Malibu Club

MALIBU CLUB — 1953

“You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness” (Psalm 65:11-12).

In the words of Jeff Chesemore, author of Made for This, “By 1952 the mission had a wonderful ‘problem’: all three ranches were filled beyond capacity. Rayburn recognized the need to have a camp in the Northwest, since so many of the kids coming to Colorado were from Washington and Oregon.” Nobody could have imagined what God had in store for Young Life when it came to the answer to this Northwest camp need! Malibu Club was originally built by Tom Hamilton as a resort to serve such Hollywood luminaries as John Wayne, Barbara Stanwyck, Walt Disney, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Located 100 miles from Vancouver, B.C., by air or sea, Malibu Club sat at the mouth of the Princess Louisa Inlet, one of the most picturesque locations in the world. When first introduced to Rayburn by friends Jim and Elsie Campbell, the asking price of Malibu was one million dollars, a price that was clearly out of Young Life’s reach. Regardless, when the Campbells flew Rayburn, Add Sewell and Bill Starr out to see the resort, Jim calmly stated, “There is Young Life’s next camp.” When, during a tour of the resort, Rayburn was reminded of the asking price, he responded, “If the Boss wants us to have it, we will have it!” Jim’s next move, after praying, was to invite Tom Hamilton, the owner of Malibu to Frontier Ranch for a week. This experience resulted in Hamilton dropping the price to $700,000. Next, Hamilton and some associates sold a California hotel and needed a tax break to offset this sale. As a result, Hamilton lowered the asking price for Malibu to $300,000 and contributed a sizeable amount himself. Rayburn hit the road, seeking to raise a $150,000 downpayment, which God provided for, and the purchase contract was signed on December 21, 1953! (MFT, p. 32)

British Columbia, Canada

We serve a very personal, yet powerful and capable God. He gave Young Life a camp in the Northwest at just the right time. He gave Young Life a camp that was “exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine.” Now consider this, He cares about you and the rest of the world as much as He does the mission of Young Life. What are your needs, the needs of those close to you and the needs of people around the world? Though we must trust in His wisdom and timing, we can never ask for too much!