Tallgrass Christian Camp is a special place in the heart of America. Tallgrass started as an idea several decades back as churches of Christ in eastern Kansas and the greater Kansas City area rented campgrounds and conducted their camps religiously, faithfully, wanting our own place to do our "thing." Tallgrass became a goal of several visionary folks in 2002, members of several congregations who
decided to "do something about it," and formed a board of directors to start the planning and fund raising process. The lodge was completed enough to have our first camp sessions in 2009. Here we are, halfway through our second summer, and Tallgrass Christian Camp is going strong! We are going to camp, building new traditions, and enjoying each day the hard work and wonderful support of many who have given of themselves to see this project through. God has blessed us many times already and will continue to shine down his blessings on our camp in the future. The main lodge at Tallgrass has been completed. Well...of course, it's never really COMPLETED, but everyone who walks in and looks around is amazed at this huge, beautiful, four-season log cabin. The main room upstairs holds 300, has a beautiful stone fireplace and wonderful acoustics for singing. The shiny wood floor of the dining area upstairs seats 150, and boy is it loud when its full of happy diners. The kitchen has the appliances it needs and a dishwasher that saves a lot of trouble and makes clean up easy as pie. A beautiful wood staircase leads down to an activity room that stays busy throughout camp. Four "cabins" are downstairs, two for boys, two for girls, and there are four more just outside of the main lodge. Each cabin holds 12, which allows for a camp of about 100 currently. Between the indoor cabins are bathhouses for boys and girls, accessible from either end, inside or out. On the outside, facing southeast, across the whole side of the building is Grandma's Porch (Grandma's Rock!). Below that, there's a basketball court and an amphitheater that seats the whole camp. And, on all sides, of course is native Kansas TALL GRASS, getting up to nine feet tall, over 120 acres of it. Swinging through the south end of the camp is Dragoon Creek. That, my friend, is what Tallgrass Christian Camp looks like. But as nice a picture as that is, there is more going on than meets the eye. Week long camp sessions for elementary, middle school and high school grades are conducted during the summer. Throughout the rest of the year, weekend retreats are conducted, almost continually. People come together, often not knowing at first what to expect, to meet new friends and see old ones, gather around the table or campfire to share in an experience that is always focused on God. All around us, within just a few steps, is the glory of his creation; within the circle of fellowship and friendship that forms every single time Christians meet at Tallgrass, there is a bond that can't ever be broken. The theme of Tallgrass is "that you may know him better!" That comes from Eph 1: Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe" (1.15-19). Come on out to Tallgrass; it's not that far away from where you live. Your eyes and heart (not to mention your stomach) will get all filled up with great things that will make you smile. You'll move just a step closer to God and his glory. In other words, you'll get to know him better. (Updated 7-7-2010)
