14-Year-Old Drowns In Lake At Summer Camp With Plainfield Church

PLAINFIELD, IL — A 14-year-old drowned while attending a faith-based camp with his Plainfield church in Wisconsin, according to church leaders.

Langston Britton, a member of Community Christian Church’s Plainfield location, drowned Friday afternoon while playing at the lake at StuCo Summer Camp at Silver Birch Ranch in the northern Wisconsin village of White Lake, church leadership said.

“Langston lived a life marked by grace, curiosity, faith, and compassion,” the Rev. John Ciesniewski, a pastor at Community Christian Church, wrote on a GoFundMe webpage started to support the Britton family.

“He loved God sincerely and served others with kindness and humility. His laughter, his questions, his hugs, and his presence brought warmth and joy to every room he entered. He had a unique way of making people feel seen, heard, and deeply valued — reminding us all of the beauty found in simply showing up with love.”

The church was working Friday to bring its high school campers back to Illinois as soon as possible and had canceled its upcoming middle school camp, according to the Rev. Ted Coniaris, the church’s lead pastor.

Donations to the GoFundMe will help cover funeral and memorial expenses, grief counseling and the Britton family’s other needs.

“Though his time on earth was heartbreakingly short, Langston’s impact was eternal,” Ciesniewski wrote. “He taught us to love more deeply, to forgive more freely, and to live with courage and wonder. His smile was unforgettable. His faith unwavering.”