I want to update you on the status of Bear Trap Ranch, InterVarsity’s Retreat and Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For much of the past year we have been in a process of discerning God’s will for the Camp after completing a comprehensive study of its role within InterVarsity’s mission and vision.
It is with joy and sadness that we announce an agreement to transfer InterVarsity’s assets of Bear Trap Ranch to Foundation of the Heart (dba “Band of Brothers”), a non-profit Christian ministry headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The contract is effective December 12, 2011 and includes the name, logo, and assets of Bear Trap Ranch. The contract also encourages continued use of the Camp by InterVarsity staff, alumni, and family camp groups at a discounted rate. We made a decision in mid-summer to close Bear Trap Ranch for the remainder of the 2011 season and to seek a long-term response to the challenges we were facing at the Camp. Our prayer then was that God would provide a Christian non-profit ministry organization to assume ownership of Bear Trap and continue its mission of serving His kingdom. Those prayers have been answered.
Band of Brothers has been involved in providing discipleship through retreats and resources to couples, families, singles, church groups and, more specifically men and their sons, for over a decade both locally and nationally. The organization’s mission and vision is to offer the brotherhood of Christ to people moving from success to meaning, addictions to freedom, and self-orientation to God’s call. As the new stewards of Bear Trap Ranch, Band of Brothers is committed to operating the ranch in a similar manner as InterVarsity has been doing for nearly 60 years of its stewardship, preserving Bear Trap’s Kingdom legacy and history.
The transfer is the culmination of a journey that took shape in June as InterVarsity began to weigh the results of two studies it had commissioned on the future of Bear Trap Ranch. Those studies highlighted a number of operational, financial, and logistical challenges to the continued role of Bear Trap in InterVarsity’s ministry. In response to analysis and prayer, the decision was made to close the Camp for the remainder of the year and seek a longer-term solution. Our prayers included “exploring handoff possibilities with other Christian ministries.”
Within a month, God brought Band of Brothers and InterVarsity together through circumstances that only He could orchestrate, and the journey of exploring Bear Trap Ranch’s new future was cautiously engaged. Over the course of the ensuing months leaders of both organizations continued their discernment of God’s will, completed detailed due diligence, worked with the U.S. Forest Service which owns the land on which the Camp is built, and communicated with thousands of members of our extended communities. Throughout the process we were repeatedly aware of the leading of the Holy Spirit as doors were opened and potential barriers removed.
We are grateful for the many friends of Bear Trap Ranch who reached out to InterVarsity over the course of the summer and early fall. The encouragement, support, and prayer offered were an inspiration and a constant reminder of God’s goodness throughout the process.
Bear Trap Ranch has been a part of InterVarsity’s ministry since 1953. During that time thousands of InterVarsity students and faculty, staff, church and school groups, alumni, family campers, and others have been ministered to by the staff, crew, and majesty of the Camp. We are grateful to former staff and volunteers who gave sacrificially and faithfully served through the years, and whose service helped ensure that students and guests had a special place to get away, meet the Lord, and enjoy the beauty of His creation.
We are equally grateful for the legacy of Bear Trap Ranch and all who have been a part of its history with InterVarsity. Please join InterVarsity’s leadership and staff as we pray for the continued role that Bear Trap Ranch will play in transforming lives to the glory of God’s kingdom.
You can learn more about Band of Brothers and the future of Bear Trap Ranch by visiting www.bandofbrothers.org and www.beartrapranch.org. Band of Brothers would operate the ranch in a similar manner, with similar mission and vision as InterVarsity faithfully did over the course of InterVarsity’s 60 year stewardship. Band of Brothers is committed to honoring, preserving and sustaining the legacy and history of Bear Trap Ranch. The Band of Brothers ministry has wide-ranging community inroads and connections all along the Front Range of Colorado (churches, ministries, non-profits, corporations, school districts) to serve God’s Kingdom on a more locally intensive basis.
Announcement from Karon Morton, Vice President and Director of Operations at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA