Teen Ranch Ministries

09/06/2026

Growing fruit that lasts.

09/06/2026

…and Finally Then

Sigh…another wonderful, fun, productive, meaningful summer. What an indescribable honour to be chosen to host hundreds of youth, teens and campers and their families.…and just what did they find when they came to Teen Ranch? Possibly something very different from what they are accustomed to, the Gospel.

Many years ago a preacher named Charles Spurgeon posed a question, and answered it succinctly.

“What is there about this Gospel that seems to touch the soul of man and makes him quite another creature— makes him joyous instead of sad, and makes him so mighty that he dares to defy death and hell in defense of it? The reason is, because this doctrine cures the woe and misery of the soul and brings light, comfort, happiness, and hope to it. It is made by God on purpose to touch the heart of man and stir it to its very depths.”
Charles Spurgeon Adorning the Gospel

The gospel story was written, in real life, on purpose. It started at creation and is revealed throughout the Scriptures, and ultimately to the life,death and resurrection of Christ, as well as the continued proclamation of this account to our day. All of it.

9” he[a] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,” Ephesians 1:9

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:10-11

God intended for all to know Him, on purpose.

We can be sure that the idea of summer camp was God’s idea and the remarkable record of the founding of Teen Ranch is a testimony to God’s intentions. He wants everyone to know His plans and intentions, not just for humanity, but for every single individual. He wants everyone to know the “doctrine that cures the woe and misery of the soul and brings light, comfort, happiness, and hope to it.”.

…and that is why we do what we do at Teen Ranch. Another summer in the books!

08/31/2026

Somebody Prayed

For all who have prayed for the summer of 2026, thank you. There are so many prayers that have been prayed for the team and the individuals involved. We are confident that prayer brought each one to the Ranch, and our prayers can reach the God who reaches them as they return to their homes and schools.

2 “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, “ Colossians 2:1-2

You and I know some of our own backstory as to how we came to the reality of Jesus and our subsequent walk with Him. However, I think we may all be surprised at the prayers of those we don’t know or recall, who had a vital part in our journey. Our prayers for the campers, families and staff of Teen Ranch have been heard by our gracious God whose love for them extends into their lives, whether they know it or not. Our prayers are valuable and meaningful!

Somebody prayed, and Teen Ranch became a vital tool to reach the generations. Somebody prayed and thousands of lives have been changed, let’s keep praying!

Official Lyric Video for “Somebody Prayed” by CrowderStream & Down...

08/30/2026

May the Lord establish the work of our hands.

08/23/2026

Raising disciples, not just campers.

08/22/2026

Paul just had so much to say! In each of his letters there is a sense of urgency; hence, they are jam packed with advice, admonition, encouragement, wisdom and instruction before he sends them on their way. Paul’s letter to the Phillipians for example, contains some of the most well known, powerful and often memorized verses in Scripture, and even after all of that, his final thoughts are laser focused and clear.

8 "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8

That is pretty good advice for all humans; choose your thoughts, practice everything else I have said,( in the letter) and the God of peace will be with you. Keeping it simple, and explaining the result.

But here is the thing, this is 2026 and there are lots of not lovely, not honorable, not praise worthy things going on in our world that affect ourselves and the ones we care about. Are we to be naive and ignore these things, not think about them? We have to deal with hardships, financial pressures, illness and even cruelty. How does God expect us to keep those guidelines?
Perhaps the word "fix" is a clue. Deal with what you must, then fix your mind and get it back to thinking of the lovely honorable and praise worthy things.Think about what you are thinking, then chose to fix it.

This is a tough one, but what a different world it would be if everyone practiced verses 7 and 8! We cannot control what others do or say, but we can choose for ourselves to follow Paul’s directive and just see how that goes! It comes with a great promise!

08/16/2026

Overflowing with hope.

08/16/2026

Pleasure is a much desired commodity in our society and people have found any number of ways to attempt to find it. In polite situations, the phrase “it’s my pleasure” is a lovely way of saying “you’re welcome”.

We are made in God’s image, so we should not be surprised, but He too, does things for pleasure.

Look at this scripture in Ephesians 1:5 where God states that He decided to adopt us, just because He wanted to.

5 “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Really. God does things just for the delight of it, and notice, it is about us humans!

When Jesus was here He was not only the calmest one in the room (or the boat) but probably the most joyful as well. How could He not be with all the miracles He was able to perform! Surely people did not just say thanks and walk away, He must have been hugged and happy tears cried on more than once. Such pleasure!

Notice Luke 10:21

21 “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”
Luke 10:21

In this passage, Jesus witnessed the excitement of His disciples as they recounted their experiences in the surrounding towns and villages, and it was wonderful! He also stated that God purposely revealed His plan to “little children”, just because it pleased Him!

Pleasure is God’s idea, but like everything else, humans have a tendency to mess up His good intentions; and just like God; He gave us a guideline in Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

If we first delight in the Lord, He will tune our hearts to find pleasure in all His good provision. Simple!

Summer Camp 2026 is about to enter week seven, so please pray that the joy of the Lord will continue to be the strength of our staff and leaders and that they would walk in His wisdom.

08/09/2026

Creation speaks—if we slow down to listen.

08/08/2026

Lighthouse!

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” – Isaiah 42:16
You know, there is a blindness that people do not even recognize because they do not know there is more to life than what they have experienced or are currently living. There are others who once lived in the light so to speak, somehow lost it and now long to return to some semblance of that life.
What a message we have to share! There is indeed a God who desires to “turn the darkness into light”, to be the guide, the one who goes before, with the added promise that He will always stay.
“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2
The light is founded on this solid rock, and we know Him, He is our lighthouse, His name is Jesus and everyone should know Him!
We are thankful for Teen Ranch who has proclaimed this life altering message for decades, please continue to pray that the light will shine brightly for the last few weeks of camp!
https://youtu.be/lFBZJGSgyVQ?si=JtSVTn9XWPMUgoWs