10/19/2026
In camp ministry, you attend a lot of events. Weddings, fundraisers, alumni gatherings. I usually don’t keep the programs.
But recently, I attended a memorial service, and I think I’m going to keep this one.
It’s folded from being in my pocket. The crease runs right across Brian Ogne's smile, drawing my eye to a sight familiar to anyone who knew him. His face carried the lines of a man who had spent a lifetime choosing to serve with the joy of the Lord.
Looking at that photograph, I keep thinking of Hebrews 13:7:
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
Brian deserves to be remembered. This passage gives us something meaningful to do with that remembrance: consider the life he lived, recognize the faith that sustained it, and carry that example into our own service.
Brian devoted more than forty years to Christian camping. His ministry began at Camp Willabay and continued as Timber-lee was established in East Troy. Through those decades, he helped build a ministry where generations could encounter Jesus Christ. His service on the boards of CCCA and CLI extended his influence to leaders and ministries well beyond the camp he called home.
That work reflected the purpose expressed in his life verses, Colossians 1:28–29:
“So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. This is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me.”
Those words help explain both Brian’s commitment and his joy. Proclaim Christ. Help people grow toward maturity in Him. Keep working with the strength God supplies.
Anyone who serves in camp ministry knows how easily the immediate needs can fill our vision. There are buildings to maintain, budgets to balance, staff to recruit, and another season approaching. Brian’s life reminds us of the purpose that gives all that work meaning: people coming to know Christ and growing in Him.
I am especially grateful that Brian continued to champion that purpose after his tenure leading Timber-lee ended. He remained an advocate for camp ministry, with a positive heart toward its growth wherever it was happening. His encouragement reached beyond the ministry he had helped lead. He served on our interim Board for Conference Point Center when we first took over stewardship of that incredible property. He wanted other camps to flourish, other leaders to succeed, and more people to encounter Christ.
There is something deeply generous about that. After investing so much of his life in one place, Brian continued to care about what God was doing in other places, through other people. He gave those of us still serving an example of how to keep encouraging, keep contributing, and keep rejoicing as the work moves forward.
Hebrews asks us to “consider the outcome of their way of life.” With Brian, there is much to consider: decades of faithful service, people encouraged, leaders strengthened, and a lasting commitment to proclaiming Christ. And there is that smile—the joy so many of us remember.
Remembering Brian should move us to examine our own faithfulness. Are we keeping Christ at the center of our work? Are we helping people grow in Him? Are we generous in our encouragement of others? Are we depending on the strength God gives?
Those are questions worth carrying with us.
So I think I’ll keep the program.
The folds will remain, right across Brian’s smile like a target. And when I come across it again, I hope I’ll pause long enough to remember the man, thank God for his life, and consider the pattern of faith he left for us to follow.
Then, with the strength God gives, get back to the work.
-Christiaan Snedeker
