December - Hidden Acres Christian Center

On December 1 of every year, my brain makes a major
shift. Eleven months have passed and I am ready to
begin thinking and planning for the next year. I appear
to get very little done in December; I am in transition.
45 churches owning the camp. Today, we have
over 120 churches who own the camp, 80 buildings with 900 beds, and a staff of 25. As Dave
Martin used to say, “God is so Good to WE!”
Part of my time is spent assessing how the camp fared
during 2015. It is easy to determine that we had a great
year: our retreat numbers were up by 22% and our summer camp numbers were up by 6%. I love to see the
growth of the facility and of usage by our camp friends.
What fun it was to have over 1000 guests with us over
Labor Day Family Camp weekend!
Did we set out to become the largest camp in the
Midwest? NO! Did we build buildings to satisfy
our own ego? NO! We grew to meet the needs
of our district churches. We grew as our district
grew: slow but steady, building after building.
And our reason? We are in business to help
grow healthy churches by strengthening families
and building Biblical principles into the lives of
youth and children.
We began our new dining hall during a very wet spring.
As of today, we have the building enclosed, the temporary heat is on inside, and the interior work has begun.
(Check the back page of this letter to see how you can
become involved in helping us finish this project.)
One former camper and counselor who grew
with us recently wrote the following note about
his time at camp:
This list is in no particular order, just a collage
of memories, pasted together. Hidden Acres is
the place where I...
Abe Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” The hymn writer, Ira Stamphill,
wrote in 1950, “Many things about tomorrow, I don’t
seem to understand. But I know who holds tomorrow,
and I know who holds my hand.” I say (and so does the
Bible), “With God, all things are possible!” Put the
three together and you get focus, drive, humility, and
dependence.
First saw what it looked like to be passionate
about a relationship with God, rather than just
participating in empty religion. First had the
opportunity to serve the body of Christ. First
experienced the supernatural power of God.
First had the desire to seek and know God deeper and further. Made friendships that are still
constant encouragements to this day. First
acknowledged and faced the darkness in my family and childhood.. First felt love within a community. First felt worthy of love. First shared
the gospel. First really understood the Gospel.
First accepted and believed the Gospel.
Thirty-six years ago, Hidden Acres was started with 640
acres of land, a red-brick hog shed, and a large mortgage. There were no beds, limited personnel, and only
And so, we continue to grow and develop, adding beds, buildings, and staff, so that others can
have their first encounter with the A lmighty.
Ways to Give Specifically for the New Dining Hall
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7.
Convection Oven: $6,000 (3 needed)
Tilting Skillet: $8,000 (1 needed)
Round Table with 8 Chairs: $500
(100 needed)
Walk-in Freezer: $12,000
Walk-in Cooler: $12,000
Reach-through Food Warmer: $4,500
Reach-through Cooler: $4,500
One More Summer Story
Every once in a while, we have a camper
whose behavior becomes so disruptive
that we are forced to send him home.
This past summer, we had one such
camper. After he was sent home, many of
the full-time staff felt we had failed. We
recently caught up with the young man’s
grandmother and she shared the rest of
the story:
“He still has his times of disruption.
However, when we send him to his room
for some alone time, we often find him
under the covers reading the Bible his
counselor recently gave him. This counselor continues to keep in touch and
reaches out to my grandson. My heart is
full of gratefulness to this young man
who is going way beyond what was expected of him.”
8.
Serving Lines: $3,500 (8 needed: 4 hot
and 4 cold)
9. Ice Machine: $3,000
10. Stainless-steel Work Station: $500
(6 needed)
11. Hood and Exhaust System: $40,000
12. 30-quart Mixer: $2,500
Upcoming Event:
Men’s Retreat, January 22-24, 2016
Each year, we plan and host a handful of our own
retreats, like Sportsmen’s Retreat and Family
Camps. Our next event, the District Men’s Retreat, is coming up in six weeks.
Each year at Men’s Retreat, men from Free
churches around Iowa gather to relax, fellowship,
and learn more about our
Savior. This year’s speaker
is Alex Tunnicliff, the Lead
Pastor of Teaching and
Preaching at Redemption
Hill Church in Iron Mountain, MI. He is excited to
speak about engaging the
Gospel and making it the
central theme of your life. You can get registered
by visiting our website at www.hacamps.org and
clicking on “Retreats.” We hope to see you there!
Other Hidden Acres Happenings
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In Touch is published by
Hidden Acres Christian Center
3837 Union Ave
Dayton, IA 50530
www.hacamps.org
515-547-2751
Email: earldtaylor@yahoo.com
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Our online summer camp registration process is up and running.
Sign up a child as a Christmas gift! Register online!
We have a scholarship program for children with parents who are deployed or are
wounded warriors, or even children who lost a parent in combat. Please help us find
these special children so that we can ensure they are able to attend camp this summer.
Please contact Judy if you’d like to volunteer as a summer camp nurse:
515-547-2751 or judy.swanson@hacamps.org.
Upcoming Retreats: Men’s Retreat, January 22-24; Sportsmen’s Retreat, March 31April 3.
We are now hiring summer staff for 2016. Interested youth should download an application or apply online from our website at www.hacamps.org. Applications are due by
January 1, 2016.