On behalf of the Board of Directors of your Conference Camp & Retreat Ministries, I am pleased to share the good news of the camping ministry happening at each of our sites—Chestnut Ridge, Don Lee, and Rockfish.

Our three sites allow individuals and groups to truly get away from the distractions of everyday life and enjoy peace in these beautiful natural settings.

We are blessed with creative, compassionate, and fun loving staff who are ready to show you the glory and fun in God’s creation. We offer programs that teach about our environment; programs that assist groups in spiritual formation, leadership development and team building; and programs that include sailing, high ropes course and horseback riding in addition to traditional camp favorites of swimming, crafts, and canoeing. We also invite local churches to view us as an extension of your ministry.

Just east of the center of the Camper Garden stands a fig tree not even two feet high. It produced figs this past summer even at its young age and small stature. It reminds me in some ways of our summer campers, who likewise, appear young and not yet fully mature. Yet, their lives have already begun bearing the fruit of life in Christ.

I remember that my parents thought it was a great idea. I also remember thinking quite the opposite. I was seven years old and fresh out of first grade. I was ready for a summer filled with bike rides, trips to the pool and a week at the beach with my grandparents. What I wasn’t prepared for was being left alone at the end of a gravel road in Pamlico County at a place called Camp Don Lee.

Our Conference Camp & Retreat Centers have a long history of providing financial assistance (camperships) to families that are not otherwise able to send their children to summer camp. In 1972, the Myra Morris Campership Fund was established by persons in the Conference to provide financial assistance to families who could not afford to send their children to one of our Conference camps.