Carolina Creek Christian Camp 
The information on this page was last updated 2/10/2025. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Carolina Creek Christian Camps provides a variety of sports, arts, and outdoor adventure in an exciting environment where youth and adults can experience and know the love of Jesus Christ.
Carolina Creek offers unparalleled experience for campers who have finished kindergarten to 12th grade.
With accommodations for up to 1,200, Carolina Creek can host retreats and conferences for large and small groups.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Carolina Creek Christian Camp
PO Box 989
Riverside, TX 77367
Website: carolinacreek.org
Phone: 936-261-8334
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 760555299
CEO/President: Lisa Olson
Chairman: J. Michael Jobe
Board size: 10
Founder:
Ruling year: 2004
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/31
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
Mission statement
Carolina Creek Christian Camps provides a variety of sports, arts, and outdoor adventure in an exciting environment where youth and adults can experience and know the love of Jesus Christ.
Statement of faith
We believe in one true God, eternally existent in three positions: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
God the Father " God has revealed himself as the eternal self-existent creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Him is perfect love, forgiveness, justice, and eternal life. (Gen 1:1, Exodus 3:14, Isaiah 43:10-11)
God the Son " Jesus Christ is God's only son. Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and lived a perfect sinless life. He performed many miracles, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and on the third day His physical body rose from the dead. Then He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. His present ministry is intercession on our behalf, and from there He will come to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end. (Colossians 1:15-22, I Thes 4:16, I Peter 3:18)
God the Holy Spirit " God works in the present and continues to minister through His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells, convicts, forgives, regenerates, cleanses and empowers the Christian believer for a life of holiness and useful service to God and humanity. (John 14:16, Rom 8:14, 16, Ephesians 1:13, Philippians 1:6, 2:13)
We believe both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible to be sacred scripture as God's infallible, authoritative, inerrant written word and revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit. (II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:19-21)
We believe that man was created in the image of God but was separated from God by sin. We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of mankind: He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. (Gen 1:27, Rom 3:23, 6:23, 8:23, Heb 9:27, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Rom 5:12)
We confess: by grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
D
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Camps/Conference Centers
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 48 of 1117 | 1 of 36 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 119 of 1118 | 6 of 37 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 322 of 1118 | 15 of 37 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 19 of 1117 | 1 of 36 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 7% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 1% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 34% | 36% | 36% | 28% | 63% | 32% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 3% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 66% | 64% | 64% | 72% | 37% | 68% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 83% | 84% | 87% | 83% | 82% | 80% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 93% | 96% | 111% | 110% | 123% | 111% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 75% | 81% | 97% | 91% | 101% | 89% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 7% | 4% | -11% | -10% | -23% | -11% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 4% | 4% | -10% | -6% | -9% | -6% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 14% | 15% | 13% | 17% | 18% | 20% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.44 | 0.61 | 0.62 | 0.51 | 0.37 | 0.45 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 4.36 | 46.63 | 72.52 | 13.79 | 41.04 | 16.22 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.65 | 28.36 | 45.11 | 7.02 | 15.39 | 7.32 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 5.57 | 0.24 | 0.11 | 1.01 | 0.27 | 1.25 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.18 | 4.13 | 8.79 | 0.99 | 3.65 | 0.80 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 5.46 | -1.32 | -2.07 | 0.02 | -2.07 | 0.33 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 9% | 31% | 34% | 23% | 22% | 22% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 20% | 21% | 16% | 13% | 16% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 196% | 114% | 106% | 150% | 208% | 174% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Cash | $152,206 | $84,081 | $923,569 | $262,161 | $872,827 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $211,607 | $151,462 | $112,786 | $99,056 | $95,123 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $10,240 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $363,813 | $235,543 | $1,036,355 | $361,217 | $978,190 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $16,005,389 | $16,412,686 | $12,623,756 | $14,228,807 | $14,886,388 |
| Other long-term assets | $594,398 | $433,900 | $627,487 | $236,058 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $16,599,787 | $16,846,586 | $13,251,243 | $14,464,865 | $14,886,388 |
| Total assets | $16,963,600 | $17,082,129 | $14,287,598 | $14,826,082 | $15,864,578 |
| Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $513,199 | $1,337,250 | $267,532 | $185,949 | $167,392 |
| Other current liabilities | $988,435 | $733,845 | $754,122 | $1,133,900 | $615,384 |
| Total current liabilities | $1,501,634 | $2,071,095 | $1,021,654 | $1,319,849 | $782,776 |
| Debt | $3,393,358 | $3,549,731 | $2,272,693 | $1,908,425 | $2,596,890 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $302,416 | $151,857 | $61,673 | $58,474 | $40,301 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $3,695,774 | $3,701,588 | $2,334,366 | $1,966,899 | $2,637,191 |
| Total liabilities | $5,197,408 | $5,772,683 | $3,356,020 | $3,286,748 | $3,419,967 |
| Net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Without donor restrictions | $8,794,102 | $11,114,132 | $9,991,189 | $11,120,066 | $11,632,961 |
| With donor restrictions | $2,972,090 | $195,314 | $940,389 | $419,268 | $811,650 |
| Net assets | $11,766,192 | $11,309,446 | $10,931,578 | $11,539,334 | $12,444,611 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Total contributions | $3,903,165 | $3,476,229 | $1,858,379 | $2,866,768 | $2,058,563 |
| Program service revenue | $6,585,780 | $5,868,299 | $4,247,070 | $844,715 | $3,833,208 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $69,107 | $14,580 | $239 | $107,923 | $13,655 |
| Other revenue | $218,049 | $183,035 | $536,072 | $704,221 | $516,405 |
| Total other revenue | $6,872,936 | $6,065,914 | $4,783,381 | $1,656,859 | $4,363,268 |
| Total revenue | $10,776,101 | $9,542,143 | $6,641,760 | $4,523,627 | $6,421,831 |
| Expenses | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Program services | $8,678,643 | $9,233,062 | $6,035,508 | $4,575,020 | $5,723,843 |
| Management and general | $1,581,792 | $1,356,356 | $1,213,331 | $974,876 | $1,417,751 |
| Fundraising | $58,920 | $35,889 | $31,134 | $7,627 | $17,880 |
| Total expenses | $10,319,355 | $10,625,307 | $7,279,973 | $5,557,523 | $7,159,474 |
| Change in net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $456,746 | ($1,083,164) | ($638,213) | ($1,033,896) | ($737,643) |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $456,746 | ($1,083,164) | ($638,213) | ($1,033,896) | ($737,643) |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Lisa M Olson | Executive Director | $124,769 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2023
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 2/10/2025. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
Carolina Creek Christian Camps was founded in 2002 by a group of men and women responding to God's call. The Carolina Creek vision was to meet a need in the Greater Houston area for residential summer youth camping, and offer a non-summer retreat facility for churches, youth organizations, civic organizations, and family reunions.
In 2002, according to the CCCA, Houston was the most underserved major metropolitan area in the United States for Christian camping. Therefore, this group responded to God, forming a Board of Directors and raising the funds to build a non-denominational, independent 501c(3) Christian camp. Their goal: to serve Greater Houston and southeast Texas initially, with the future goal of serving all of Texas and neighboring states, as well as the nation and overseas.
In April of 2002, Carolina Creek purchased 440 acres of heavily wooded property containing two miles of water frontage, located 90 miles northeast of downtown Houston and three hours south of Dallas. In 2003, the first residential camp, Lakeview, opened with 1,703 summer campers and 3,616 total campers for the year. By 2005, there were over 2,000 summer campers on the waiting list! In 2006, Carolina Creek opened its second camp, Creekside. From 2009-2011, both camps reached maximum capacity for summer campers (over 7,000 campers in 2011) and had a lengthy waiting list. Retreat season registration (non-summer campers) was also experiencing similar growth.
Therefore, in December 2010, after hours of prayer, meditation, and the study of God's Word, the Carolina Creek Board of Directors voted unanimously to once again step out in faith and follow God's vision and direction into uncharted waters. In addition to raising around $7 million to make the third camp a reality by June 2012, the Board acquired the consulting expertise of McNair Wilson, a former Walt Disney World Imagineering Creative Arts Director, to help them develop an incredible, interactive Christian camp experience specifically for children age kindergarten through fifth grade.
The third camp, The W!LD, allowed Carolina Creek to accomplish several goals: to meet the needs of an underserved population in the Christian camping arena (younger elementary), to reach young children with the gospel message of Jesus Christ as early as possible, and to create a more economical option for camper families (3 night/4 day sessions). In addition, the original goal of creating more space at Creekside for 6th-12th grade campers was met, alleviating the waiting list.
Since Carolina Creek was founded, one of the bedrock principles of the Board of Directors has been that 20% of all campers come from urban/inner city communities, attending camp for a nominal cost, with scholarships provided by Carolina Creek. Although approximately $200,000 is raised annually for urban campers, Carolina Creek awards over $400,000 in scholarships each year.
Whoever makes their way through Carolina Creek's gates, our mission has remained constant: to provide a variety of sports, arts, adventure, and activities in an exciting environment where youth and adults can experience and know the love of Jesus Christ.