October Email Newsletter 2026

From the Camp Director:

We are making encouraging progress toward securing the Lilly Endowment Foundation’s $100,000 matching grant. Thanks to the generosity of friends like you, we have raised just over $41,000. Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us to help Hanging Rock remain strong and sustainable through the care of our facilities.

Hanging Rock can offer excellent summer camps and retreats, exciting activities such as the zipline and giant swing, and wonderful meals from our kitchen. But none of those experiences can continue without the infrastructure working behind the scenes.

Electrical systems, plumbing, roofs, concrete, septic systems, and water systems may not be the most visible parts of camp, but they are essential. I have personally seen what can happens when camps postpone this work. Two camps in Indiana were forced to close because their infrastructure needs became too extensive and costly to address.

We do not want that to happen to Hanging Rock. That is why our Board of Directors has placed infrastructure at the top of the priority list for our million-dollar matching initiative. This work may not be flashy, but it is vital if Hanging Rock is to serve families for the next 10, 20, or even 80 years.

We are investing not only for today, but for our children, our grandchildren, and all those who will come after us. Our goal is to raise the full $100,000 by the end of this year so we can begin addressing these critical, behind-the-scenes needs.

Your gift can make an even greater impact. A generous donor has offered to match up to $25,000 in contributions received by the end of December, including gifts made through our fundraising banquet. Will you help us reach this goal and protect the future of Hanging Rock?

Join us on December 5th as we bring in Rik Roberts for a night of Comedy Central at Hanging Rock Christian Camp. This fundraiser banquet will be filled with a night of laughter, great food, and fellowship. 

Rik Roberts is a comedian from Nashville, Tennessee. He provides 100% clean comedy. Rik accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord & Savior back in 2008. This is a performance for all ages. 

We will begin dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the new dining hall, where we will transition into an evening of laughter and encouragement from Rik at 7:00 p.m.

This year, our fundraiser will revolve around raising funds towards our $100,000 Lilly Endowment Match. We invite you to come enjoy a wonderful dinner, share in a night of laughter, and support this important opportunity to help continue growing the camp. 

*all times in Eastern Time

Very Exciting News! We have a donor willing to match up to $25,000 for this banquet. Let's make this happen. 

From the Program Director:

For the past several years, Hanging Rock’s back property has not received the same level of attention and investment as our main property. This past summer, we had only 59 campers participate in programming on the back property out of approximately 2,400 campers overall. According to Gary’s records, this is the lowest number we have seen since he began serving at Hanging Rock in 2008.

After much evaluation and discussion with our full-time staff, we have decided to make some changes moving forward. As Hanging Rock’s Program Director, I will now oversee all programming across both properties. I am excited about this opportunity and truly want to invest the gifts and abilities God has given me to help strengthen our programming, increase attendance and change the overall perception of our back property.

Hanging Rock is blessed with 208 beautiful acres, approximately 150 acres are on the wilderness side. Some of the most beautiful and unique areas of our camp are found on this property. I believe we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to be good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us.

My hope is that we can see the back property become a thriving part of the Hanging Rock experience once again. More importantly, I want to see us use this space to create opportunities for campers to encounter Christ, build meaningful relationships, and experience the beauty of God’s creation.

 

Projects & Work Needs

There are several projects that need to be completed across the property, including:

Hiking Trails: Clearing and maintaining trails throughout the property

Cabin Maintenance: A variety of repairs, improvements, and general maintenance at the cabins

Activity Builds: Constructing and improving different activities and recreational elements

Property Projects: Various other projects and improvements needed throughout camp

I will need your help to make this vision possible. Whether you have questions, ideas, experience you would like to share, or simply want to volunteer your time and talents, I would love to hear from you. If you are interested in getting involved or would like to learn more, please reach out via email at caitlinbaer@hangingrock.org.

In the next few weeks, we will start to see a lot of progress made in the waste treatment plant, generators and finishing the kitchen remodel by having a walk-in freezer that you can access from the inside. 

Stay connected through our Facebook page as we will be posting pictures and updates on that platform.  

From the AssociateDirector:

It’s hard to believe summer camp ended more than two months ago—it still feels like yesterday. Time certainly flies! Each year, I’m amazed by how much food it takes to feed all our campers, faculty, staff, and volunteers, and this summer was no exception. To put it in perspective, we served 34,149 meals—representing countless hours of preparation and hard work in the kitchen.

Our largest week was for a rental group of 250 high school boys and men. Because meals were self-serve, we prepared enough food for about 450 people that weekend. Of the 492 pizzas we made this summer, 75 were for that group alone—and they left only three slices! Altogether, they ate 597 slices of pizza.

Over the course of the summer, we made 3,936 slices of pizza. That’s a lot of crust, cheese, sauce, sausage, and pepperoni! We also went through 60 gallons of ranch dressing and 48 gallons of ketchup.

Campers, faculty, and staff drank 93 gallons of orange juice and 148 gallons of apple juice. They ate 780 pounds of salad, including more than 425 cucumbers. We used over 8,900 slices of cheese in eggs, macaroni and cheese, chicken sandwiches, and sloppy joes. We also baked 9,600 cookies—chocolate chip, sugar, and snickerdoodle.

And then there were the fan favorites: 110 cases—or 8,800 chicken tenders—and 10,800 slices of bacon cooked this summer!

A huge thank-you goes to our kitchen crew for their hard work and dedication, which made the kitchen a success again this past summer. We’re also deeply grateful to the volunteers who helped in the kitchen. We truly could not do it without you!