In the book Mission Drift, co-author Peter Greer, CEO of Hope International, said “Mission Drift is a crisis facing all faith-based organizations. Without careful attention, faith-based organizations will inevitably drift from their founding mission.”

As a precaution against mission drift, founders of Northern Pines wisely organized the ministry as a Corporation with two boards, the Life Board and the Board of Directors. According to the By-Laws, a primary purpose of the Life Board members (as a group) is to give policy direction to the Board of Directors of the Corporation and ensure that the Purpose of the Corporation is met. The major purpose of the Northern Pines Corporation is to operate family-oriented Christian Conferences to foster the declaration of the great truths and principles of the Christian faith as set forth in the Old and New Testament of God's Word, the Holy Bible, impressing them in the minds and hearts of young and old.

The Life Board members are appointed for life by unanimous vote of the existing Life Board members. Some additional duties and expectations of the Life Board members are contained in the Northern Pines’ By-Laws.

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Jack Anderson

Life Board Chair
Jack married his High School Sweetheart Phyllis in 1956. In 1977 they attended Northern Pines with their two children — Bob in Senior High and Cindy in Junior High. 2026 will be their 44th conference. Cindy has continued attending with her husband Don, children (7), foster children (15), and grandson (who has graduated from high school).

Northern Pines has been a major part of our Spiritual life over these years. We always look forward to a week of good solid Bible based teaching when we go.

Jack retired from a career that went from accounting to computer systems design / project manager in 1998.

As a Life Board member, I take very seriously the responsibility of making sure Northern Pines never loses focus on our purpose — ‘To foster the promulgation of the great truths and principles of the Christian faith as set forth in the Old and New Testament of God’s word, the Holy Bible’.
Iris Johnson

Iris Johnson

Historian
Iris is a wife, mom, and gramma. Her history with Northern Pines began in 1984 when she and her family attended their first Northern Pines' conference at the urging and with the help of her mom. She has been on the Northern Pines board for many years and has served in many roles. Her daughters, Joette and Leah, participated in the programs, and also served on staff as CCAs, teachers, and as counselors in the youth programs. They now attend with their husbands and children. Northern Pines has become a legacy for Iris and her husband, Doug, as the whole family finds spiritual refreshment and relaxation at Northern Pines.
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Jeannine Sweeney

Jeannine has been married to her husband, John, for over 70 years. They are blessed to have all four children, 14 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren near by! Jeannine and John are blessed to spend lots of time with family at their north woods cabin. They have attended Northern Pines for about 50 years, many of those years with four generations present. Jeannine is dedicated to ensuring the continued Biblical focus of Northern Pines.
Heather

Heather Gorden

Heather first attended Northern Pines in 1978 and grew up going through all the programs. She served for 12 years as a counselor in both the Junior and Senior High programs and recently served as the CCA director for five years with her husband, Kevin. She also had an opportunity to be a teacher in the Children's Program this past summer. This will be her third term serving on the Board. When not at Northern Pines, Heather teaches 6th grade Language Arts in Wheaton, IL. She and Kevin keep busy following the schedules of their two children, Megan and Matthew. Northern Pines is an annual highlight for the entire Gordon family!

David Bremer

Dave has been attending Northern Pines since 1989 when his oldest daughter Allison was about a year old. Dave's family was invited to Northern Pines by Reuel and Lois Long. Reuel is now with Jesus and Lois still faithfully attends as the most senior member of her “adoptive family.” Dave and his wife Nancy have a blended family that consists of five children, three sons-in-law and seven grandchildren. All but the youngest grandson, Calvin, have attended Northern Pines. Calvin has a great excuse because he was born after the 2025 Northern Pines. Lord willing, he’ll be there in 2026!

The Northern Pines ministry has been instrumental in not only Dave’s walk with Jesus, but it’s also had a huge impact on each of his family members. Dave served on the Northern Pines’ Board of Directors for six years from about 2012 to 2018. Dave is a Certified Financial Planner and CPA / Personal Financial Specialist. He was a Partner in the Boulay PLLP CPA firm, and he is the Founding Partner of the Boulay Financial Advisors, LLC wealth management firm. He has a passion for legacy which aligns closely with the mission of Northern Pines. He appreciates the opportunity to give back to the Northern Pines’ ministry by serving on the Life Board.

Jim Taylor

Married, father of three adult sons who grew up at Northern Pines. Our first year of camp was 1979 and we attended for 45 consecutive years.

I served on the board for several years which the time of transition from Lake Geneva to Green Lake as well as the transition from Ken Kallman to Dean and Julie Jaderston. I now have served on the Life Board for many years.

Larry Schut

Phil Nelson