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Don't miss our best camp prices! Registration for Ridge Haven Cono camps is open for Summer 2025! Register by APRIL 1 to reserve your spot with the deepest discount before the price increases. REGISTER NOW

Click HERE to visit our website and learn more about all Ridge Haven camps. DATES & RATES - CONO, IA Camp Gift Certificates are available and make great gifts! Need-based scholarships are readily available. Click HERE for an application. Got questions? We'd love the chance to chat with you! Please call our office (828) 862-3916 or email us at ridgehaven@ridgehaven.org FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Website Facebook Instagram

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Watch for the Helpers (Jane Roskamp Barnett)

 

My Life is Kind of Boring - I Can Do That!

When a Young Life leader shared at Jane Roskamp Barnett’s [Cono Class of 1971] church about the need for more volunteers to work with middle schoolers in nearby Chattanooga, Jane thought to herself, “Well, my life is kind of boring. I can do that!”   As Jane got to know the kids, her world widened. “They didn’t have Christmas trees. Their families were often quite uninvolved. Some of the kids knew nothing at all about Jesus, not even that he was considered to be God.”   Jane struggled to find materials that both covered basic truth about Christianity and got students engaged. When a fellow YoungLife staff member suggested that she check out seeJesus’ Person of Jesus study, she jumped on it. “It took me a little while to get the hang of it and sort of ‘translate’ the lessons to their world, but once I did we started having these great conversations. Months later, I thought briefly about trying something else again for a time, but the kids pushed back – ‘No, we want to do the one with the questions!’” (continued below picture)

Sisters-in-law (and in-Christ): Jane (left) and Ellen Barnett

When Jane heard seeJesus was going to be offering a workshop on leading the Person of Jesus study in Chattanooga, she signed up as a trainee. “The mini-lesson I led the first night was a disaster!” she recounts. “Jon Hori was helping with that training, and he sat with me to give me feedback and encouragement. I went home and read through the lesson several times and prayed a lot! The next day I went through my lesson again and this time it went beautifully! A few weeks later, I got a letter from seeJesus asking if I wanted to become an apprentice, and that began a wonderful journey.” She was still working through the apprenticeship last January, when her sister-in-law Ellen Barnett, a missionary in Acapulco, Mexico, came to stay with Jane and her husband on Home Ministry Assignment. Jane was helping with a See Jesus Workshop nearby and invited Ellen to join her. Ellen was excited to discover the Person of Jesus study, and when she spoke with the workshop organizer, she was thrilled to hear about the Spanish version, La Persona de Jesús. As Ellen explored the lessons, two projects came to mind immediately. First, she thought about the neighbors she’d met the previous fall in the aftermath of a major hurricane. The material “fit the bill” for a neighborhood Bible study she would begin when she returned to the field. She was also eager to share the material with students at the seminary she coordinates within the presbytery in Acapulco. The seeJesus team connected Ellen to Debora Ramirez, seeJesus’ Spanish World Coordinator, and the two designed a class that Debora would teach via Zoom that Spring. As a result, several are using the materials in Acapulco now. If I’m teaching up front it is harder to draw students in. With this material, there’s no problem getting students to interact! “One of the things I love about the study is how the questions facilitate conversation,” shares Ellen. “If I’m teaching up front it is harder to draw students in. With this material, there’s no problem getting students to interact!” From seminary students and neighbors in Acapulco, Mexico, to middle school students in Chattanooga, to sisters-in-law following Jesus together, there’s something about seeing Jesus more clearly – together and in the midst of our real life context – that is transformative. A seminary student told Ellen recently, “This has turned my life upside down!” Jane sums it up: “I love studying these stories of Jesus and slowing down to take it all in. The study has enriched my life and taught me how to become more like Jesus.” (Reprinted from seeJesus website.)

JANE ADDED THIS NOTE: I was really surprised that that article in seeJesus was published. I am actually a seeJesus trainer, and I love the materials. You should read the J-Curve. Life changing. The main focus was supposed to be on my husband Steve's sister, Ellen, in ACA, but then the writer of the article wanted to know the back story of how Ellen got involved, so that's how I got included. If only you had hours to hear the stories I've got to tell. I wrote a lot of them down, and I am on the fifth page at least. I think the best one of all is about Samson. Before I knew seeJesus materials, I told the story of Samson. I asked the kids to take notes.  At the end, all the note paper was blank except for one, and it said, "You can't make no ho into no housewife." One more came from a parent who couldn't figure out about Adam and Eve. She thought God made them blind, because after they sinned, God opened their eyes and they could see. So, that was my life for 10 years. I still see kids from time to time, and I still hear from many of them - some who have just gotten out of jail, etc., - who are now in their 20s. I absolutely loved it. And every time I would come home not having any idea if what I said was helpful or not. But the kids just needed to be loved, and they didn't care if I was an old white lady or not. I am headed out the door to visit one of "my" girls - who unfortunately is unmarried an pregnant and is due in April. And then on to a mom who just needs someone to talk to.

Lives are still being changed at Cono – camps, conferences, youth group, home school co-op, and Cono Christian School. Give now HERE    Designate for Ridge Haven Cono. Thanks to each one who has given!   Mailing address for checks written out to: RH Cono, 215 Ridge Haven Road, Brevard, NC 28712   THANK YOU!

Winter Newsletter

 

Hello from Ridge Haven! We are so grateful for the way the Lord provided as we finished up 2024. We hosted over 180 churches and ministries on campus throughout the year, exceeded our year-end donation match, and we got to end 2024 with one of our favorite traditions - Winter Camp! As we head into the Spring retreat season, we are excited for the ways God will use Ridge Haven to bless all of the guests we have here in 2025. WINTER HIGHLIGHTS Winter Camp - Brevard Winter Camp is one of our favorite times of the year! For a few days after Christmas, past staff members volunteer to help host a camp complete with fun camp games and activities, a New Year's Eve Barnes Dance, and a Polar Bear Plunge in Lake Morse.  Winter Camp - Cono We also hosted Winter Camp at our campus in Walker, IA. They wanted to keep the Polar Bear Plunge tradition that is done every year in Brevard going there as well, and since they do not have a lake or pool (yet... hoping to wrap up this project this spring!), they improvised as the second picture shows! Winter Retreats Each January and February, we host two long-weekend Winter Retreats for Youth Groups. We love the opportunity that these weekends give youth leaders to come and focus on discipleship with their students, while we take care of all games, food, and activities!  Staff Alumni Reunion We hosted our very first Staff Alumni Reunion in February and it was a wonderful time reconnecting with so many who have poured into this ministry over the years. It was a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness over the years, and a reminder of why we do this work! 2025 SUMMER CAMP Registration is now open for our 2025 camp season! Please join us in praying for our campers now even as they register that the Lord would prepare their hearts to draw closer to Him. If you are interested in joining us at camp, we would absolutely love to have you or your family join us! Sign up before April 1st to get an early bird discount! LEARN MORE 2025 SUMMER STAFF A big part of what makes Ridge Haven camps so memorable for summer campers and guests alike is the godly and dedicated summer staff members serving them. Do you know a high school or college student interested in joining this special team? We are now hiring CSI, Operations Staff, and Counselors for next summer, as well as year round intern positions that begin in May! Follow the link below to learn more about the positions we have available, or email ridgehaven@ridgehaven.org with any questions.  LEARN MORE PRAYER FOCUS Pray for the hearts and minds of our summer staff and that the Lord would be preparing them today for the labor He has called them to this summer. Also, please join us in praying for the safety of the thousands of campers that will come through Ridge Haven this summer and that by the Lord's mercy they would leave Ridge Haven with a greater knowledge of Christ than when they arrived.  Please also join us in praying for the beginning of our new capital campaign and that the Lord would give our board and leaders wisdom, discernment, and trust in His providence.

PARTNER WITH US Would you like to partner with us here at Ridge Haven? We always have opportunities for people to volunteer, donate, or support our ministry, and we would love to talk with you more about how to do that. Click the link below for more information about how to make an end of year donation, or email ridgehaven@ridgehaven.org for more ways that you can partner with us. Donate PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED ON YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION! If you are not on our official contact list or need to update your information, click here to fill out a brief form. Click HERE to visit our website and learn more about what's going on at Ridge Haven. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Website Facebook Instagram

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As 2024 Closes, Please Consider Cono

 

At year-end, please consider a gift to Cono. It's now close to 75 years that the light of the Gospel and the movement known as the Kingdom of God have been advanced on the Cono property. Please encourage the current leadership, teachers and staff with a gift.   If you have already given, THANK YOU!

Lives are still being changed at Cono – camps, conferences, youth group, home school co-op, and Cono Christian School. Give now HERE    Designate for Ridge Haven Cono. Thanks to each one who has given!   Mailing address for checks written out to: RH Cono, 215 Ridge Haven Road, Brevard, NC 28712   THANK YOU!