The Connectional Ministries office welcomes two new directors to lead the Camps & Retreat Ministries team. Rev. Hannah Weisbrod has been appointed by Bishop Hee-Soo Jung as Camp Administration, Development & Marketing director. Ben Wilde has been hired as Camps Operations and Programs director.
Camp Asbury helped shape Wilde’s faith walk and Camp Wanake was instrumental in Weisbrod’s journey into ministry, meaning each of the new directors was impacted by the Rev. Gary Jones, who retired in October after 24 years of faithful service as director of Camps & Retreat Ministries.
“We approached this transition with long-term sustainability and clarity in mind. Camping ministry today requires both strong program leadership and disciplined organizational support. By differentiating these responsibilities between two gifted leaders, we are strengthening accountability, reducing overload, and building a model designed to serve our camps well into the future,” said Rev. Ed Fashbaugh, executive director of Connectional Ministries.
The two new directors will work together to create sacred spaces for spiritual formation, leadership development, and transformational experiences across all camp sites. Weisbrod will steward the administrative and financial systems of the Camps & Retreat ministries and share stories of campers’ lives being transformed by Christ. Wilde will focus on ministry direction, program quality, and leadership development across all camp sites.
“Being part of the types of faith communities that form at the East Ohio Camps is a powerful and transformational experience that has shaped my life and molded me into the person I am today,” Wilde shared.
“My time at camp as a child and young adult formed me in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. It was where my faith took root and where I first sensed God’s call. To now help steward and sustain these ministries feels like both a responsibility and a gift. I look forward to creating space for others to encounter the same love and transformation that changed my life,” Weisbrod said.
Fashbaugh said that adding the two new directors of the Camps & Retreat Ministries team is a win for East Ohio Conference churches and for campers and their families.
“By pairing ministry leadership with strong administrative and development strategy, East Ohio Camps are positioned to thrive in both infrastructure and in our mission of offering sacred spaces where lives are shaped, faith is deepened, and leaders are formed for the transformation of the world,” he said.
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