Camperships

Stoney Creek Ranch‘s Urban Initiative Program offers “camperships” so that every child who wants to experience God’s great outdoor creation has the opportunity to do so.   Camperships are extended to local area youth organizations to ensure everyone has the opportunity for a first-class Christian camping experience.  The Stoney Creek experience builds self-esteem and allows youth to form bonds with each other replete with adventure activities that are designed to test initiative, develop perseverance and to foster servant-leadership.

Our Urban Initiative accomplishes three main objectives:  first, our inner city kids walk away from the ranch having a blast, many having experienced for the first time catching a fish, seeing a deer, kayaking or hanging 20 feet above ground during the high ropes course.  Second, we truly believe that we are making the organizations we serve better.  Think how much stronger the relationship between a camper and an attending volunteer or staff member is after they’ve experienced crud wars, blobbing and club together!  These servant-leaders return to Houston with a new bond and shared experiences that their kids will cherish for a lifetime, giving them a platform to further invest in the lives of these kids.  Third, and most importantly, we are given a unique opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ. And, we do not take this lightly.  Every second of camp is coordinated with this in mind. We believe that for many of these kids it will be the ONLY time they hear the Good News.  For others, it will be the first time they hear the Gospel shared in a simple, direct and loving way.  For those that choose not to accept His gift, they will leave with a seed planted, one that we pray the Holy Spirit waters later in life.  The Message is shared during "club" over four days, emphasized during the third talk when an emotional dramatization of Christ’s final hours is portrayed by our staff.  It is an evening they will never forget; one I hope you will join us for this summer.

Through our Urban Initiative whereby we have committed our entire summer scheduling to inner city kids, we hope to grow from 750+ kids in 2011, to 1,400 kids in 2012 and to 4,000 kids per year by 2015. This is an ambitious goal, but we believe it is attainable because of our extremely low cost per camper and our diligent effort to find kids working through numerous organizations serving our target demographic.  We are currently in collaboration with forty organizations serving inner city kids. It is our expectation that this number will grow to over 100 as our Urban Initiative continues to take hold.  We are striving to become the camp of choice for inner city kids, providing the absolute best facility, staff and program in Texas.