Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of SPRINGS; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. Psalm 84:5-7
In November of 2019, Pine Cove leadership met to envision a preferred future for the ministry. It was critical that this future focused on our mission:
Inspire campers to walk intimately with Jesus
Equip college staff to change the world
We believe that this intentional focus on both campers and college staff will have a positive impact on culture. Imagine the impact of youth, families, and college students on fire for Jesus after their Pine Cove experience. These passionate followers of Jesus will change neighborhoods, communities, schools, and places of business. Our vision was to release an army of culture-changing Christians throughout Texas and the Southeast.
As such, the Lord led us to “Double the Impact by 2030.” This would result in 80,000 campers and 4,000 college students annually engaging with Pine Cove, impacting the culture, and turning our communities upside down! Over 12 years’ time, that’s nearly 1 million campers and college students influencing the world for Christ!
The ministry of Pine Cove is more urgent and critical than ever before. Consider the following:
• 64% of Christians accept Christ before the age of 18
• In 2016, 39% of 18-29 year olds claimed to have no religious affiliation vs. 10% in 1986
• 80% of 18-22 year olds are leaving the church
The time to achieve this God-sized vision is now. We must act to make a positive impact for Christ in our culture.
The COVID pandemic certainly had an impact on Pine Cove’s vision for the future and immediate financial position. However, we still felt the Lord calling us to be bold and double our impact by 2030, regardless of changing circumstances (2 Timothy 2:13). We are not deterred! We have recommitted ourselves to the vision and remained focused on our campers and college staff.
Pine Cove entered 2020 debt-free. This was a tremendous blessing as we began to look at the potential impact of the pandemic and all that would be required of us to weather the storm. This process led to the establishment of A Firm Foundation, a two-year campaign focused on the following:
Stabilize – Our first priority was to reduce operating expenses to the greatest extent possible.
Sustain – We had to recoup revenue losses that represented 60% of our original FY20 budget.
Strengthen – We boldly moved forward with capital projects necessary to achieve our 2030 vision.
The Lord graciously provided funds and commitments totaling $12M through our ministry partners. We remain overwhelmed by the generosity of faithful donors. Doubling the Impact by 2030 remains clearly in our sights and hearts.
Confident in the Lord’s call to intentional ministry in the Southeast, we have seen God transforming the lives of campers through Chimney Point family camp, and our mobile day camp, Pine Cove City. Summer staff recruitment also continues to increase throughout colleges in the region. As we witnessed all that God has done through Pine Cove in the Southeast, we began to clearly and fervently pray for more property to host multiple youth camps as well.
Throughout 2020 we had a number of opportunities to consider, including raw land and existing camps available for purchase. With each opportunity, we asked the Lord for His direction, for Him to grow or remove it. We went through an intensive due diligence process on two properties only to have the Lord close the door on both. Toward the latter part of 2020, the Georgia Baptist Convention approached us about purchasing their conference center just outside of Toccoa, Georgia (see property map below). The value of this property is well north of $25M. We were offered a purchase price of $1M. At the same time a Pine Cove donor stepped forward with a gift of $1M to purchase the property. It was a moment in time that only God could have orchestrated.
We closed on the Toccoa property in December 2020. Our focus is now on renovation and construction to host our first youth camp in summer 2022. The property highlights include:
• Buildings and amenities that were already equipped to host groups of more than 1,000
• 954 acres of beautiful, wooded, secluded property
• A 170-acre lake that is fully surrounded by the property
• Located just fifteen minutes from our family camp, Chimney Point
• Enough land to build four youth camps
Our prayer is to open our first youth camp, Pine Cove Springs (see camp plan below), in the summer of 2022. This camp will serve youth from 4th to 8th grades.
As much as we feel like we have journeyed through the “Valley of Baca” during the pandemic, we can truly say that the Lord has made it a place of SPRINGS. Psalm 84 has become a comfort to us as we continue to pursue the 2030 vision.
From Strength to Strength is the next phase of this pilgrimage, representing our belief that the Lord not only sustained us during the pandemic, but allowed us to move forward in a position of strength. We were prepared to say “YES” when presented with the perfect opportunity at the perfect time to expand our impact for the Kingdom.
Our focus over the course of the next three years will include the following:
• Build on current camp properties to prepare for growth and serve more campers with excellence.
• Renovate Pine Cove Springs with cabins and programming that will prepare us to serve campers for years to come.
• Develop an additional completely new camp on the Georgia property.
All of this will require an increase in the number of college staff we hire to serve campers in the summer. Even more students will be discipled and equipped to change the world!
As we finalize this phase of our growth in 2024, it is our prayerful expectation that we will serve 60,000+ campers and 2,500 college staff annually across our three regions.
The total proposed budget for this next phase (FY22-24) is $18,450,000. This breaks down by camp as follows:
BLUFFS – $1,250,000
CHIMNEY POINT – $500,000
CITY – SE – $400,000
ETX GENERAL – $200,000
OUTBACK – $1,500,000
RANCH – $1,500,000
RIDGE – $1,325,000
SHORES – $725,000
SILVERADO – $800,000
SPRINGS PHASE 1 – $6,650,000
SPRINGS PHASE 2 – $2,000,000
TIMBERS – $400,000
TOWERS – $1,200,000
These commitments can be fulfilled over a three year period.
We have “set our hearts on pilgrimage.” Our strength is found only through the Lord Almighty. We cannot and will not journey alone. Will you join us? You have personally experienced the life-changing impact of Pine Cove in the lives of your children and family. What an incredible legacy it would be to gift that to the next generation of campers and college students who need to experience the love of Jesus. We are humbled by your partnership.
Join us as we turn the world upside down for a future that is… CHRIST-CENTERED, OTHERS-FOCUSED, AND SERIOUSLY FUN!
Pine Cove exists to be used by God to transform the lives of people for His purposes and His glory.
