New Life News '24

NE W L IF E N E W S

‘24 REVIEW A Gl im p s e B ac k

5,235

MJENKS ACTIVITY

SLOTS STAFFED

10,0 0 0 COOKIES BAKED AT FRONTIER COVE

83

2 0 0 GROUPS SERVED BETWEEN B O TH SITES

80 MORNING CAMP PARTIES TRAIL RIDES

ONWARD TO 2025

“How are things at the Ranch?” I probably get asked that question weekly as I’m out and about, usually always wearing something that says “New Life Ranch”. It’s a question I have no problem answering. It’s actually a question that I love to answer. It’s a question that can be simple to answer, but a question that can also have many layers and be challenging at times. Sometimes I even answer the question with a question - “What part of the Ranch?”

To answer “what part of the Ranch” is a totally reasonable follow-up to the question. Yes, we are 1 camp, 2 sites, with 1 mission, but there are many Ranch. There’s our summer program part, but that has many layers itself - day camp, overnight camp, leadership development (Nehi, Tim team, Soma) and many layers too - retreat hosts, food service, activities, ropes, horses, housekeeping, and canteen (our camp store). Those two areas - summer camp & retreats - are our two main ministries throughout the year at both New Life Ranch Frontier Cove and New Life Ranch Flint Valley. Of course, neither of those areas can be successful without the help of some of the other important parts.

maintenance, grounds, and construction. All of those parts of New Life Ranch are duplicated, because those things are happening at both sites as well. Another important part of the Ranch is what we call Shared Services, areas that work for all of New Life Ranch. Our registration, accounts receivables & payables, payroll.

commitment to having a thriving culture that’s

So, how are things at the Ranch? Overall, all parts of New Life Ranch are doing really well as we go full speed into 2025! God has blessed us with some great our mission of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ engaged and we have a thriving culture. With that,

scholarships, capital campaigns, planned giving. And last, but certainly not least is human resources - our

Even though Jr. Camp (2nd - 6th grade) enrollment was down last summer, which is concerning, we still had a really impactful summer of ministry in 2024 and we anticipate having another great impactful summer in 2025. We’d love to get more kids to summer camp in 2025 in all areas!

2024 was the largest year for retreat ministry in our history! As we go about partnering with other ministries in our region, we anticipate serving even more guests in 2025.

We are so thankful for God’s provision with the Generations Campaign thus far - $5.4M of the $6.2M goal has been raised. With the remaining $800K needed, we have an incredible $400K match available that will allow us to complete funding in 2025.

So, “How are things at the Ranch?” Things are great at the Ranch, at both NLR Frontier Cove and NLR Flint Valley! We continue to be thankful in all things and are very appreciative of the support and encouragement we’ll receive from so many of you as we serve through 2025.

OF

Gratitude

If I am honest, coming out of an incredible year, it is sometimes lost on me because I am so spent - or maybe that’s just me because I am in the senior spectrum relative to most because we fail to count our blessings when we are weary in our walk. It is really a matter of perspective which starts in our hearts. What changes when we approach our lives daily with an attitude of gratitude?

In Luke 17:11-19, we encounter a story that sheds some light a profound lesson in true worship and our common tendency toward entitlement. In the assessment of my own faith and the modern church, if we are not thoughtful, we too often operate from a posture of consumers vs. worshippers.

The story Luke records takes place as Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem. On His journey, He encounters ten lepers. In this dire context, the lepers stand at a distance, begging for mercy. Their plight is symbolic of our own spiritual condition. All of us are in need of healing, cast out from the presence of a holy God. These men approached Jesus with the hope of being restored. Notice how they call out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

ANThis cry illuminates a crucial point: when we acknowledge our brokenness and seek God’s mercy, we are postured to receive His grace. Jesus responds to their plea not with immediate healing but with a command: “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Here, faith is intertwined with action. The lepers obey,

What happens next is both beautiful and unsettling. Of the ten men healed, only one returns to give thanks to Jesus. Luke is intentional in pointing out that this thankful Samaritan is not

lies a profound truth: true gratitude is always directed toward God and expresses itself in worship. The absence of the other nine speaks volumes. How easy it is to receive blessings without returning to the Giver in gratitude! How many of our blessings do we take for granted or, worse, believe they are deserved. This passage should challenge our hearts; it can expose the reality of our own misframed perspective.

In Jesus’ response to the returning leper, He asks, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” This moment serves as a reminder that God desires our gratitude. He treasures those who, recognizing His grace, respond in a true spirit of worship. It is the natural response of a heart that understands the depth of its need and the richness of God’s provision.

dissatisfaction, I want to embrace the lesson from Luke 17:11-19. Daily, I want to be like the Samaritan who returned - a living testimony of gratitude that be the posture of our hearts, evidence of a life surrendered to the glory of God.

When was the last time you recall feeling that over whelming sense of excitement for a magical day circled in red marker on your calendar? Perhaps that day was a vacation, a reunion, or maybe it was your favorite holiday. For you, that Red Marker Day could have been Christmas; maybe there are fewer things you where decorations of reds and greens are splashed up on walls and mantles and lights twinkle with a bit more down the time between now and then? “Nine days, eight nights.” “ Today doesn’t count, so it’s technically only a week until…” “If we only count the Mondays between Labor Day and Christmas, seventeen isn’t that big of a number, so Christmas isn’t that far away!” We do whatever we can to make time feel like less of a hurdle.

NEW LIFE RANCH

it comes with experiencing something you don’t get anywhere else.

you might not know there is another time of year where

last summer at the Ranch, campers will make their way through the gates of Frontier Cove or Flint Valley with an expectation to encounter something they will not get anywhere else. In a way, many campers wait all year for camp in the way they wait for Christmas morning! However, what must be made clear for both the Christmas and Summer Camp season is that they aren’t enjoyed because of what we get out of these times, but rather “the Reason for the Season.” As much fun as Quack Dip is for our Junior Campers or MCP Live might be for our Senior Campers, programming doesn’t hold

as much value if it isn’t pointing campers to the purpose behind why we do what we do.

For Summer 2024, camp ’ s theme was “Mosaic: piecing together the truth of who Jesus is” with John 14:6 as the guiding verse. Our hope this past summer was that campers would encounter the person of Jesus, that they would learn what He did and how He lived. On the surface, camp is all about waking up early for Polar Dip and riding around trails on horseback and roasting marshmallows for Tuesday night s ’ mores, but on a deeper level, it is an atmosphere in which one may discover what it means to be a disciple. Becoming a disciple of Jesus starts one on the pathway to a life of abundance; Jesus tells us Himself that was why He came. Something campers across all programs were able to learn this past summer by studying the life of Jesus and putting the pieces together of what He says about Himself was that we do not have to wait until we leave this life and walk into the next to experience eternal life. Eternal life isn’t just quantitative, it’s qualitative. We can live in the fullness, abundance, and freedom that Jesus’ life paid from the minute we decide to make Him the Lord of our lives; it doesn’t have to wait. In a way, it’s the splendor of Christmas 365 days a year!

As we prepare for this upcoming summer, we hope to continually show campers that the life Jesus lived is one we are able to live as well, and we do not have to wait. I

at the end of the day. Campers are welcomed into the reality that the expectancy they feel towards going to camp cannot even begin to compare to the expectancy we feel towards the Kingdom that is to come, and how kindly the Father has given us a way to experience that on earth through

Camper Scholarship F und

In 2024, we had projected we would need $675,000 to fund the scholarships that would be needed for summer camp, which included the Leadership Development program and horse camps. As it turned out, we awarded close to $660,000 in total, which assisted close to 1,200 families have a camp experience. As you will see by the adjoining table, those funds came from various sources. In addition to these funds, we were also able to grow the Founders Endowment to $1,187,238.00, which will aid in supporting the scholarship program for future generations.

2024 MISSION 19:14 SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Donations and Pledges $ 423,650. Funds from Flint & Steel $ 19,932. Carry Over from 2023 $ 36,874. Endowment Distribution $ 122,000. Partial Distribution from Match $ 55,016. Total Received : $ 657,472. Total Awarded : $ 657,472.

came through our gates and experienced the Love of Jesus. We know that the scholarship program continues to be one of the most camper who received a scholarship this summer: especially the scholarship donors for the opportunity my son had seeing all the pictures posted during the week, I knew he had a good time! There are so many amazing things to do at camp that he doesn’t get to experience at our home in a small town. When he came home, he didn’t stop talking for a solid hour! Ha!! When I asked him what his favorite part of camp was, I was expecting him to say the water slides or horseback riding or riding the banana boats in the lake. Instead, he said his favorite part was night. He said he had never felt the presence of God like he did at camp! We have raised him in church & he was saved 4 years ago, yet this week changed his relationship with God. He raised because the Holy Spirit was so strong there, he said he couldn’t help it!! He learned so much about our Lord & Savior & memorized scripture! As you can imagine, my momma heart was bursting with joy & thankfulness. Thank you for the scholarship he received to attend camp & for pouring your hearts into making this camp so special. I am forever grateful for the impact it made on my son & all of the other children that attended.”

This is your impact, so thank you for your generosity which allows stories like this to be possible. Currently, we have raised $548,887 of the $675,000 we project to be needed to fund scholarships for camps in 2025.

Ranch Hands

You can support the scholarship fund through our Ranch Hands monthly givers program. Initiated over a decade ago, the premise of the Ranch Hands program is to build a base of loyal monthly givers who provide stability and predictability to the scholarship fund. Our current Ranch Hands provide close to $100,000 a year toward the scholarship program. These partners give a monthly gift of varying amounts and receive monthly email updates, as well as additional perks throughout the year. We’d love to have you join the Ranch Hands monthly

Join us today!

JENN SALSGIVER Development Manager Scan Here

One Camp, Two Sites, One Mission