The beauty of fall is upon us and your camp and conference center, Highland Lakes, is into it in full swing! So, what’s going on? Since the end of camp season, we have not seen any downtime (we never do aside from 2020)! Each week and weekend this fall is teeming with activity and productivity! Retreats, conferences, getaways, picnics, Summits, all this and more.
We were privileged and honored to once again host the SCBI Annual Summit in October. The Summit was well attended, and there was a definite “sweet spirit” among the messengers here at Highland Lakes. Wonderful to be able to connect with many of our pastors and messengers from across the state, and to show off the facilities!
Speaking of facilities, we constantly are amazed at how the Father works with His children to encourage them to partner with us! We are blessed to have partners who find ways to help us enhance our ability to serve as a resource for others to take their “next step” to Discover, Develop, and Deploy a Transformed Life in Christ. Our new Activity Center is near completion, and we have had one partner step up to completely underwrite the costs of the HVAC system that will be installed. We have also had several partners who have made it possible for us to pave the gravel road back to the Wild Side! That’s right, the Wild Side now has a paved road, paved parking, and 3 completed concrete pads for RV use!
The completion of the Activity Center and the paving of “Connie Lane” to the Wild Side will give us much more flexibility to host our churches and organizations in ways we have not been able to in the past. More flexibility means more opportunities to reach more individuals to experience a connection to the Father, and that is why we are here.
Be on the lookout for information regarding events to be held here at Highland Lakes. In January, on the 21st and 22nd, we will host the INTEGRIS! SCBI Men’s Conference. Go to https://scbi.org/events/mens-retreat/ to find out more and to register. Our guest speaker is Dr. Mark Croston. Dr. Croston serves as the National Director of Black Church Ministries for Lifeway Resources and is the author of Big Results Leadership. And, Friday night (January 21) we will have a smoked pork feast, catered by our own Rick Porter…you do not want to miss this event.
Registration for Camp Season 22 will open up on December 1: be ready to get your students signed up. We will be opening it up to 250 students for each camp, so be sure and register soon. The early bird registrants will receive a discounted price and a t-shirt. Those who wait past the early bird registration time will pay the normal price and will have to pay extra for a t-shirt if they choose to have one. We are excited about MAC Camp “Full Throttle” and Fusion Camp “The Matchless One”. Both of these camps will have elements and tracks from JAM camp, so this summer will be an exciting adventure! Our camp pastors are excited and rearing to go; Mark Ayres for MAC, Michael Cramer and Raydon Hollis for Fusion! For more camp information go to www.scbi.org/MAC and www.scbi.org/studentfusion.
The leaves are turning, the air is crisp, the atmosphere is wonderful. Take a drive and come out and visit your camp and conference center. Let us give you a tour of the facilities so you can see how your partnership through the cooperative program is proving to be a great investment, an eternal investment. Or, take about 13 minutes and watch this wonderful video about your camp, put together this past summer by one of our Summer Missionaries for a college project. https://vimeo.com/589541930
Thank you, Jim Shields Team Leader for Highland Lakes