Loan from Georgia United Methodist Foundation Turns Camp Ministries Dream Into Reality
North Georgia Camp and Retreat Ministries and its family of ministries, including Glisson, Grow Day Camps, and ELI (Experiential Leadership Institute), will kick off its summer 2024 schedule in just a few short months.
And there's a little more property on the Glisson campus this year thanks to a loan from the Georgia United Methodist Foundation to secure the purchase of 10 acres adjacent to Camp when it unexpectedly became available in 2022. In a Q&A with the Georgia United Methodist Foundation, Camp and Retreat Ministries Executive Director C. Russell Davis shares about how the Foundation helped to turn a long dreamt of strategic opportunity into reality.
Q: Why was the land acquisition adjacent to Glisson so important?
Davis: The property had been owned for more than 40 years by a neighbor who trained and boarded horses. She lived on the land and maintained it until she could no longer. The property was surrounded by Glisson property on three sides, is adjacent to the Glisson Outpost, and bordered the entrance road to Outpost. At the time, and even now, property in Dahlonega sells quickly and often above the asking price. We learned of the owner’s intent to sell by accident and had a narrow window to secure the purchase before the property was listed. The Foundation’s loan allowed us to close quickly, reducing the possibility of the seller reconsidering.
Over the past 12 years, North Georgia Camp and Retreat Ministries has made significant investments in expanding the Outpost program, nearly doubling its capacity, to increase its long-term sustainability as we pursued the North Georgia Annual Conference’s goal of doubling the number of summer campers we served. Acquiring this property ensured that a long-shared boundary between the Outpost site and its entrance road would not be compromised by a neighbor or development that would detract from Outpost’s natural setting, which could have jeopardized over a decade of site and program development.
Q: What is the vision for this property?
Davis: The barn on the property provided much-needed equipment storage last summer and, in 2024, will provide a new base of operations for our senior high Expedition trips. The house will allow full-time staff presence closer to the Outpost site. And in the distant future, the mountain view from the property offers wonderful possibilities for serving our families and churches in new ways.
Q: How would you describe the partnership between North Georgia Camp and Retreat Ministries and the Georgia United Methodist Foundation?
Davis: Because we’ve worked together so well, so many times, the Foundation knows us, and we know them. There is a mutual trust that gives us confidence in the agreements we reach. In that sense, it is a partnership because neither of us is primarily seeking a financial advantage but rather the best way to expand our missional impact. Missional impact isn’t the primary purpose of a commercial lender.