The Wilds?

[Annie]

In another thread, tired wrote:

[quote]Our youth are down at camp this week also. Down at the Wilds in NC so be in prayer for them also.[/quote]

I was just wondering if anyone else's church sends their kids to the Wilds...or if anyone else had heard of the camp--like/dislike, etc.

[Guest Guest]

I have never been there but I have known a lot of people who have. Most everyone said it was a good camp that was quite conservative. Can't vouch for it personally but I have never heard anything that would lead me to believe otherwise.

[Annie]

Thanks for the response, Seth. Anyone else?

[Pastor Matt]

I have never been there, but my church used to go to camp there every year and they loved it. We stopped going because it was too far away from Connecticut.

[Bakershalfdozen]

My first exposure to The Wilds was when Mac and Beth Lynch came to the Bible college I was attending and did a Thanksgiving concert.

I've always wanted to visit The Wilds but haven't had the opportunity. The music that is produced there is some of the best!

[speerjp1]

I went to the Wilds a few summers as a teen, but our church quit letting us go there after the standards started dropping. For instance, the first year we went, the girls had to wear loose-fitting culottes cut below the knee for the activities, guys could only wear shorts while swimming, and girls weren't allowed to wear pants at all. Needless to say, that is not how it is now. http://www.wilds.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core:ShowItem&g2_itemId=2935&g2_page=2

We also had a problem with getting put into cabins with guys who were basically forced to be there. It happened every year, but one year in particular, I bunked with some particularly rough guys from a church in Philly. Every chance they got they broke rules and one of them stole the counselor's Scope mouthwash and got so drunk off of it he went outside and threw up. The same guys would go forward with the rest of the crowd every night and make "decisions" for the Lord.

The preaching and the food and activities were pretty good, though, and I always got spiritual help there.

After that we went to the Bill Rice Ranch which was way better in my opinion.

[HappyChristian]

I've never been there, and our church is too far away to travel there. But I've known many people who have, and we have one of the song books. Good music!

[Annie]

Thank you all for your comments. Most of them seem fairly positive.

[Annie]

I meant to follow up on this, but forgot...

After that we went to the Bill Rice Ranch which was way better in my opinion.

What did you like better about the Bill Rice Ranch? I've never been there, but I'd like to visit sometime. How long has it been since you've been at the Wilds?

[Pastorj]

I worked at the ranch one summer and have taken kids there. The Ranch philosophy is:
Controlled
Atmosphere (for the)
Ministry
Preaching

Positives
1. Preaching is excellent.
2. Atmosphere is excellent.
3. Standards are exellent.

Negative
The only negative I had was that the focus of most activities is team sports. When your team loses you are done and there aren't enough activities for you to be involved in.

As to the Wilds
They are also an excellent camp. There dress standards are much looser than the Ranch if that is an issue. Their philosophy is more of a counseling ministry than preaching (though they do have good preaching).

[Annie]

I worked at the ranch one summer and have taken kids there. The Ranch philosophy is:
Controlled
Atmosphere (for the)
Ministry
Preaching

Positives
1. Preaching is excellent.
2. Atmosphere is excellent.
3. Standards are exellent.

Sounds great!

Negative
The only negative I had was that the focus of most activities is team sports. When your team loses you are done and there aren't enough activities for you to be involved in.

That would be kind of a bummer.

As to the Wilds
They are also an excellent camp. There dress standards are much looser than the Ranch if that is an issue. Their philosophy is more of a counseling ministry than preaching (though they do have good preaching).

So, the main difference is that the Ranch asks the girls not to wear pants, right?

[Bakershalfdozen]

Our church used to go to the BRR when I was a kid. I can't speak for the ranch now but back then the preachers were mainly SOTL. I would say that is another difference between the two.

[Annie]

Our church used to go to the BRR when I was a kid. I can't speak for the ranch now but back then the preachers were mainly SOTL. I would say that is another difference between the two.

SOTL = Sword of the Lord, right? I didn't know that "SOTL" was an actual organization of people/preachers...I just thought it was a magazine/newsletter put out by John R. Rice. Shows how much I know...So, besides the Rices, who preaches (or preached) at BRR?

[Pastorj]

Well, the SOTL is actually just a newspaper. What is meant by SOTL Preachers, is that they choose preachers who would line themselves up with the SOTL doctrinally.

You can see this years preachers by going to http://www.billriceranch.org

[Annie]

Well, the SOTL is actually just a newspaper. What is meant by SOTL Preachers, is that they choose preachers who would line themselves up with the SOTL doctrinally.

You can see this years preachers by going to http://www.billriceranch.org

Thanks for the link...I recognized the names of Jim Schettler and Jeff Redlin. I've always enjoyed hearing Jim Schettler preach.

BRR also looks very affordable at around $200 per camper. (The Wilds is $275 a camper, I think.) But then, the Wilds seems to have a lot more activities than BRR.

I wonder how the daily schedules compare...like amount of services, etc. Anyone happen to know? (I'll try to look it up.)

EDIT: The Wilds has three general meetings (chapels, services) daily, as well as three daily scheduled times for cabins to have devotions and/or Bible discussions...IOW, six extended times each day when the campers are required to be in the Word. I couldn't find that info for BRR. But I did notice that BRR has a wonderful ministry to the deaf.