Frontier Ranch Fall 2021 Update

Dear Friends,

Once again, we are so grateful for your partnership with us here at Frontier Ranch. You’re financial and prayer support make a real difference in the ministry efforts of Young Life.

It really goes without saying that we have all been impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic in some way or another. Young Life has been no exception. With the inability for many areas to conduct direct ministry and the requirement to shut down our camps in the summer of 2020, our Mission has seen a significant decline in summer camper attendance. While we had a fruitful summer of ministry in 2021, our overall camp attendance numbers were down by approximately 30,000 people.

As a part of right-sizing our camping supply, we have made the hard decision to “hibernate” operations at Frontier Ranch and Saranac Lake through fiscal year 2023, at a minimum. Please note that we are not “closing” Frontier. We are temporarily ramping down operations until the camping demand returns. Hibernation will also allow us a season to apply needed infrastructure updates, which can only be done well while guests are not at camp. This will equip Frontier to serve future generations of campers and leaders with health, safety, efficiency, and excellence. In the coming months, Camping and Development teams will partner to scope and estimate needed projects.

A small team of Camp Staff will operate Frontier during the hibernation phase with Kyle Young serving as Operations Manager. He is transferring from Trail West Lodge with a rich and long Young Life history, both in Colorado and our camps in the Eastern Division. Kyle will serve alongside longtime Sites and Facilities team members Ernie Trusty and Joe Stith. The upper camp adult guest lodge facilities will be available throughout hibernation to small group retreats and meetings.

Other Young Life camps will continue to offer summer weeks on a scale that maximizes our ministry strategy and supports growth while also valuing operational efficiency and the healthy stewardship of our ministry resources and staff. We will be ready to welcome every kid who wants to come to camp with their leader next summer.

We certainly understand if you desire to move any financial support elsewhere in the Kingdom, but we also want you to know that any investment you make in Frontier Ranch will help us accomplish our goals of addressing capital project needs and being ready to return to operations when needed. Please opt-in below to receive ongoing updates.

Thanks for standing with Young Life for the sake of the Gospel and kids!

Sincerely,

Brett Wingo Divisional Camping Coordinator

Updated October 19, 2021