News / Education
LifeWay Ridgecrest dedicates new convention center
Five year developement plan completed
"It’s been like a new beginning for Ridgecrest," said Bill Bowman, director of Ridgecrest. "We feel this re-energizes the vision Dr. B.W. Spilman laid out 102 years ago for a Baptist camp and retreat area. The mission has never changed, which is to have a place set aside and dedicated to the Lord where people can come and encounter Him. Johnson Spring will help us continue accomplishing that mission."
Johnson Spring is a 46,250-square-foot facility with meeting space that can be divided to create from five-24 meeting rooms and can accommodate between 25 and 800 guests. It is named in remembrance of William Johnson, the 10-year-old boy who discovered a fresh water spring at the location in the early 1920s. A small pond still exists adjacent to the building.
The completion of Johnson Spring is the capstone to a Ridgecrest revitalization process that began in 2000 with LifeWay trustee approval. Renovation of several classroom areas began in 2001. The first new construction began in 2002 and included the completion of the Rutland Prayer Chapel and the 120-guestroom Mountain Laurel Inn. In 2004, LifeWay trustees agreed to a construction plan to significantly upgrade Ridgecrest’s facilities with the addition of the auditorium recreation center (2006), Mountain Laurel West (2007) and Johnson Spring Convention Center. In the past 10 years, 18 old buildings have been torn down and several others renovated.
The construction has financially helped the ministry of Ridgecrest. The facility saw a downward trend throughout the 90s in the number of people attending events. However, incremental growth has occurred during the past few years with more than 60,000 guests (40,000 adults) coming for training events or retreats.
"We’ve had a number of larger groups tell us over the years that if we were able to build a convention-type facility they’d gladly come because they love the setting here at Ridgecrest," Bowman said. "Now that it is finished we’ve already had several of those [groups] talk to us about scheduling an event here."
Bowman said it is the commitment to the original vision of having a place to encounter God that he believes is the reason Ridgecrest continues to have a vital ministry.
"We receive letters all the time telling us about someone who came to faith in Jesus Christ here," he said. "Or someone who was called into ministry, or a marriage that was saved at one of our marriage retreats. Whatever the case may be, we believe God uses this place to His glory."
That is a sentiment echoed by LifeWay President and CEO Dr. Thom S. Rainer. Rainer, in his remarks to the more than 200 guests attending the dedication luncheon, likened Ridgecrest to the nation of Israel entering the Promised Land (Joshua 1). God directed them to build a 12-stone memorial.
"God was calling them not just to a place but also to a memory," Rainer said. "The memory was not just to all that God had done on their behalf, but to remember how God demonstrated His glory.
"[LifeWay’s leadership] hears about the lives that are changed here, the personal and spiritual transformation that has taken place here, but we want this to be more than just a place where memories are made. Above all, my prayer is that we’d remember Ridgecrest as a place where God’s glory was demonstrated. Buildings come and go. We want you to come because God’s glory is being demonstrated here. I’m grateful for a God who has allowed it all to happen."
Visit http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0%2C1701%2CM%25253D201126%2C00.html for more information on Ridgecrest and upcoming events.
