New Life Ranch has doubled its capacity to serve campers and visitors by purchasing Dry Gulch USA from Church on the Move in Tulsa.

New Life Ranch, founded in 1958 by the late Rev. Willard and Ruth Heck, has 1,000 acres near Colcord, Oklahoma. Despite recent improvement and expansion, the Christian camp has been limited in the number of campers it could serve.

Two years of talks with Church on the Move ended with the sale on August 22. New Life Ranch raised the purchase price through some major donations and, as is its history, incurred no debt.

Dry Gulch, a 230-acre camp on Lake Hudson near Adair, will become New Life Ranch Frontier Cove – home for junior campers (2nd-6th grades) and the original site will be New Life Ranch Flint Valley – home for senior campers (7th-12th grades).

The camps are accepting registrations for the 2019 summer camp season and for retreats throughout the year. Because the 70 buildings at Dry Gulch U.S.A. were so well maintained, New Life Ranch will host retreats there this fall.

“We are praising God for his faithfulness as our ministry grows and we work to continue to fulfill our mission of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and equipping believers for ministry,” said New Life Ranch director Tom Graney. “As we continue to grow, we are dedicated to remaining true to that mission. We are one camp, two sites, one mission.”

Dry Gulch, U.S.A. was founded by Willie George in 1986 as a summer camp and retreat facility as well as an Old West movie set for The Gospel Bill Show. For more than 30 years, it has been recognized for the Christmas Train attraction that was staged each December and attended by more than 50,000 guests from the broader 5 state area. In recent years, Church on the Move, together with Pastor Willie George, determined to liquidate Dry Gulch and redeploy focus and funds toward the expansion of the local church.

“We are thrilled that New Life Ranch is building on the foundation of the ministry that my dad started so many years ago,” said Whit George, lead pastor of Church on the Move. “They really have a vision to impact campers for generations to come, and we love that. It’s such a win-win for both ministries because we both get to focus on what we do best: New Life Ranch with their camp programs and Church on the Move with our local churches.”

In addition to the sale of Dry Gulch, Church on the Move is preparing to sell the Christmas Train to a group in another state.

“To all of you who have served over the years to build Dry Gulch and Christmas Train. We want to say thank you, thank you so much. It’s amazing that both of these ministries are going to continue beyond what we have built together,” said Willie George, founder of Church on the Move and Dry Gulch.

New Life Ranch is a Christian camp that serves Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas and the surrounding five states. The Ranch has more than 4,000 campers during the summer and 16,000 guests including retreats.

“We are overflowing with thankfulness toward Hobby Lobby, The Jasco Giving Hope Foundation, and 2 other families for their gifts,” Graney said. “It has been an absolutely incredible journey over these past couple of years. As we have sought the Lord’s leading, He has made our path clear. It hasn’t always been easy, but He has abundantly met our needs, as we’ve tried to be faithful to follow. To have 4 different families meet this financial need is incredible. We are so thankful to gain some much needed capacity, to be able to accomplish our mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and equipping believers for ministry, in the lives of more people. We are thrilled to build on the legacy of Dry Gulch being a property that has a ministry focus on making a difference in the lives of kids and adults.”