Joe and Debbie-Jo are the Presidents and owners of Kanakuk Kamps and the founders of Kids Across America. Each summer the twelve Kamps host over 20,000 campers and 2,500 college age and professional staff.

Joe first met Kanakuk as a camper when he was 6 years old. It was that year that his mom and dad, Spike and Darnell White, moved from their Texas home to take ownership and responsibility for the summer camp. He grew up going to Kamp and working at Kamp every summer.

Joe attended college at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he won the Heart Award as a two-year starting defensive tackle for the SMU Mustangs. He earned a B.A. in Biology in 1970. He then became a football coach at Texas A & M University.

In 1972 Joe married the love of his life, Debbie-Jo. Together they started working in the family business - Kanakuk Kamps. Four years later, in 1976 Joe and Debbie-Jo were asked to take over the helm at Kanakuk. The young couple recognized early on that they had a sincere passion for the youth of this country. They had great visions of new camps with the ability to reach more and more children. As Joe and Debbie-Jo founded K-2 and the other Kamps, Spike took on the loving task of building those new camps.

For many years Joe spent all his waking hours on family, leading Young Life clubs … and Kamp - Kamp - Kamp. His dedication paid off in the countless lives of campers and families who were changed for eternity. His charisma and compelling style of speaking over the years brought him many opportunities and invitations to speak at a variety of events, most of which were aimed at young people. Joe has spoken before many NFL football and professional baseball teams, as well as countless churches, youth conferences, high school graduations, FCA banquets, Young Life events, etc.

During the past two and a half decades, Joe has written a total of 15 books designed to reach teens and families. Many of those were published through Focus on the Family. He has been a guest speaker for Dr. Dobson's family talk show many times. He hosted the live call-in talk show for teens sponsored by Focus on the Family called "Life On the Edge Live" for 4 years and spoke at the "Life on the Edge" conferences around the country. In 1991 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Education from Southwest Baptist University, then was ordained by University Baptist Church, Fayetteville, AR, on May 3, 1992. Joe serves on the board of Kids Across America and Cross International (world hunger relief). Joe and Debbie-Jo established Kanakuk Ministries, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, which includes a project which funds the operation of 19 schools in Haiti, providing food and clothing as well as an education for seven thousand Haitian children.

Currently, Joe maintains a busy speaking schedule. He has gained a great deal of recognition through his portrayal of the "Cross Builder" and more recently his portrayal of the "Apostle Peter". In the fall and early spring, Joe conducts a series of college crusades called AfterDark, taking evangelistic sermons to college campuses across the country. He has also embarked on a Pure Excitement tour in which he takes the purity until marriage challenge to junior high and high school students all over America.

Debbie-Jo and Joe are celebrating thirty-two years of marriage, and Joe is quick to point out his amazement at God's grace for the love of his life. Debbie-Jo grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she was an active cheerleader and Homecoming Queen. Debbie-Jo was a cheerleader at SMU and made almost straight A's in the field of physical education. Debbie-Jo is the Kamp's chief organizer and is everyone's hero at Kamp. She has led a Precept's Bible study ministry since 1986.

Joe and Debbie-Jo maintain highly active roles at Kanakuk and live on the K-2 property during the summer months. While Joe speaks at all the Kamps, he spends most of his time speaking to, coaching and counseling the teenage campers at K-2 where he is the director. Jamie Jo is married to Andy Braner, and together they founded and currently direct Kanakuk Colorado. Andy and Jamie Jo's three children, Hays, Maggie, and Dax, keep their parents and grandparents focused on what makes Kanakuk a great place for kids. Courtney and her husband Tom, along with their son, Jack, are living in Overland Park, Kansas. Tom is pursuing a degree in law at UMKC and Courtney is an Executive Regional Vice President with Arbonne International. Brady is an active worship leader and has produced 4 music albulms on which he is the lead guitarist and vocalist. Brady and his wife, Jennafer, are full-time employees of Kanakuk. Jennafer is an administrative assistant and Brady works for CircuiTree and also travels around the country entertaining and ministering at the Pure Excitement rallies. Cooper directs Kanakuk Klassic. He and his wife, Missy, have two children: Lilly Anne and Hayden.

Joe and Debbie Jo's family Courtney, Tom and Jack, Joe, Maggie, Debbie-Jo, Brady, Dax and Jamie Jo, Andy and Hays, Cooper and Lilly Anne, Missy

1. Beyond Belief. . .What is "Beyond Belief"?

   Beyond Belief is accepting the role and responsibility of being a Christian leader. I have been more excited about Kamp and committed to our work with Kids in the last couple of years than ever before. At Kamp, watching God awaken the leader that is sleeping inside of every boy and every girl is thrilling. Our nation is starved for Christian leaders—men and women of faith who are willing to stand up for what they believe in; youth who are committed to take "God First" to their peer groups and into their homes and who are willing to put "others second" and as a result to put themselves "third." Kids are, without a doubt, America’s greatest natural resource! They are the future of our nation. They are our leaders of tomorrow and, at Kamp, probably like no other place in the world, we get the opportunity to take kids beyond belief: beyond just their personal faith and into a life of leadership lived beyond themselves.

   When I think of "Beyond Belief," I think of the word "AMAZING." When kids describe sheer excitement today, they use the word "amazing." To me, a Kanakuk kamper of any age who is following Christ and living a life Beyond Belief is amazing. At Kamp we see the amazing happen hundreds of times a day: when an eight year old gets up on water skies for the first time, when a ten year old hits his first home run, when a young girl does her first back handspring, when a young boy jumps off of the blob tower for the first time, when a young man does his personal best in the weight room. . .when a new friendship is formed and when a new commitment to Christ has been made. I believe that this "Beyond Belief" summer is going to be AMAZING in more ways than we can possibly count!

2. You just returned from carrying the cross in Egypt. What was that like?

   About 15 years ago, two Egyptian Christian men by the name of Maged Fawzy and Pastor Sameh came to Kanakuk to see what it looked like. He left with the dream of building a Kanakuk in Egypt where kids from the Middle East could go and do what kids do at Kanakuk: fall in love with the Lord, make great Christian friends and become better athletes. In the last 15 years, Maged and pastor Sameh has built a beautiful Christian camp outside of Cairo and I was able to go there and spend four days with about 400 Christian leaders from the Middle East and train them in sports ministry and in how to more effectively share the gospel in their nation. I have never experienced love or excitement or worship like I experienced in Egypt. These people are absolutely sold out in their faith and sold out to living "I’m Third" lives. I made so many friends and hugged on so many teens and adults countless times. I’m not sure what they learned in those few days from me, but I learned that God is a whole lot bigger and that His love is a whole lot stronger and the influence He is having all over the world—even the Arab world—is astounding. I also learned what a great partner I have at K2 in David Liggitt. David directs K2 along with Don Ford and me. David hosted this conference in Egypt with Maged and WOW, what an amazing young emerging leader he is.

3. What are you looking forward to the most at K2 this summer?

   At K2 this summer, we are going to have a sun up to sun down emphasis on awakening and developing leaders like we have never done before. At the end of last summer, we promised the K2 kampers that summer 2007 would be STRIKINGLY different. I believe that kids have lost a sense of purpose in their lives. I think the one void that kids in America have in common is the void of understanding what their purpose and role in life is. I find that the kids who know and understand their purpose tend to do very well in their adult lives. So, at K2 this summer, I am so excited to watch God awaken the leader inside of every single kamper and to help those kampers develop those gifts, skills and talents so that they can lead purposeful and fulfilling lives.

4. What has been your personal highlight of the year?

   I have so many personal highlights that I have a hard time narrowing it down to 1 or even to 20. I think that being a granddad is my favorite thing in the entire world. I have 5 grandkids (and 2 on the way) and spending time with them at a school lunch or hunting in the woods or fishing in the lake or bouncing on the trampoline (which happens to be inside of my house), or a thousand other things is the most fun thing in the whole wide world for me. Another #1 highlight for me is, obviously, being married to Debbie-Jo who is the most amazing person in the world. I fall more in love with Debbie-Jo every year of our lives together. And then, watching my kids do so well in their adult lives is thrilling for me. I get to see my kids do things that I never dreamed possible and being their friend, their fan (and sometimes their coach) is the most exciting thing in the world for me. Outside of my home and family, I would have to say going to Egypt and watching God do amazing things in the Arab world is definitely an experience I’ll never forget.