Who
We Are
Deer Run is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian retreat center located 35
miles south of Nashville, easily accessible to churches, schools, universities,
community leadership organizations, counseling ministries (including addiction
groups), at-risk youth programs, and Boy and Girl Scout troops. Deer Run
is strategically located within four hours of nine major metropolitan
areas.
Deer Run partners with churches, groups, and organizations to provide
a private location for them to accomplish some of the goals of their ministry
or organization. Deer Run staff is flexible to coordinate with the group
leader
to customize the retreat to meet specific goals with maximum impact.
Deer
Run is a member of CCCA
(Christian Camp and Conference Association /
www.cciusa.org).
Mission
Statement
To lead people into an intimate, more passionate relationship with Jesus
Christ by providing a place of natural beauty and leadership resources
to help them connect with God and others.
Vision
Statements
To provide a quiet, natural setting for individuals, couples, families,
and groups to experience spiritual renewal, refuge, healing, learning,
restoration, inspiration, vision, adventure, and hope.
To provide a place where people encounter God and . . .
- take time to rest and be refreshed from the normal pace and demands of life.
- experience the peaceful beauty of God’s creation and focus on knowing God better and loving Him more.
- renew their passion about their relationship with Christ including understanding how He has specifically gifted them to serve Him and others.
- intervention can take place for individuals dealing with debilitating behaviors and addictions.
- relationships are formed, strengthened, and/or reconnected through challenging outdoor adventures.
To encourage people to exemplify their passion for Christ in their family life, their local church, their schools, and their career to lead others into a personal relationship with Christ and to disciple and encourage other believers.
President/Executive
Director: David Gibson
Communications & Design: Liz Gibson
David and Liz Gibson were born and raised in middle Tennessee and love the culture, landscape, and outdoor activities in this area. They met at Columbia Central High School and married two years after graduation. After years of being on a road to achieve success in their careers, David and Liz felt called by God to do something more significant with their time, finances, and gifts. In 1996 God led David to this specific piece of property in Williamson County, which had been sitting untouched for 17 years, and gave him a vision, both powerful and humbling, of the ministry He wanted David to build. God immediately confirmed in Liz that this was the place to begin the ministry, and within two months they had sold their dream home in downtown Franklin and had begun to clear the land on weekends.
David soon sold his formal wear business and now owns a construction business building custom homes and doing remodeling and additions. Liz, who was an employee of LifeWay Christian Resources for 13 years, began working as a self-employed freelance graphic designer just 18 months prior to purchasing the property for Deer Run. She homeschooled their three daughters (Annie, April, and Allyson) through their high school years. David and Liz have three grandsons: Tristen, Isaac, and Ezra.
"We
are passionate about sharing Christ and His love through this ministry
and serving others by living out the Scripture which is Deer Run’s
vision: ’As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants
for you, O God’ (Psalm 42:1)".
Director of Camps & Recreation: Fred Reyes
Fred Reyes grew up in south Texas and over the last 20 years has served as Youth and Recreation Minister for several churches in Texas and Tennessee. For nearly 15 years Fred served in various ministry positions at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennessee. Fred developed a love for camp ministry through children and youth camps he attended, and later he served on staff for these camps. Fred is married to Sharon and they have been blessed with three wonderful children who Sharon home schools: Ahnna, Caleb and Seth.
David & Liz Gibson
Kurt & Teresa Beasley
Bill & Noni Butler
Harmon & Jennifer Jones
Mickey & Barbara Robinson
Jeff & Wende Sheets
Larry & Kate Watkins
Jimmy & Angie Williams
Community
Impact
Mission teams from local churches come
to Deer Run to do team-building on the challenge ropes course. They learn
to communicate better, to accomplish a task together, and to maximize
their ministry by discovering the specific skills/gifts of each team member
including who has strong leadership skills in their group. Unity is developed.
With encouragement from the group, an individual may overcome a personal
fear. This experience better prepares teams for their mission trip. Besides
local churches, The Shalom Foundation (www.theshalomfoundation.org)
located in Brentwood, Tennessee, has done team-building for their mission
teams at Deer Run for the past 7 years. Each year they also work together
on a building project while at Deer Run to help build new facilities.
Local counseling ministries testify that the experiential learning that takes place in this retreat setting and on the challenge ropes course can accomplish more in one day than a month of one-on-one office counseling.
FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes/www.fca.org) Huddle Groups from Middle Tennessee schools and universities participate in weekend retreats involving the challenge ropes course, which encourages integrity, character, responsibility, and incorporating their faith into everyday living.
Belmont University has retreat weekends for incoming freshmen and sports and leadership teams to build relationships with one another before the school term begins.
Teachers and staff from area schools meet at Deer Run Retreat for training, planning, and team-building before and during the school year.
Williamson County Youth Leadership, a community service group made up of high school youth, has an annual planning and team-building retreat.
MPACT Events (www.wildweek.com) uses Deer Run as a site for staff training for their youth Wild Week Summer Camps (2007 will be their 4th year at Deer Run).
Other retreats include marriage weekends, men’s ministries, Bible study class fellowships, father-son weekends, family reunions, and area corporate and ministry teams.
Deer Run coordinates with local inner-city children’s ministries including Provision International and Family Foundation Fund, plus at-risk youth ministries like LifeCare Family Services for day retreats including outdoor recreation, games, swimming, canoeing, and mentoring relationships.