A note from Phil Berry

Posted by phil

Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Executive Director

Camp Ridgecrest and Camp Crestridge families,

My first summer at Camp Ridgecrest was when I was 9 years old, and I was terrified as I rolled up to the front gate. I didn’t know anyone except for my older brother. From my first interaction at Camp, I felt welcomed and taken care of. Through the greatest adventures, and most challenging times, God used Camp and the people here to mold my faith, my character, my sense of humor, and my drive for excellence in ministry.

I remember Ron my first summer at Camp in the 80s, man he seemed old in my 9-year-old eyes. He wasn’t that old, but he was wise, faithful, and committed to all of us. This is how Ron has led the Camps team for decades – with wisdom, faithfulness, and commitment.

When my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I responded, “I want to be Ron.” I don’t remember the exact words I used, but essentially that’s what I told her. I wanted to serve others in this life changing place. For the past 30 years, with a short break, I’ve had the privilege to learn how to serve and to lead here at the greatest place on earth.

As a husband to Amy and a fellow camp parent – I have two Crestridge teenagers myself – I want to thank you in advance for trusting me, and the rest of the Camp team, with your children. Their social, emotional, and spiritual growth and safety are what drive our schedules. We spend 9 months preparing for three months filled with your sons and daughters – along with all of their questions, opinions, fears, and excitement. We love them and we love getting to point them to Jesus, the most important person in their life.

We are about impacting lives for God’s glory through Discipleship and Adventure. It’s what we love and it’s what the Lord has asked us to do. Thanks for doing it with us! And thanks for trusting me in this new role as Executive Director of Ridgecrest Summer Camps.

Phil Berry
Executive Director
Ridgecrest Summer Camps


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Gladiator Night

Posted by phil

Once a summer, Ridgecrest travels back in time to 200 AD. During this classic camp-wide activity, Maximus and Sparticus recruit and train the campers to overthrow their Roman oppressors. Check this preview of how the game is introduced…


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A Pearl of Great Price or Broken Glass? – by Jeremy Barnes

Posted by sam

Imagine having the winning lottery ticket. The jackpot is worth over $100 million. Most of us would be beyond excited; we would be filled with joy.

Imagine this: instead of immediately cashing in your prize, you are gripped by fear. You think to yourself, “This is going to change my life. This is too great of a responsibility for me. Everyone in my life will treat me differently from now on.” You are cannot decide what to do. You go on living life and forget about your winning ticket. Eventually, the time to cash in your prize has passed.

Jesus tells a similar story in Matthew 13:44, but with a different outcome: One day a laborer is working in a field. As he is plowing through the field, he discovers a hidden treasure. A treasure that would change the direction of his life. He is so overcome by joy, that he can barely finish working; he cannot keep his mind off his discovery. He then goes and sells everything that he has so that he can buy that field and lay claim to this treasure.

Jesus reemphasizes this in the following verses:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

What is this Pearl of Great Price that Jesus is talking about? What is this treasure that causes someone to sell everything in order to obtain it? What causes the apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament and had plenty of reason to be proud of his accomplishments, to say “I consider everything a loss… I consider them garbage”?

Paul says this “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8) This is the Pearl of Great Price that Jesus is speaking of. Not just knowing about Him like you may know about Tom Brady or Lebron James. Paul knew plenty about God before he followed Christ. He now considers that all garbage in comparison to knowing the love that Jesus has for him. A love that he described as being beyond knowledge. In fact, Paul does not pray that we have the power to be better people, but instead prays that we have power to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

Jesus says to you and me: You are my friend (John 15:14). You do not just know about your friends. You live life with them. You go through seasons of life with them, through the good times and the bad times. You learn more about them as you live life with them. Friendships grow overtime.

This is the invitation Jesus has for all of us. I love that way Preston Morris describes living life with Jesus as an adventure ( Adventure at Home, by Preston Morris ). It is new and exciting every day.

One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning, describes the longing of Jesus to be your friend as “a furious love affair.” I believe we all have a desire deep within us that we try to satisfy. Instead of focusing our eyes on the Pearl of Great Price, we trade it for broken glass. We go through our life looking to fulfill this desire. Many things may give us temporary satisfaction and may even be good things, such as friends and sports. But Jesus did not come just so we can have a good life, but that we “may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Even pop culture resonates with this. In the movie The Greatest Showman, one of the songs echoes that the broken glass of this world cannot fulfill us: “Towers of gold are still too little, these hands could hold the world, but it’ll never be enough.”

Entering into the adventure of life with Jesus brings the good things of life to the fullness and can even transform the broken glass of our lives into silver and gold. Even with this knowledge, I know that I still so often trade the Pearl of Great Price for broken glass. One of my favorite parts about camp is when Phil Berry gives the charge to those who have achieved the rank of “Brave Pathfinder.” He explains that everyday we have the choice of two paths: to follow Jesus or to not.

This is not a just a charge to those who have reached this rank, but rather a reminder to both you and me that we make the choice each and every day to either sell everything for Jesus or to leave the treasure buried in the field.

Phil also reminds us about the gift that Jesus has given us. Even on the days when we decide to not live life with Jesus, there is Forgiveness and Grace. CS Lewis says it this way, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”

I challenge both you and I everyday to chase after the Pearl of Great Price. And what about when we are gripped by fear, experience hardship or failure, or chase after broken glass? What do we do? I challenge us to run back to Jesus. He awaits us with open, loving arms (Luke 15:11-24).

The Pearl of Great Price or Broken Glass,

Jeremy Barnes
Equipped Equinox


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“When God Doesn’t Talk Back” by Adam Davis

Posted by sam

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t feel like God’s close to me right now.

“But you’ve got the Holy Spirit in you, God’s always close to you!”
“You’ve been a Christian for like, 15 years, what do you mean?!”

I know. And yet, when I cry out to God, when I ask Him to make something happen, it sometimes feels like I’m talking to a brick wall.

Surely I’m not the only person who’s ever felt like this. Whether it’s a specific sin, apathy towards your faith, or nothing at all that’s separating you from Jesus, surely you understand what this is like. When I look to scripture, I’m quickly reminded that I’m not alone. I’m reminded of David: Psalmist, King, and giant-slayer. Although David was “a man after God’s own heart,” in the book of Psalms we sometimes see him as helpless; crying out to The Lord, begging God to make His presence known.

Psalms 13:1 says, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” We can’t be sure exactly what it is David is so salty about, however, it’s obvious that he’s using an honest and challenging tone when questioning God. If you’re ever ashamed of not being able to feel God close to you, or too prideful to deal with your feelings of sorrow and loneliness, then see David, and realize this is a relatively normal feeling.

Should we be content with these feelings of being far from God? No.
Should we strive to hear God speak in our lives? Absolutely.

Still, know that you’re not the only Christian who feels distant from God. In the rest of Psalms 13, David changes his tone. He says this in verses 5-6, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Like David, cast away your pride and hand over these feelings to the Savior. You’ll be met by a sweet, Heavenly Father who has “dealt bountifully” with you.

Bountifully indeed.

God has given us salvation through His son Jesus, by which a “steadfast love” is beautifully bestowed upon us. Allow the cross where Jesus died to be a constant reminder that God LOVES YOU AND WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT YOU. Temporary distance from God doesn’t mean you’re not a real Christian. Don’t let feelings of silence, pain, and guilt keep you from focusing on God’s perfect gift in Jesus, the Christ who ultimately delivers us from all feelings of loneliness and despair.

So know you’re not alone.
1. Don’t be afraid of these feelings of distance from God. Discuss them with someone from church, or a counselor or friend from camp.
2. Be reminded of and “fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.” What you’re going through isn’t forever, for we are “citizens of Heaven” and will one day be united with Jesus for eternity.

I’ll leave you with the warming words of Jesus in Matthew 11:30, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Much love,
Vernal Snow Wolf


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“Windows or Mirrors?” by Josh Tillery

Posted by sam

What does Camp Ridgecrest mean to you? What has it taught you about pursuing a life with Jesus?

I want you to think about the story of the good Samaritan. A Jewish man is robbed, beaten, and left to die on the road. He is ignored by two respectable people of the community – the equivalent of a pastor and a lawyer. Who ends up helping this man? A Samaritan! What’s significant about that? Samaritans and Jews didn’t interact. Jews normally looked down on Samaritans. It’d be like Darth Vader and a Jedi hanging out – it doesn’t happen! So why would  the Samaritan help him before a preacher or a lawyer? Because it had nothing to do with his place in society, but everything to do with the focus of his heart.

Is your heart focused on seeing the world through mirrors or windows?

When we look at mirrors, all we see is ourselves. We make all of our decisions based on how good it makes us look. How do I get more Instagram followers? Do I seem smart to others at school? Can everyone see how good I am at sports? How does my hair look? Looking through mirror to make decisions focuses us on what is beneficial for us and nothing else. We tend to focus on building ourselves up and putting others down. Maybe that shows through how we talk about them. Maybe it’s through our inability to make sacrifices of our time, money, efforts, or comfortability. All of this is a result of us looking through a mirror to see what is best for us.

What if each of us  focused on looking through windows as we went throughout our day? Imagine a world that daily lived in a way that mimicked Philippians 2:3 – “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” What is it  like to live through window-looking decision making? THAT! That’s what it looks like. Counting others more significant than ourselves.  

C.S. Lewis writes, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less… A real humble man will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

This is the goal. When we are able to get to a point in our lives where we are thinking of ourselves less, that’s when we begin to experience real life. When we are able to see the world through a window, not a mirror, we begin to count others more significant than ourselves. And when we can focus our hearts in this way, that’s when we really begin to live a life that mimics the example of a sacrifice that Jesus outlined while he was here on earth.

That’s what Camp Ridgecrest has taught me. I see sacrifice, I see people counting others more significant than themselves. I see people mimicking the life of Jesus. I see people focusing on windows, not mirrors.

Your brother in Christ,
Proclaiming Tuzi


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“Do Hard Things” by Garrett Prewett

Posted by sam

Do Hard Things.

Atychiphobia: The fear of failure. More specifically, a fear of failure that we allow to stop us from doing things to move us forward towards our goals.

We love to portray ourselves as successful, we enjoy doing what we are good at, we often avoid what we are bad at. That’s human nature in many of us, its easy and fulfilling to simply do what is easy and can make us feel good or look good. For some, myself included, that was sports. I needed identity, everyone does, so I simply made it what I was successful in. I became sports. On the outside, I worked hard to get better at soccer, to get stronger in wrestling. It appeared like I was “doing hard things” and where yes, I was working hard I was not doing hard things. I was staying in my comfort zone because I was too scared of people finding out that I could fail. If I did not succeed in sports then what did I have left? If I stepped out of my comfort zone and things didn’t go well then I thought I would lose my successful. I saw failure as final. However, my identity was never designed to be created by me. I was never destined to be defined by my success or failures.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10, ESV

I was created for more. More than a life of wondering if my success would outweigh my failure, more than an identity of just myself. I was created for the glory of God. The chains slowly start to fall the more you press into the Lord for your identity, the more you look to him for direction the more free you are to be who he created. You are not limited to your comfort zone of small successes and more importantly how can there be fear of failure? If you are scared of letting God down you need to stop thinking that you are holding him up.

Camp Ridgecrest has helped me learn that lesson more than anywhere else on earth. I truly felt like every year God has answered my prayer of giving me hills to climb and the strength to climb them. Failure has become part of the journey to being who I was designed to be. When I step outside my comfort zone, it doesn’t always go well, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I had the courage to do it, with the knowledge that I have an all powerful God at my back.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse to have never tried to succeed”
-Teddy Roosevelt

Do Hard Things.

Garrett Prewett
Chief Igniting Pitch


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“Adventure at Home” by Preston Morris

Posted by sam

I love camp’s mission: Impacting Lives for God’s glory through discipleship and adventure. It is incredible to think about that idea being lived out summer to summer, for almost one hundred years- the Lord has built up men through generations at Camp Ridgecrest. 2017 was no different. Serving the mighty Arapaho tribe stands as one of the most impactful experiences of my life. Yes, we boogied through spicy hoedowns, acted like dads, and celebrated Bob Ross. More importantly, campers asked their counselors about what being a man of God looks like. Young men stepped forward and gave their lives to Jesus in front of their camp family. We formed and solidified brotherly relationships that will last us more than a lifetime.

This summer, I heard so many campers express something along the lines of, “Man, I wish the real world was like camp.” They talked about how much easier it would be to thrive at home if they had a community of men, and more spaces for Jesus like those we so joyfully embrace at Ridgecrest. I want to challenge that thinking. I think that camp is the real world. Living in community, having spaces for Jesus, challenging each other and ourselves daily- that is what we have been called to in Christ. So instead of saying, “I wish the real world was like camp,” I think we should be saying, “Hey, let’s make my home world more like Camp Ridgecrest.” I deeply believe that discipleship and adventure can happen every day at home, but you have to fight for it! Many of us have experienced life change at camp, so let’s take that to our friends. Why not take a hike with some school friends and ask them what they think about Jesus? Why not start playing two square in your neighborhood and using your time in line to build brotherly relationships with your neighbors? Why not organize your own Battle for Middle Earth in your cul-de-sac, and have mom grab some popsicles to top off the night?

Right now I live in Texas, but I am traveling to college campuses all across the country to equip men to be strong followers of Jesus on their campus. In a lot of these interactions, I bring up camp – I explain how Ridgecrest models discipleship and adventure, and I encourage men to seek those things in their lives on campus. In a sense, I am bringing the camp world, the real world, to the culture of college campuses. I encourage you to act similarly. This is what men do. Instead of only taking from experiences, we grow up, and we give or lead into the experiences of others. So, brother, if you are missing quiet time at camp, wake up early and make that space for yourself. If you miss the devotions from your cabin, see if your church has small groups, and plug into that community. If you miss your counselors or your TL, find an older guy in your community who you know is following Jesus, and ask him to invest in your life. All of these great things we love about camp feed something deeper within us: adventure. John Eldridge says, “Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man.” That longing you have for adventure, the longing that is fulfilled every time you come to Ridgecrest, North Carolina, seeks to be fed right where you are. Feed it.

L.O.L. – Lots of Love,
Chief Esteemed Grizzly


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“Change” by John Mark Oliver

Posted by sam

Change is a natural part for all of our lives. It can happen in the smallest of ways, like a simple switching of what class you are in at school. It can also be huge, like parents splitting up or losing a family member because of death. Change is something that we should expect in life. Sometimes change is even something that we can control! You may be trying to decide where to go to college. Or asking yourself, “Should I stay or quit this sport or school club?”. That type of change is in your hands.

Many people find themselves in these situations asking what the “will” of God is. In this setting, people mean “what does God want me to do?”. This can often be tough for all Christians. People who have followed Jesus for 60 days or 60 years often struggle with what the plan of the Lord is in their lives and how should they respond. Are we supposed to wait around and listen for a voice from Heaven? Do we open up the Bible randomly and pick a verse and see what it says? We are often confused and looking for solid answers. Sometimes, God really can speak to us in a miraculous way. Some people have really heard a voice tell them what to do. But more often than not, the Lord speaks to us through more subtle ways.

Micah 6:8 says this: “He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?”
(Read more here)

This verse right here answers a lot of questions for us. We may have about what the will of God is for us. Whether we are just responding to a surprise that happens in life or being asked to make a big decision on our own, the Lord speaks to us through the Bible. Words that He has already told other people and that we can apply to our lives now.

In the decisions you’re making and how you respond to things, are you treating others fairly? Are you loving the people around you? Are you being humble in all of it? These are all things that the Lord REQUIRES of us no matter what situation you are in. So a good thing to think about is whether whatever we decide to do or how we respond to a situation, will it allow us to do these things that this verse talks about?

Peace and blessings from Chief Silly Billy Goat!


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“Community” by Coulter Pierce

Posted by sam

Most of my closest friends come from Camp Ridgecrest.  Some of these guys I met way back in Apache and others I’ve met this last summer while I was Mohican Tribal Leader.  Needless to say, since I was 8 years old, camp would bring a flood of people into my life that I will always look up to and want to be.  The problem with this was when each summer would come to an end, I would head back to Asheville and my friends would go back to Florida, to Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, etc.  

As a camper this was very difficult for me. I would spend 2 weeks with these brothers of mine going on adventures, hanging out, and experiencing this beautiful world God has created for us, and suddenly that time would come to a close and I would sink into that “post-camp slump”.  Now, this slump would be different for me each year; sometimes it would last a couple days others a few weeks and in some cases a month or two.  I would always replay the camp video and try to relive my time there but it would just never be the same.  For a while I could never put a finger on what I missed most: was it the blob? Chicken tender Tuesday? Four square with Ron? I could never figure it out.  It took me until after my second year in Sioux for me to realize what I would really miss the most: the dudes.  

As a young kid I never had a cell phone. I didn’t have email or anything to keep up with the friends I would make that summer and months after camp had ended I found myself growing further apart from them again.  For me, the main problem with this was that back home I didn’t have friends like these. I could never find guys I looked up to, who would want to go on great adventures with me and who would want to talk about our relationship with Jesus together.  Don’t get me wrong, I had friends for sure, but there was one thing holding us back from having a deep friendship like the ones I found at camp and that was our faith was different.  Many times those friends back home did not share the same faith with me, they didn’t want to maintain a relationship with Jesus so they would never want to talk about real life things.  

Each summer my relationship with the Lord would grow so much deeper and I would leave camp a changed man but would sadly have to return to those same friends back home that I couldn’t grow with.  A mentor of mine showed me a verse in Hebrews that says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  For the longest time, I never really had this type of community, one which pushes each other and encourages each other to be real men of God.  I knew I wanted it so badly but sometimes felt trapped where I was and who I was with, until my sophomore year of high school when my youth pastor took me and three other guys from my church out to eat for the first time.  

What started as an occasional meeting turned into a weekly thing, every Wednesday night, no matter what, we would meet up and hang out.  These Wednesday meetings were times for us to live out the verse in Hebrews where we could “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and grow together in our relationship with the Lord.  Suddenly, after we started meeting on a regular bases I found the same bond in these new friends that I had with my camp friends.  I had these friends back home with me now and one of them (Tate Wynne) even came back to camp with me.  I cannot explain how great of an impact these guys have had on me and my walk with the Lord ever since we started meeting back sophomore year of high school and will forever be thankful for them.  

Here’s my question to you though: do you have this type of community back home? Do you have other guys in your life that who you can talk to and “spur on towards love and good deeds” and who can do the same to you?  God created us to live in community, and not just live together and hang out together, but to really push each other like the verse in Hebrews talks about.  I would encourage you as you continue to grow in your walk with the Lord, and as your time at camp comes and goes, to go back home and search hard for this type of friendship.  The ones that don’t make bad decisions, the ones that are usually doing the right thing, the ones who are looking to grow in their relationship with God.  

Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”.  God created community like this so that we might grow and glorify him. It is such an awesome thing when we find these type of friends.  Like I said earlier, it took me a long time to finally find those guys who could “spur me on…” but when I did, I held on tight to them, and will forever be grateful I did.

Coulter Pierce
LC Comical Colt


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Retro Friday – LC Tapouts 1984

Posted by phil

Check out this picture taken just 1 minute before the beginning of the Little Chief test in 1984. Do you recognize anyone? One still works for Ridgecrest Summer Camps. One works for Ridgecrest Conference Center. While the third is a very involved Camp parent and alumnus. List your guesses in the comments below…


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