“CREATING A SPACE FOR ADOLESCENTS TO MEET JESUS CHRIST AND GROW IN THEIR FAITH.”
In 2024 LoneHollow Ranch celebrated its 5th birthday! And what a first five years it has been. As we reflect upon the lifespan of LHR, we see God’s goodness at every corner, transforming lives for the sake of the gospel:
• Purchased in 2019 as the first Young Life-owned property in Texas.
• We immediately hosted campers in the fall of 2019.
• 2020. COVID-19 hits and the world shuts down. But God was writing a story at LHR behind the scenes. Like only He can do, in October we completed the capital fundraising for Phase 1.
• As the nation continued to recover from the pandemic in 2021, Texas had less strict regulations and LHR provided a full 10 weeks of camping
• Since then, weekend camps have exploded — regularly hosting more than 500 people on property!
• Summer camping at LHR continues to provide a place for kids who would not otherwise be able to attend Young Life camp due to out-of-state travel barriers. And WyldLife camps prove to be one of the most popular weeks.
• LHR has hosted Military Family Camp for four years in a row providing a place of respite for these honored guests to reconnect as a family unit.
• In 2024 the Dining Hall and Club Room construction launched. This creates more momentum by increasing capacity and accessibility to keep pace with the exploding Texas population and ministry growth.
We are humbled to be a part of this movement in Texas. A movement fueled by volunteers and staff who desire the next generation to know Jesus and who believe that Young Life is a powerful vehicle in which to usher in this reality.
Thank you for being a part of the LoneHollow Ranch story. Thank you for giving, praying, and showing up for teenagers. Thank you for being a part of transforming the next generation for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
With Hope,
Brian and Courtney
Shankar
and Tiffany Annamalai LHR Executive Campaign Committee
Shankar and Tiffany
Brian and Courtney Garrison LHR Executive Campaign Committee
ROMANS 12:2
DO NOT CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS—HIS GOOD, PLEASING AND PERFECT WILL.
TRANSFORMING CAMP FOR GENERATIONS DINING
A monumental milestone at LHR is the launch of construction for the Club Room, Dining Hall, and part one of the Wastewater Treatment Facility. After regularly serving numbers of campers above capacity, these new buildings will allow LHR to keep pace with the growing demand for Young Life camping in Texas.
The vision to create intentional spaces for specialty ministries to be welcomed and celebrated at camp is being realized! No longer will Capernaum and Young Lives teens need to travel out of state for camp. Now walkways and entrances are crafted for wheelchair and stroller access. Multi-lingual and deaf students will enjoy instantaneous translation in both the Club Room and Dining Hall, eliminating barriers that prevent them from hearing the gospel.
To better align with Young Life's relational DNA, we're designing a new Dining Hall. It will provide discipleship opportunities in the kitchen and family-style community for leaders and campers.
Construction will be completed in spring of 2026 for the arrival of summertime campers.
Every inch of concrete, every steel beam, every speaker, every door, every handrail, every nook and cranny … has all been designed to share and experience the greatest love story ever told!
HALL
CLUB ROOM
PROJECT IMPACT
MORE KIDS
Increasing the Club Room and Dining Hall capacity from 400 to 750+ to meet the needs of the Texas teen population
EVERY KID
Increasing accessibility to create spaces for every kid
Special needs friends • Adolescent parents and their babies
High school teens • Middle school teens FOR
YEARS TO COME
Designing sustainable infrastructure for generations
to keep up with exciting progress.
THE MISSION REMAINS CLEAR
YOUNG LIFE STILL DOES WHATEVER IT TAKES
The physical transformation at LHR is a mirror of the spiritual transformation that we desire for all who step on property. With Moses we cry out, “Show me your glory,” entreating God to reveal Himself to teenagers and adults alike. In this simple prayer we acknowledge God’s sovereignty and purposes, trusting that He alone has the power to save. And, as we gaze on the glory of God, we too are being transformed into His image!
At Young Life camp, adults are committed to work hard to create spaces and experiences that usher in the proclamation of the gospel. Campers are given opportunities to process the claims of Jesus with a trusted mentor from home. Even amid extensive construction, this mission remains steadfast.
A PLACE TO SEE JESUS
Capernaum is a ministry designed for kids who are often left out, kids who are often restricted to one section of a high school and told “you can’t do what your neurotypical peers do.” For so many kids this exclusion from everyday experiences we often take for granted takes its toll. Every week our volunteer leaders are building relationships with kids and telling them about a God who created them, loves them, and invites them into a life full of adventure. Camp is the culmination of this idea and illustrates a beautiful picture of God’s desire for inclusion, adventure, and relationships for all kids.
Marta had never left the Midland city limits and was very worried the whole bus ride about what awaited her at LHR. As the bus pulled in, she was bombarded with high fives, loud music, and people offering to take her bags to her room. She was ecstatic and soaked up every chance she got to be celebrated all week.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 AND WE ALL, WHO WITH UNVEILED FACES CONTEMPLATE THE LORD’S GLORY, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO HIS IMAGE WITH EVER-INCREASING GLORY, WHICH COMES FROM THE LORD, WHO IS THE SPIRIT.
Construction on property has certainly changed operational components and processes at LHR. It requires field and camp staff to think creatively, collaborating to achieve the same goals in nontraditional ways. For example, the current Dining Hall is being used for both the eating of meals and as the Club Room. This necessitates a flip of this space multiple times a day. Staff has met this challenge with great humility and hospitality — doing whatever it takes to pave the way for kids to know their Creator. It also invited the inauguration of new traditions like “breakfast in bed” or more outdoor meals, which campers enjoyed!
She loved all the typical things people love about camp — the lake, food, ranch limos … but one thing stood out. When we asked her most favorite thing she responded, “I just love waking up and breathing this sweet mountain air.” If you have been to LHR, Rattlesnake Ridge does not show up on any list of fourteeners, but for her it was the adventure of a lifetime. She made friends with people from across Texas and kept exclaiming, “I’m living my best life,” and, “I’m such a camp girl.” She knew deep down that there was something different about this place — the activities, the beauty, the people. Marta stood up at the end of the week during Say-So and accepted Jesus into her life. LoneHollow Ranch will forever hold a place in her heart as the place where she saw Jesus so clearly, that she couldn’t imagine the rest of eternity without him.
— Trace Reaves | Associate Area Director Midland, Texas
By design, Young Life is an incarnational ministry — just as Jesus was sent to earth to live among us, Young Life leaders go where teenagers are to live life with them. And this is what makes our camping ministry so unique. The “counselors” at LHR are not strangers but these same trusted leaders from home, experiencing camp side by side with their teenage friends.
By God’s sovereign design, LHR is located near hundreds of communities, offering not only summer camping opportunities but also multiple opportunities throughout the year for teenagers to attend camp. And it is happening! Weekend camps are exploding! An impressive 31,601 campers and leaders attended a school-season weekend camp from 2019 to present. This accounts for nearly 75% of the total annual camping numbers at LHR. Kids and leaders are speaking loud and clear they want to engage in the adventure of camp throughout the year, not only in the summer.
• Sustainable Ministry – Camp is a tool for local areas to create meaningful experiences and deep connections with teenagers, bolstering local ministry growth.
• An Invitation to Serve – After attending camp, high school students are invited to return to LHR and serve on work crew, which is integral to the discipleship model. To date, 4, 457 teenagers have participated in a weekend work crew.
• Staff Leadership Development – Each weekend camp has an “assigned team” of field staff specifically dedicated to the programmatic execution of the weekend. This provides staff with valuable opportunities for growth and skill development in roles such as serving on the program team or acting as the camp speaker, thereby preparing them for longer summer assignments.
TEACHING TEENAGERS TO SERVE
The Central Texas Region offered a work crew discipleship training for 50 high schoolers during a WyldLife (middle school) weekend camp. The purpose was to give vision for serving on work crew this summer but also to equip them to carry the gospel into their daily lives, schools, and future ministry opportunities. On property they diligently served 300 middle schoolers but the impact of investing in these young high school leaders goes far beyond just one weekend.
Training and mentoring sessions emphasized the sacrifice and cost of discipleship — teaching them that giving their lives away for the sake of others is always worth it. Seeing kids and leaders experience Jesus through their service is such a powerful testament to living out faith in action.
The ripple effect of this training will no doubt be felt this summer and beyond, as they step into their roles with confidence, faith, and a heart for the Kingdom of God.
“I SAW THE LORD USE MY GIFTS TO HELP OTHERS FEEL INCLUDED, AND I GOT TO LIVE OUT THE JOY AND LOVE JESUS GIVES TO ME.” MAURA, A HIGH SCHOOLER WHO SERVED AS A LEADER FOR WYLDLIFE CAMP
— Jen Hartmann | Area Director, Johnson City
HELP US CONTINUE THE TRANSFORMATION
“Thank you for the amazing growth and impact at LHR! But we are not done. We are now turning our eyes to the River Park. The entire camp will revolve around this space for connection and adventure. If you would like to be a part of this high impact project, please contact me. We are very excited about the future of LHR!”
— Darrin Murphy, South Central Division Senior Campaign Director
dmurphy@sc.younglife.org | 806.637.2795
• Texas-sized aquatic adventure for fun and connection
• Haven of inclusion, intentionally designed to address needs for Capernaum and YoungLives campers
• Located at the heart of camp, as a central gathering and recreation space
• Venue for camp programming
• Welcoming space for campers who are fearful of the water
• Place of belonging for every camper
SO THAT MORE TEENAGERS CAN EXPERIENCE THE GOSPEL THROUGH OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURE AND INCLUSIVE SPACES.
INCLUSIVE POOL
LAZY RIVER/SPLASH PAD
GIVE NOW
TRANSFORMATION AT HOME
SAN ANTONIO
Emily, a senior and the Student Council president at her high school, was in a dark place when her leader met her. She was an atheist, estranged from her friends, and dabbling in witchcraft and other bizarre practices she'd been exposed to via social media. Her life had become an increasingly hopeless cycle of anger, scrolling, striving, and loneliness.
When invited to Young Life by a leader, it didn't check any of the right boxes for her. A club about Jesus? Full of people she didn't like? That wouldn't improve her high school resumé? "Thanks but no thanks," she seemed to say.
And yet she walked up the driveway to Young Life club the next Monday, curiosity showing behind her suspicious scowl. A dozen Mondays later, seemingly out of nowhere (is this not how the Holy Spirit works sometimes?), she shared that she wanted to surrender her life to Jesus, the impossible God-man who loved her and had invaded her heart and her mind. She prayed with her leader on the front porch and her new life began!
That was a year ago. Today, Emily is almost unrecognizable. She radiates joy, her spirit is gentle yet confident, she stands taller and speaks with authority about God's truth which she is devouring in her Bible every day of the week, and she is already sharing the gospel with others. She was recently baptized in a local church where her testimony was told for hundreds to hear and behold the power of God. She's headed to college in the fall, this once fatherless, angry young woman who is now letting her heavenly Father reveal his big and beautiful plans for her life. She refers to Christ as “the one who loved me all along, before I even knew him.”
The story of Emily and her leader is personal but not unique. All around the state of Texas, Young Life leaders are spending time with teenagers and inviting them to come and hear about the God who loved them all along.
ETERNAL TRANSFORMATION
“MEETING LIFELONG FRIENDS FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT YOUNG LIFE GROUPS MADE LONEHOLLOW RANCH UNFORGETTABLE. THE PROPERTY WAS BREATHTAKING, AND I’D GO BACK IN A HEARTBEAT!”
ASHLYN, AMARILLO, TEXAS
“I FORMED SOME OF THE BEST FRIENDSHIPS AND MEMORIES I’VE EVER MADE AT LONEHOLLOW, AND GOT CLOSER TO JESUS IN THE PROCESS. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.”
BEN, FORT WORTH, TEXAS
“THE WAY THE BIBLE STORY WAS TOLD IS UNLIKE ANYTHING I’VE EVER HEARD BEFORE.”
HIGH SCHOOLER, CELINA, TEXAS
“BEING AT YOUNG LIVES CAMP REALLY CHANGED MY ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. I NOW KNOW THAT GOD SEES ME AND HEARS ME. HE LOVES US NO MATTER WHAT.” LATAVIA, MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS
"WE SEEK TO TRANSFORM THE STATE OF TEXAS AND BEYOND WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.”
"THE WALLS CAME DOWN! I DANCED. I DON'T DANCE! I SANG. I DON'T SING!" EMILIO, SAN SABA, TEXAS
"I COULDN'T HELP BUT LOOK OUT AND SEE HOW MASSIVE GOD'S CREATION IS. I HAVE NEVER BELIEVED IN MY HEART THAT GOD WANTS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH ME, BUT SEEING THE WAYS THAT HE SET UP CREATION MAKES ME WONDER."
HARRISON, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
EXECUTIVE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS
Tiffany and Shankar Annamalai (Co-Chair) Vice President Permian Basin | ChampionX LCSW | Shield Bearer Counseling Midland, TX
Amy and Bibb Beale CEO | Frontier Direct Care Principal | Red Rock Development Harlingen, TX
Price Brashear Principal | A.P. Brashear Group Temple, TX
Jamie and Ryan Bricker Principal | HNTM Corporation Dallas, TX
Katie Fitch Northeast Texas Regional Director
Courtney and Brian Garrison (Co-Chairs)
Owner/Operator | Chick-fil-A Young Life
Kerri and Jay Gerrie Managing Director | Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Austin, TX
Kristi Gholson Advancement Coordinator
Stephen Mueller Central Texas Regional Director
Brandi and Scott Hollingshead Retired San Antonio, TX
Jenni and Dan Hord HEDLOC Hord Foundation Midland, TX
Lucho Llanca Greater Houston Regional Director
Laudir Lugo South Texas Regional Director
Alison McCauley Divisional Camping Coordinator
Holly McLean West Texas Regional Director
Darrin Murphy Senior Campaign Director
Stacey Noll LoneHollow Ranch Camp Manager
Lindsey Patchell Divisional Senior Vice President
Cam Thrutchley VP of Marketing and Sales | Jones Power Sugar Land, TX
Liz Tuttle Business Owner San Marcos, TX
Lauren Tuttle Executive Assistant | McCoy/ Remme Family Office San Marcos, TX
