We had an amazing summer of ministry with over 1,200 youth attending summer camp.
A tremendous fall line-up of Retreats was well attended and the Lord really blessed.
We have 38 students this year in the School of Discipleship.
We had the opportunity to help scholarship 350 kids so they could attend summer camp because of the many generous individuals, churches, and organizations that helped make that possible.
We were blessed by a great summer team of staff and volunteers.
God provided full barns of hay despite a dry summer season.
The second Turret of the Fort has been completed and construction is beginning on our new playground.
We rejoice in the faithful service of our resident staff.
We praise God for His protection in health over the busy summer months.
We are so thankful for the many donors who help make the Ranch ministry possible.

Prayer

Please pray for the graduates from the School of Discipleship, Summer Staff, Volunteers, and Ranchers that made commitments this past summer, that their relationship with God would continue to deepen.
Pray for the current class in the School of Discipleship as they seek the Lord.
Please pray for winter retreats and traveling safety to many conferences and events.
Pray for wisdom as a ministry as we make plans in both facilities and programs to accommodate growing and changing needs.
Please pray that the resident staff would be encouraged in their service to the Lord and provision of their financial support as well as housing needs.
Please continue to pray for God’s provision for Ranch finances as we continue to focus on guest and resident staff housing.

Jesus came into the world to do his Father’s will, and he calls us to be about the Father’s work as well. Bible classes, riding and training, and work time all have a purpose beyond themselves, to equip us to spread the good news of the kingdom and build up the body of Christ. Pray for our students this year, and for us, that we will be mindful of what it is that we’ve been placed here by the Lord Jesus to do, and that we’ll do it with all the energy that he supplies (Colossians 1:29).

Jacob Roth married Sienna Sovereign on May 30th. Jacob serves on staff as our Assistant Program Director and they are both alumni of our School of Discipleship program. Sienna has been a blessing to join us on staff and volunteers in various departments. Their wedding was a fun reunion of alumni over the past few years.

Ian Henry Purdie arrived as our newest staff member on August 11th after a busy summer for the family. His parents, Teddy and Noelle Purdie were very excited for his safe delivery and he is joyfully embraced by his 3 older siblings, Hannah, Ruby, and Justin.

On September 14th, Josiah Gross, our Program Director, married Emily Cox, daughter of Matt and Jenni Cox. The Lord blessed the day with beautiful weather for the outdoor wedding in the grove of trees next to our Fort Wilderness location.

As a staff, many of our families are shifting housing units due to one unit being remodeled since the last family moved out, and another family moving off of the facility. Our staff families continue to grow in size so we need to make adjustments to meet their needs. We anticipate this winter helping to move a lot of furniture and do needed maintenance and upgrades on these units as they are discovered.

We have been planning and acquiring materials for the new play area. Funds are at 100%, so we will work on this project in late fall and spring, ensuring it is up and running for the 2026 season. Teddy Purdie and Josh Snyder are overseeing this project. Please let them know if you would like to volunteer to build with them this spring.

We are, once again, working on Fort Wilderness. We completed the outside of the second turret, and we are now working to complete the interior of the turret for use in the 2026 season. We plan to host a Father-Son retreat and other events at the Fort next year.

Other projects include: a new roof for the single-wide trailer, a kitchen renovation for the guys’ School of Discipleship dorm, finishing the Chunderleks’ house, field work, landscaping for staff homes, as well as some other projects, including working on the Settlers’ Bunkhouse.

The Settlers Bunkhouse is slated for added bathrooms to both units (adding to our list of growing units with bathrooms!) and a porch off the front facing town, like the rest of our bunkhouses. We are still working to convert all the units we can so that each one can have their own restroom. This makes them much more usable for retreats in the fall, winter, and spring. It also takes pressure off the central restroom during summer camp.
As you probably know, the ceiling in the Town Hall has needed resurfacing for some time now. We have decided to place a metal ceiling that has small holes, which will limit the sound echo in the room. This will mark the first phase of the gym’s update. Later, we plan to resurface the sides of the room as well.

It is a blessing that we have 60 years of history here at Miracle Mountain Ranch, but we are still striving to keep up with the maintenance and improvements so that we can continue to serve people well as we serve Christ well. Hospitality is a way to show love to all people who attend here for events, camps, retreats, and beyond. If you are interested in giving to a project or bringing a team to serve, please let us know! We couldn’t do it without you.

Because the Ranch’s School of Discipleship is made up of college age students, weddings throughout the year for our alumni are the norm. We recently celebrated the wedding of our daughter Emily to the Ranch’s program director, Josiah Gross.
It’s interesting that scripture begins and ends with a marriage. It starts with the beautiful union between Adam and Eve and concludes with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Marriage contains so many wonderful pictures of what it is to live a life in pursuit of Christ. It challenges us to sacrificial love, not a conditional one. It’s a daily reminder to lay down our life for another. It speaks to oneness, selflessness, communication, joy, and so much more.
Many young ladies dream of that day when they get to be a bride. They envision the setting, dress, and groom. But one of the most beautiful aspects of that moment is that they have been CHOSEN, set apart, picked out of many, to be the bride of this groom. In that moment, she is lavished with the promises of commitment, faithfulness, sacrifice, acceptance, and love. She is pursued and wanted by her groom. That’s the picture of Christ to His church, to us. We have been lovingly pursued, though not because of any great attribute of our own. We are loved, but not because we were lovely. In fact, we were disgustingly sinful. We are wanted, not because we are worthy, but because His love for us is boundless. We are a bride that brings nothing to the altar but ourselves, just as we are. It’s only because of HIM that we can be presented spotless, blameless, pure.

In Martin Luther’s 1520 essay called “On The Freedom of a Christian,” Luther teaches how we are saved by grace and faith, not by works. He also draws parallels between marriage and our union with Christ. He explains that if in marriage, two become one flesh, then it follows that all they have becomes theirs in common. In marriage, both bride and groom bring all their resources to bear. In our union with Christ, Luther states “Sin, death, and hell will belong to Christ, and grace, life, and salvation to the soul. For, in giving her His own body and Himself, how can He but give her all that is His? And, in taking to Himself the body of His wife, how can He but take to Himself all that is hers?”

In other words, this is the picture of “imputed righteousness.” We take on all that is good, lovely and wonderful that He brings to this union, and He takes on all the filth and sin that we bring. There is not a greater picture of love than this. He has NOTHING to gain from us and we have EVERYTHING to gain from him!

People use the word magical when it comes to weddings. I prefer the word miraculous. The Miracle of a wedding between a bride and groom is that God does what only God can do when he takes two and makes one. How much greater the Miracle of our Salvation in making us one with Christ! This is truly a Miracle we should celebrate each day.

Snow over Miracle Mountain Ranch

It is hard to believe it is time to launch this contest! Comment below your guess for when the first day of snow will be! This year, we are partnering with Happy Mug Coffee in Erie, PA, for a giveaway!

If you correctly guess the day, you will get:

MMR Hoodie, Two Pound Bag of Winter Grogg Coffee, and Coffee Mug

All guesses must be submitted by October 15th and posted as comments on this page.  If multiple correct guesses exist, one will be randomly selected from that group.

The Ranch staff will determine the official snow.  It must amount to a clearly noticeable amount of snow, but accumulation is not needed to count. If we have early snow, you must have made a guess 24 hours before the first snow.

School of Discipleship – for the work that God is doing in the students’ lives.
Summer Camp – registrations are looking like we’ll see a well attended camp with several camps filling up already.
Winter and Spring Retreats were well attended!
Mexico Mission Trip – continued opportunities for ministry.
For the many donors who make the ministry possible.
Resident staff – for their faithful service.

Please keep us in prayer for the following:

School of Discipleship – for wisdom going into the summer and for next year’s students.
Summer Camp – for safety, bunks to be filled, and hearts to be touched and changed.
Scholarships – for funds to be raised and kids to be reached.
Summer Staff – for a supply of young people willing to serve, particularly counselors.
Volunteers – for the many hands needed to make our summer run smoothly.
Retreats – attendees this spring and plans for the fall.
Resident Staff – health, financial support, and encouragement in the work.
Mexico Mission Trip – for safety and an impactful time.
Resident staff position needs – Financial Secretary and Housekeeper
Ongoing projects – For safety and funding for our Fort and playground projects as well as the Conklin home and bunkhouse renovations

Thank you!

It seems to me that this is simply the pattern of Christian life. Life, death, and new life is not just the course of the seasons, but reflects the turning of the heart of the man or woman in Christ as well. How not to be haughty when we feel spiritual vigor, and how not to fall into sin or despair when we are spiritually dry—these are lessons every Christian must learn. It’s good for our students to learn these lessons now, and to be served by them for the remainder of their lives and ministry. It’s good for some of us who are older, as well, to see as we walk with our students; they often impress upon us again the importance of lessons learned and forgotten.

There are only a few months left in the academic year, followed by the summer season where our students will take positions of leadership on our summer team. Please pray for our students as they complete their studies, that they will persevere. Pray also for us as we look ahead to the 2025-2026 year, and ask that the Lord will send us a full class!

Edmond James was born in October of 2024 to Daniel and Cherish Benedict. Daniel serves in our School of Discipleship. They are both alumni of our S.O.D. program. At the end of December, Rowan Jude was born to Chad and Miriam Martin. Chad works in our School of Discipleship as Student Coordinator and part time as Ranch Bookkeeper. He and Miriam are both alumni of the program.
Tobias Lee was born to Adam and Chelsea Marshall in January of 2025. Adam works in the Operations department and is also an alumni of our S.O.D.

It has been a joy to meet and watch these little ones grow over the past few months. Each of them was welcomed into a home with older siblings so they are getting lots of extra love from them as well! Their moms are all an active and integral part of our ministry, so it’s very common to see them around camp with a little one strapped on to them.

Some of our older staff kids are enjoying getting horseback riding lessons from the barn staff once a week. They also have the opportunity to learn vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) and do a demonstration for the public at Open House on Memorial Day. One of the boys is learning to weld alongside the students under the watchful eye of one of our teen operations staff. There is a pack of young boys who are becoming quite skilled in Pickleball and Corn Hole due to many opportunities to practice!

Growing up at camp is full of unique experiences, some hard, but always riddled with blessings and opportunities that might not otherwise be there. Many of our staff kids take on summer jobs around the Ranch as they get older. At first this may look like helping the lawn crew, doing meal prep or cleanup, restocking candy in the Buckboard store, or working in the Critter Corral. Many have become counselors, horsemanship instructors, programming assistants and even come on staff full time!