Praying For Things Unseen

As the summer of 2025 came to an end, the leadership of Knox Creek was wrestling with what felt like a turning point in our ministry. In our first five years, we had seen God work in miraculous ways. We had hosted over 125 retreats and welcomed over 3,500 young people.

All in our little cabin.

It was an exciting time, but there was an elephant in the room as we struggled to cast a vision for what was next.

The board was working countless weekends on the farm, but the to-do list only grew longer. We had fit as many bunk beds as possible into our cabin, and then crammed in some more. But we still didn't have enough beds to accommodate our ministry partners. Groups were sleeping in the cabin, in the barn (yes, that barn), and even pitching tents in the pasture. Still, our waiting list was growing faster than we could respond to emails.

We had reached the limit of what we could do on our own, yet there was a sense that God was preparing us for something more. Knox Creek needed new ideas, new energy, and new blood.

Knowing where we needed to go but unsure how to get there, the founders who had turned our dream into reality made a brave decision. At the end of our fiscal year, they voted to step down, making way for the next chapter of Knox Creek.

But they didn't leave. With a servant's heart, they launched our Executive Committee, working behind the scenes to keep the lights on and the trains running on time, so that new leadership could cast a vision for the future unencumbered by daily operations.

This pivot prepared the way for what we would call our "Inaugural Board." As we recruited new members, our purpose was clear: God was on the move at Knox Creek, and we needed a team whose faith and feet could keep up.

That September, three men joined me on a muddy hillside overgrown with thistles and vines. As logging trucks drowned out our conversation, they squinted to see the vision I shared of a camp God would build there one day.

We had no budget, no plan, and no ideas left. But they believed. Together with our Executive Committee, they began praying for a future we could not see but believed God would deliver.

In the fall of 2025, after much prayer and consideration, Richard Eason, Charlie Darwin, and Tony Bligh launched our Inaugural Board.

We opened our first meeting with what would become our theme verse:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." Ephesians 3:20

A year later, we stood on the same hilltop, surrounded by friends, family, and freshly laid sod, celebrating the Grand Opening of our Pioneer Camp.

To Richard Eason, Charlie Darwin, and Tony Bligh, thank you for praying for a future we could not see and for leading us through the wilderness to the other side.