One of my favorite parts of my job at Glorieta is hearing the stories of those who have come before me. God has been touching lives in this place for a long, long time, and Glorieta’s story is a testament to His faithfulness.
We believe that God is present in every place and season of our lives, and there’s nothing inherently special about this property apart from Him. However, there is something about the intentionality of retreating to the mountains that opens us up to connect with God in a special way. He has met me in the glory of a sunset viewed from Lookout Point, in the many voices singing His praise in Holcomb Auditorium, in tears in the bathroom stall in the Dining Hall, and quiet moments among the trees.
Understanding that my story at Glorieta comes after thousands of others just like it has helped me grow in appreciation for the history of Glorieta Camps. Let’s take a walk down memory lane together.
A Legacy Rooted in Faith
The Glorieta Adventure Camps property has a rich history that began in 1949. The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, later known as Lifeway Christian Resources, selected this site to develop a Baptist Assembly for the Western US.
For nearly six decades, Glorieta Baptist Conference Center was a training epicenter. It equipped generations of believers to further the gospel in their local churches, communities, and around the world. Over 75,000 calls to ministry and international missions were answered at Glorieta, and those people went out to share the gospel with their communities and to the ends of the earth. Every summer was full of training opportunities for all kinds of ministry, including Sunday school training, collegiate ministry, and Music Week. I can only imagine what it must have been like to stand in a room filled with hundreds of voices learning songs to bring back to their congregations.
In Glorieta’s prime, upwards of 60,000 guests attended annually. Generations of believers served faithfully at Glorieta and made sacrificial investments to steward the property as God led them. As attendance began to decline in the early 2000s, financial viability became a growing concern, especially with aging camp facilities that needed many repairs and the decreased use of a centralized training facility. Lifeway started looking for new owners.
Continuing the Mission
In 2013, Eagle Adventure Camps purchased this extraordinary property. From there, they established Glorieta 2.0, with the mission to change lives through outdoor adventure. Glorieta Adventure Camps is dedicated to engaging youth, families, ministry staff, and surrounding local communities with the glory of God’s creation. With our four programs (Conferences, Day Camp, Family Camp, and Retreats), Glorieta offers a Christ-centered camp experience to guests of all ages, focusing on youth and families. To meet the current needs of the culture, the look of ministry at Glorieta may have changed — but the mission to share the love of Christ with people in this place has remained.
I first learned about Glorieta in the spring of 2017. Following an epic road trip out west with friends, I found myself researching summer camps in New Mexico from a bench on my college campus. God has always used camp in a special way in my life, and I felt particularly drawn to the stark beauty of the desert and mountains I had seen in New Mexico. When I read the mission statement on Glorieta’s website, I was all in.
God used that first summer at Glorieta to reveal Himself to me in a new way. I was grown and challenged by serving my campers physically and spiritually. I was encouraged and edified by my brothers and sisters in Christ serving alongside me. I was constantly in awe of God’s hand at work.
That was only the start of my involvement with the ministry at Glorieta. I have seen God at work here through many different seasons and capacities. Whatever the future holds, I know that how God showed up for me at Glorieta will always be part of my story.
Today, Glorieta Adventure Camps continues building on the rich legacy of ministry that started here over 75 years ago. We are now working to steward this property and repair aging infrastructure needs to ensure that ministry continues here for many years to come. We pray Glorieta is a place God uses to change the world through outdoor adventure, authentic relationships, and biblical truth.
What is your Glorieta story? What do you remember about your time here? Help us keep the legacy alive by sharing your story with us in the comments!
