LifeWay Christian Resources has found a buyer for the Glorieta Conference Center dedicated to continue use of the 2,100-acre property near Santa Fe, N.M., as a Christian camp, the Southern Baptist Convention publisher announced.
A group of Christian businessmen and camping professionals funded and formed a new nonprofit corporation called Glorieta 2.0 to purchase the camp put up for sale two years ago after losing money 24 of the last 25 years.
Programming will be similar to Camp Eagle, a nondenominational Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country near Rocksprings, established in 1999.
“We are so thankful the Lord has brought together these dedicated believers who are already involved in a similar Christian camp,” LifeWay President and CEO Thom Rainer said in a news release.
“We have come to know their deep desire to build on the rich history of Glorieta and provide a path forward that will allow this marvelous facility to reach men and women, boys and girls for Christ.”
LifeWay will continue to hold youth conferences like Centrifuge and Student Life at the facility, while Glorieta 2.0 adds day camps, family camps, high-adventure wilderness programs, and church and individual camping options.
Last year, LifeWay offered to sell the camp started by Southern Baptists in 1952 for $1 to the Baptist Convention of New Mexico, but after study of deferred maintenance and other costs, the state’s Baptists failed to come up with a viable financial plan.
Then LifeWay withdrew last fall from a deal with a Christian college following an independent study of theological compatibility by the National Association of Evangelicals.
Jerry Rhyne, LifeWay vice president and chief financial officer, said the $1 purchase price excludes 140 acres across Interstate 25 and three acres and buildings formerly used by the now-disbanded Glorieta Baptist Church.
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—With reporting by Marty King of LifeWay Christian Resources.
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