free time, and the beach stay together on one property. Beach worship and long conversations beside the water have become part of the memory churches carry home.
We have plenty of surprises coming for Florida in 2027, and we cannot wait to share more as summer gets closer. The beachfront experience will keep doing what it does best while Midwest and Texas develop identities that could only happen in those places.
A look at BigStuf™ Florida
The beachfront setting of BigStuf™ Florida
Time together in the Gulf during summer 2026
Worship and teaching in 2027
Stellar lineups have included Gerald Fadayomi, Brice Thurman, Tega Faafa Taylor, and Marquise Cox. And in 2027, you can expect to see and hear powerful, fresh new members of the BigStuf™ family!
Worship is a big part of why we gather. We want students and leaders to have time to sing, pray, and pay attention to what God is doing in their lives, together with their church. That will be at the heart of all three camp experiences in 2027.
The 2027 speakers and musicians have not yet been announced. We will share each camp's lineup on its official page and through BigStuf™ updates as soon as the details are final.
Nearly four decades prepared us for a year like this
BigStuf™ began in 1988. Since then, we have produced more than 390 camp events and welcomed more than 425,000 students and 30,000 youth leaders.
The rooms have changed. The music has changed. The distance churches are willing and able to travel has changed, too. Our purpose has stayed steady: create space for students to encounter Jesus, be known by their people, and carry a lived faith home.
These new camps grow from established relationships, nearly four decades of experience, and years of listening to the churches we serve. We are grateful for the opportunity to come alongside more of those communities. Our prayer is that the conversations, worship, and friendships that begin at camp help students keep following Jesus long after they go home.
“With two new locations, BigStuf™ Midwest and Irresistible Week, BigStuf™ is beginning an exciting new chapter. For the first time in our history, BigStuf™ is coming to our partners. That matters to BigStuf™ because it reflects the heart of the Gospel. The power of Jesus incarnate is that God didn't stay distant: God came near to be with us.”
Stuart Hall | BigStuf™
2027 registration is open
Registration is now open for BigStuf™ Florida and BigStuf™ Midwest. Irresistible Week is sold out for 2027.
Church youth leaders can compare current dates, pricing, locations, and availability on the 2027 registration page. New groups can create an account, and returning leaders can sign in to continue planning. Leaders with questions can visit the BigStuf™ Help Center.
Wherever your group joins us, bring your people. We are praying for the students who will come, the leaders walking alongside them, and the ways God will meet them this summer. We cannot wait to be part of that week with you.
About BigStuf™
Founded in 1988, BigStuf™ creates Christian summer camp experiences for church youth groups. Through worship, teaching, small groups, recreation, and leader support, BigStuf™ helps students encounter Jesus, deepen relationships, and carry faith into life at home. Learn more about the story of BigStuf™.
