New Life Ranch started in 1958 as a small summer camp with a couple hundred kids. Over the past 59 years, it has grown into a year-round ministry that hosts more than 20,000 guests annually.
The 1,000-acre summer camp, located a few miles west of Siloam Springs in Delaware County, Okla., offers breathtaking scenery and beautiful facilities and exciting activities such as a ropes course, kayaking, swimming and horseback riding. But the camp is really about building relationships and changing lives, according to director Tom Graney.
Graney explained that New Life Ranch got its name from the Bible verse 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
"I've seen kids come here year after year and grow deeper in their relationship with Christ and as they grow older, they begin to understand and personalize that relationship and begin to live it out," Graney said.
New Life Ranch got its start when the Rev. Willard Heck, a Tulsa pastor, began bringing students from his backyard Bible clubs to the property, then known as Kellums Ranch, as a reward for memorizing all of their Bible verses. In 1958, Heck and his partner Tom Hull felt led to purchase the property, owned by Colonel Homer Kellums, and start a summer camp. Kellums respected Heck because he ran a tight ship and worked out a deal on the property, Graney said.
These days, the ranch can accommodate up to 650 people at a time on its sprawling campus. Guests can choose from nine weeks of traditional, week-long summer camps, as well as summer day camps, family camps, community outreach programs, church retreats and a leadership development program for teens.
New Life Ranch offers visitors plenty of adventures, including a full ropes challenge course with a four-person zip line, and activities such as archery, riflery, skeet shooting, laser tag, mountain biking, gym and field sports and horseback riding.
Flint Creek runs through the property, creating a perfect area for kayaking and canoeing, or just playing in the swim area, which includes elements such as water slides and a big blob pillow for campers to jump on. The camp also has a recently completed aquatic center that will accommodate up to 200 swimmers.
But it is the high quality staff members that set New Life Ranch apart from other summer camps, according to Graney. A week of camp never ended with campers asking if the ranch will have mountain biking or horseback riding the next year, but often it does end with campers asking if their counselors will be back again, he said.
"Our staff make all the difference," Graney said. "Our pool and different things are bells and whistles, but what makes a difference is our staff."
The ranch's mission is to proclaim the gospel and to equip believers for ministry, according to the organization's website. Graney explained that the goal of the camp is for kids to come away with a greater relationship with Jesus, and to be better equipped to live a Christian life in the real world.
The ranch has three core values, including being Biblically based, relationship driven and service oriented, that guide decisions and create a unique culture, Graney said.
Camps and Retreats
Kids in grades three through 12 can attend summer camps at New Life Ranch. The camps are divided into junior and senior age groups, Graney said. About 40 percent of campers come from Northwest Arkansas and 60 percent come from Tulsa, but some come from as far away as Dallas and Wichita, Kan.
New Life Ranch also offers family camps, and specialty camps focused on horsemanship or outdoor adventures. Kids who live in Northwest Arkansas can attend day camp and the ranch even provides a shuttle service from the Interstate 49 corridor, Graney said.
Teens can participate in the ranch's leadership program. The program has three progressive levels, starting with Nehemiah Camp for students going into 10th grade who want to learn servant leadership, Timothy Camp for students going into 11th grade, and Soma Camp for students going into 12th grade.
New Life Ranch never wants finances to stand in the way of a kid coming to camp, so the ranch started the Mission 19:14 Scholarship Fund. The name refers to Matthew 19:14, which states, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Last year the scholarship fund was able to distribute more than $300,000 in scholarships for summer camps and family camps. The money was donated by individual supporters and foundations, Graney said.
While summer camps come to an end when school starts, New Life Ranch keeps busy with its retreat ministry, Graney said. The ranch partners with other churches and ministries to provide them with retreats throughout the year, he said.
Community Ministry
In addition to its summer camps and retreats, New Life Ranch is reaching out to local students through its community ministry, Graney said.
"As a camp, we want to be committed to not only having a great facility, we want to be able to make an impact on our community," he said.
Southern Delaware County is one of the poorer parts of Oklahoma, and families often struggle with generational poverty. The ranch has two 10-week programs in the spring and fall to mentor students, as well as a summer enrichment program.
The Right Lead program, focused on younger kids and kids who love horses, teaches students life skills and Biblical principals through horsemanship. The Right Quest program, focused on older kids and those who are not so enamoured with horses, teaches the same skills through outdoor adventures such as how to start a campfire or build a lean-to.
Graney described the summer enrichment program as a cross between vacation Bible school and a day school for the community.
New Life Ranch is looking to purchase property and build a community center in nearby Colcord, Okla., to better serve students in the community programs. Graney envisions a place where kids could spend time after school, get help with their homework and learn life skills. The community center could include kitchen facilities where students could take cooking classes or prepare snacks, and laundry facilities for those who may not have access to utilities at home.
"As a camp, we wanted to be committed to not just have this great facility that people from all over the area come to and experience great things and fun, and life change and then leave, but we wanted to be able to make an impact on our community," Graney said.
Something Special
There is just something special about driving down into the valley at New Life Ranch, according to Carrie Eben.
Eben started working at the ranch during the summer of 1993. She had just completed her sophomore year at John Brown University after a move from her childhood home in Long Beach, Calif.
Eben said she was at a pivotal time in her life after a really hard semester in college and a breakup with her boyfriend. New Life Ranch gave the education major a chance to gain experience working with people and horses, but it also gave her a chance to heal her heart and meet great people.
"For me it was like a dream come true," she said. "I was like 'Are you kidding me? I get to play with horses all summer and get paid.'"
Eben was promoted to head wrangler in 1994 and continued to serve in that role in 1995. During the off season, she led trail rides on the weekends and worked with horses throughout the week.
Eben moved away for a few years after college, but eventually returned to Siloam Springs with her husband and children. Upon her return, Eben started volunteering for the Right Lead program.
"Then and now, I can travel the road that goes down into the valley and kind of feel the stress melt away," Eben said. "It's just a really special place even now."
Eben's son Seth began attending New Life Ranch in fourth grade and is now in his third year of leadership camp, where he is serving as a counselor in training. The ranch has provided Seth with a place where he can be safe, but independent while discovering his sense of self.
"I think what makes it special is that there's a great group of people there who have a mission to share the gospel and to help kids see God," she said.
Moving Forward
New Life Ranch continues to grow in every area, Graney said. More people get involved in summer camps and the retreat ministry every year. In the past three years, the ranch has finished three new cabins to accommodate the growth in addition to the newly completed aquatic center.
"We want to have the space for the people that God is bringing to be able to come," Graney said.
The ranch has even considered building another camp on the property or acquiring another camp somewhere else to accommodate more visitors.
"It isn't about growing some New Life Ranch kingdom," Graney said. "It's about building God's kingdom. The more people that are able to come... the more people we are able to share the gospel with."
General News on 06/28/2017