Missouri summer camp badly damaged by storms weeks before opening

Camp Barnabas in Purdy, Missouri, was damaged Tuesday by a possible tornado just two weeks before they need to start preparing for summer campers. CEO Bernadette Losh joins FOX Weather to talk about how clean up is going and how you can help the camp. 

PURDY, Mo. – A Christian summer camp that welcomes about 1,500 campers each summer was hit by a possible tornado Tuesday, damaging the camp a month before opening day. 

Camp Barnabas is located roughly 60 miles south of Springfield in Purdy, Missouri. On June 1, the camp is scheduled to welcome its first campers of the year, and in two weeks, staff are set to return to the camp for training. 

The camp gives people with disabilities and chronic illnesses a unique summer camp experience.

However, after three cabins and other parts of the summer camp were damaged by strong winds and falling trees, Camp Barnabas needs all the help it can get. 

Barnabas Foundation CEO Bernadette Losh was just outside the camp gates when the storms started to pick up. 

Damage to Camp Barnabas in Purdy, Missouri on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

(Camp Barnabas / FOX Weather)

Losh said she really didn’t know the storms were coming. She said it was sunny one minute and trees started falling the next. 

“I was stuck outside the gate,” Losh said. “A tree came down on the right side of me, and then a tree came down on the left side.” 

Losh said that’s when she started to wonder if she was in the midst of a tornado or just a strong storm. 

She was in her car as the storm moved in. “It’s a bit unnerving when your car’s moving, and you’re not driving it,” Losh said. 

Losh said she said a prayer as the car shook, and just waited. 

Damage to Camp Barnabas in Purdy, MO from April 29, 2025 storms. 

(Camp Barnabas / FOX Weather)

Once the worst had passed, and she was able to get through the camp gates, Losh started surveying the damage. 

“We have 123 acres that camp sits on,” Losh said. “There is not an acre that’s not touched by this damage.” 

No one was injured at the camp during the storm, Losh said. 

THUNDERSTORMS PACKING 91-MPH WINDS DAMAGE HOMES IN SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

Camp Barnabas welcomes campers from all over the U.S. and even Canada every summer. 

Losh said the camp needs to get all the clean up and repair work done before the staff arrives for training in two weeks. 

She said the campers are on edge to know if the camp will be ready for them in time. 

“They want to know. ‘How is camp, and can we come?’” Losh said. 

Losh said there were 100 people volunteering to help clean up at the camp on Wednesday afternoon. She said anything people can give will help. 

“We need your prayers, we need more people to come and help us with the debris clean up,” Losh said. 

She said monetary donations would also be extremely helpful.

To find out how to help Camp Barnabas, visit their website.