May 2009 Archives

Bill Bowman, Ridgecrest's director, was recently interviewed by Jennifer Garrett of Rejuvenate Magazine. In the interview, Jennifer asks Bill to describe the mission of Ridgecrest and what makes it different from any other hotel or conference center a faith-based meeting planner might choose to use.

I think the interview does a good job of capturing Bill's heart for ministry and how he and his staff strive to make Ridgecrest a place where God's people can come, get away and hear a fresh word from Him.

Hard to believe, but summer is upon us. Temps are starting heat up, the humidity is becoming a real pain and everyday I see "tweets" (mini posts on Twitter for you non-Twitter folks) from summer staffers arriving at Glorieta or Ridgecrest. All sure signs that summer is here! 

If it's summer, then that also means it's time for summer camp! Later this week our counselors and staff will begin arriving at Camps Ridgecrest and Crestridge to begin a rather intensive (but also fun) 9-10 days of training. This training is critical in ensuring that we provide our campers with a camp experience that is both life-changing and safe. (I'm looking forward to getting over to North Carolina and catching the last couple of days of this training. Who knows, maybe I'll even take a turn on the blob if the lake's not too cold!)

In coming to LifeWay over 8 years ago, the one area of our conference center and camp ministry that I knew very little about was camp. I must admit, my impressions of camp were heavily influenced by movies such as "Meatballs" and "Heavyweights". Imagine my surprise when I learned that not all camps are like those in the movies! During the past several years I've had the opportunity to meet many excellent Christian camping professionals and to hear their heart for the camping ministry. In addition I've heard story after story of life change from folks who have attended our own summer camps.

As a result, I have become a huge proponent of Christian camping and would encourage any parent to seriously consider sending their child to a summer camp. For a parent like me, who had no camp experience growing up, choosing the right camp could be overwhelming. Fortunately there is help online. The American Camp Association (ACA) has an excellent resource article on their website to help parents choose what type of camp to consider. (Click here for the ACA article.) For those parents with a special needs child, I found another article online that you may find helpful. (Click here for the special needs article.) A third resource, to help you locate a camp near you, can be found at FindaChristianCamp.com.

Attending summer camp can be a great opportunity for your child to grow in Christ and learn how to spread their wings away from mom and/or dad. What about it? Will you consider sending your child to camp this summer? It's not too late!

 As a working Mom, I often am required to travel with my job which used to cause a great deal of stress for my family.  I thought I would share with you a couple of things I've learned to make it easier for them and me while I'm away on business.

• Lose the Guilt
  I am a working Mom, and there is nothing wrong with that.  I can love my family and love my career.

• Accept Reality
  Travel is a part of my job, it's the career I chose, but my family is always my top priority.

• Stop the Sadness
  It wasn't helpful for anyone when I would call and say "I miss you". It only made him think about the fact that I was gone which would make him sad.

• My Family was First
  I could still do a great job and it was OK for me to step out of a meeting for a couple of minutes to call him before his bed time, or leave the exhibit hall to call and tell him to have a good day at school. He needs to hear from me at those times and I wasn't missing anything by excusing myself for those few minutes.

So, what we started to do was to plan together a week or two before any business trips to get ready.

• Who, What, Why, Where...
  I found that these questions were important to him.  It mattered to him whether I would be driving or flying.
   
• Make it Fun 
  We always do an art project prior to my trip.  We draw boxes on a sheet of paper for the number of days I will be away and decorate it with stickers of a plane or car, the state where I will be, the phone number of the hotel I'm staying in.  We would try to color the hotel chain logo with crayons and color pictures of what I might be doing each day.  This just made if fun for him and he felt very comfortable with the answers to all of his questions about the upcoming trip.  As he got older we would draw two pictures, one for what I would be doing and one for what he would be doing.  I would pack our "art" of what he was doing and we would hang our "art" of what I was doing on the refrigerator so he could see it.  I would also put some extra stickers and drawings in an envelope for each day I would be gone so he could add them to our masterpiece while I was gone as a way to check off each day of my trip.
   
• Home at last
  I always try my best to schedule my flight home so I am there when my son gets home from school, it's a little thing but it makes him happy to get off the bus and see me there instead of all the questions to my husband about my arrival time when I'm not there.

I would love to hear from you about how you handle traveling as a working parent. 

During the dedication festivities for Ridgecrest's new Johnson Spring convention center I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Jennifer Garrett of Rejuvenate Magazine. In the interview we discussed the new features included in Johnson Spring and how those features could benefit a Christian meeting planner.

Please take a moment to watch and then feel free to let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Written by:  Becky Suggs, Glorieta Family Camp Director. 

Family vacations have always been a part of my life.  The question of where we as a family would venture each summer was one eagerly anticipated.  We’ve spent countless days at the beach, waited for hours in the sweltering sun to experience a 30 second thrill on a rollercoaster, and driven more miles than you can imagine to visit places we’ve never been before.  Civil war battlefields?  I think I’ve seen every site east of the Mississippi River, and much to my father’s dismay, each looked exactly the same to his daughters as we rolled our eyes in the back of our van.

One thing I treasure more than anything from these trips is the time spent together as a family.  Whether we were laughing at a bumper sticker on a passing car, counting license plates from different states, singing along to the latest song on the radio, or just simply riding in the car without much conversation, we were together.  As I’ve grown older and started my own family, I long to build this same tradition.

That is why I am so excited to be a part of a new type of vacation offered by LifeWay’s Glorieta Conference Center – Family Camps!  In the summer of 2010, Glorieta will offer two weeklong sessions of family camp designed with one purpose in mind – to grow families!

Imagine the joy of having a programmed vacation at your fingertips!  From dynamic seminar sessions for parents to Bible Study for your children, every individual will have a chance to grow in his or her spiritual walk, as well as be challenged in growth as a family.  Each day will offer activities such as canoeing, horseback riding, kayaking, paintball, archery, hiking, basketball, arts and crafts, and so much more, led by our trained staff.  The afternoons will bring opportunities to spend quality time with your family through our planned adventures, games, and activities.  Themed meal times, optional camp-outs, and exciting evening activities will only add to your fun while here.

Have you ever dined with cowboys or had to catch your dessert in a bowl attached to your head?  Ever wanted to do something your kids never thought they would see you do, like take a ride on a zip line?  What about spending a day on a trail ride, white water rafting, on a train, or at cooking school?  Do you feel the need to spend quality one on one time with your kids in a setting free from distraction (there are no TVs in hotel rooms at Glorieta!)?  Do you desire to have true spiritual conversation with your family, but just don’t know how and when to do it?  That’s what we’re here for – you bring your family, we‘ll take it from there, providing an environment rich in opportunity for growth.

Glorieta Conference Center is located in the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, just 20 miles east of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  With over 2,000 acres of mountain beauty, Glorieta provides the perfect place for a family getaway and spiritual retreat.  Deluxe accommodations make for a comfortable and relaxing stay.

Glorieta Family Camps are here to enrich, enhance, encourage, and engage the family, your family – we know and value the importance of quality family time.  We invite you to join ours this summer!  (Oh, and by the way – for any of you that can’t seem to take a trip without finding a Civil War battlefield – don’t worry, we’ve actually got one right down the road!)
 

Now that we've launched our blog, one of the things I'm looking most forward to is interacting with you, our guest. I very much want to hear about your experience at either Ridgecrest or Glorieta.

Currently I get to read dozens of testimonies and comments from our guests each month. Primarily these are coming from the online surveys we email to guests who have recently stayed at Ridgecrest or Glorieta. As beneficial and encouraging as these comments are, they are fairly anonymous so it's not easy for me to respond personally to each one.

So, in order to encourage more interactive communication, we have set up the "Guest Testimonies" area on our blog. This is the place where you can tell us your Ridgecrest or Glorieta story. Please take a moment and let us know such things as: how you enjoyed your stay; any suggestions you may have for us; and my favorite, share a testimony of how God worked in your life, or group, while on campus.

To tell us your story (or read what others are saying), simply go to the "comment" area below, enter your information (only your name will display) and then leave us your comments.  It's that easy!

Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you.

Last week we celebrated the grand opening and dedication of our latest new facility at Ridgecrest, Johnson Spring Convention Center. This new building represents the capstone of our campus revitalization program at Ridgecrest and we were very excited to mark the occasion with a formal time of prayer and dedication.

Over the past 8 years I have been blessed to be a part of the revitalization of the Ridgecrest campus. To me it's been nothing short of amazing to see how God has provided. Since 2001 we have torn down a total of 18 buildings and replaced them with two new hotel buildings (Mt Laurel East and West), an auditorium recreation center (ARC) and finally the convention center (Johnson Spring). In addition we've been able to remodel and make like new almost every other guest facility on campus.

While we still have a little more remodeling to do, I think it's safe to say that the facilities at Ridgecrest are not what many of you remember. I first came to Ridgecrest to attend youth camp in 1969. When I mentioned this during one of my LifeWay interviews, I was asked by Bruce Grubbs "did you write anything on the walls when you were there?". Fortunately, I was able to answer that I had not, but I did ask why he was asking. His response? "Because it would probably still be there." That one statement spoke volumes about the physical condition of the Ridgecrest campus in early 2001.

Fortunately, God gave us a vision and then used LifeWay to provide the resources necessary to inject new life into the wonderful ministry that is Ridgecrest Conference Center. If you haven't been to Ridgecrest lately, what are you waiting for? We'd love to see you on campus soon!

As you may have heard, Ridgecrest Conference Center just opened Johnson Spring Convention Center, the last phase of their campus renovations.    I thought I would share with you all this sweet story we found about how Johnson Spring was originally named.

Written: circa - 1930's
Near the close of a beautiful day in August 1922, a little lad was walking with his father as they followed a mountain trail, near the current Johnson Spring pond.  There was dense undergrowth all around, and as he stepped slightly off the trail into a hole of water, the boy exclaimed rather excitedly, "Daddy, there is water here, it must be a spring.  Let's come down here in the morning and see if the water is good."

They did return the next day and with the necessary tools, cleared out the undergrowth, roots and other debris until a clear crystal stream was bubbling from its hidden source in the earth.  With all the ingenuity and resourcefulness of a ten-year-old boy, an improvised dam was built so that the water could be accumulated and made available for drinking purposes.  A larger area was cleared in order to make the spring accessible.  The boy was charmed as father and son worked together on their newly-found treasure.  During the morning, he said to his father, "Let's cut away some more brush and make some seats of wood, so when people hear the spring and come for water, they can sit down, rest and talk." Was he dreaming dreams and seeing visions?
 
At the end of the summer season, this lad and his family returned to their home in Camden, South Carolina.  He would not be privileged to visit the spring again.  Tragedy struck the little country schoolhouse the next spring as he with many others were lost in a fire.  His father, Rev. J. Jeter Johnson, a resident of Ridgecrest in later years, and others of the family continued to give almost perpetual care to the place so dear to the heart of the lad.  It was beautified and was one of the choice spots on the conference grounds for prayer and meditation.  Large and small groups gathered in the dew-laden atmosphere at morning watch and for evening worship.  The birds would add a note to the music being played in the services as devotional speakers directed their thoughts God-ward.  Johnson Spring, named for William Jeter Johnson by a past conference center manager, should always be a reminder of a little lad who loved God and nature.
 

In this video, Phil Berry (assistant director at Ridgecrest Summer Camps) talks about a rather embarrasing moment that happened the first year he attended Camp Ridgecrest for Boys. More importantly, he goes on to discuss the very positive impact Christian camping has had on his life.

In the 8 years I've been with LifeWay I have heard many, many stories about the life change that takes place every summer at Camp Ridgecrest and Camp Crestridge. I've also learned the same is true at the many fine Christian camps around the country. These camps make a difference in the lives of the children that attend each summer and I'm honored to be a part of this ministry.

From one parent to another, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and listen to what Phil has to say about the value of Christian camping. 

Hi, my name is Byron Hill and I would like to welcome you to the LifeWay Conference Centers blog. Thanks for stopping by and checking us out!

Our hope is that you will find this blog site informative, interactive and fun. We promise to try and make every post sound like "Old McDonald". You know, E-I-E-I-O! By that I mean we'll do our best to make sure each post Entertains, Informs, Educates, Inspires and/or Outrages (hopefully not too much of that last one) you, our reader and friend.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and explore the layout of the blog. You'll notice the left side is similar to what you might expect from most blogs. There you'll find our lists of categories, blog archives, pages, guest contributors and our blogroll with links to other blogs we think you might like.

Down the right side you'll see a little bio on myself and Melissa Inman, our marketing guru and resident mom. Then, right below "About Us", is a neat little area entitled "Share". This is where you can click and tell us your Ridgecrest or Glorieta story. Did you enjoy your stay? What suggestions do you have for us? Did God do something really awesome in your life, or in the life of someone in your group, while on campus? These are just some of the things we'd love to have you share with us.

Then, just below the "Share" area, you will find our "Events" section. Here you can get information on upcoming LifeWay events at Ridgecrest and Glorieta simply by clicking on the event listed. And finally, you will find links to both Ridgecrest and Glorieta websites, as well as those for Ridgecrest and Glorieta Summer Camps.

Again, thanks for stopping by. We hope to see back here soon and, please, help us get the word out by telling a friend!