Shortly after Summer Camp 2021 ended, Chris Haas contacted us about wanting to share how much of an impact New Life Ranch has had on his kid’s lives. He especially wanted to say thank you to those who gave towards the Mission 19:14 Camper scholarship fund so that his kids could come to camp. The following is an excerpt from an interview we did with Chris and has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What does New Life Ranch mean to your family?

We’ve had such a great experience at New Life Ranch. Ever since we started sending our kids there we have had an unbelievable time of taking our kids to camp, picking them up, and hearing about their experiences there. It’s truly been the highlight of their summer in so many ways. It’s so fun being campers, and they grow spiritually. We really like the focus on Jesus, and that relationship with him. Our kids were drawn to that as a part of the New Life Ranch experience. There’s a lot of good camps to go to, and a lot of great things happening, but our kids have said by far they love New Life Ranch the most.

How have you seen spiritual growth in your kids as a result of camp?

Our son Luke told us right after camp a couple of years ago that he had prayed to make Christ personal in his life. He was very excited about getting baptized. We were able to see him follow through with his decision to make Christ number one in his life. That was a really exciting thing for us. With our son Josh, I have just seen him grow as a leader as a result of being first a camper, but then starting the leadership program. He has just grown tremendously in his daily walk with Christ once he gets back home each year. We have just seen his depth go so much deeper. They actually have a New Life Ranch bible study that they do with people he goes to school with here in Fayetteville. It’s student directed, and they study things on their own, but it’s real deep. There’s a real community among students here that go to New Life Ranch. They continue to get together and encourage and build upon what they have experienced at camp throughout the rest of the year.

What does the Mission 19:14 Camper Scholarship program mean to your family?

Over the years New Life Ranch has helped send our kids to camp. We’ve been having partial scholarships to camp over the last 7 years, and it’s just been an unbelievable blessing, with a family that’s as large as ours, to be able to send four of our kids to camp this last summer. It’s just truly been one of God’s blessings in our family. It has allowed us to send each of our kids to camp, and we don’t have to make a choice and say, well this one can go but these two can’t. That’s a big deal. Even though we’re a family that values camp, finances can be a limiting factor. The scholarship fund has allowed us to approach camp and really be strategic with the money that we do have. We see camp as an investment into our kid’s lives, into their spiritual growth, into their social development, and it’s the funnest thing for them all summer. It’s been the single biggest positive investment we’ve made with our kids, for sure during the summer, and perhaps throughout the year.

I’d just like to tell everyone who gives, thank you. We’re so grateful to everyone who gives to make New Life Ranch a possibility each and every summer. We have benefited so much and God has used New Life Ranch in our family in big big ways!