The pines are calling…

Escape busy, escape stress, and experience God at Camp Deer Run retreats.

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2025 Retreat Schedule

Check out our 2025 Retreat Schedule!

Registration for all 2025 Retreats is open now! 

HOCHE RETREAT: FEBRUARY 21 – 23

YOUNG ALUMNI WEEKEND: FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 2

FATHER-SON RETREAT: APRIL 4 – 6

MOTHER-DAUGHTER RETREAT: SEPTEMBER 5 – 7

4:12 RETREAT: OCTOBER 3-5

Hoche Retreat

February 21 – 23, 2025

The Hoche Retreat is a perfect chance for our oldest campers to leave behind the worries of the school year to reconnect with their friends and counselors, have some good old fashioned Deer Run fun, and refocus on their relationship with God. All campers over 13 years old up to high school seniors are invited to join us for an awesome weekend of Camp!

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Young Alumni Weekend

February 28 – March 2, 2025

Life goes on when you finish your camper and staff days, we know that. Camp Deer Run was never meant to be the end all be all of anyone’s walk with Christ, but we hope that it will always be a touchstone for your faith. That’s what our alumni retreats are for – to give you a place to be rejuvenated, for your cup to be filled, and to spend some time with good friends. 

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FATHER-SON RETREAT

April 4-6, 2025

There’s nothing more special than the bond between a father and a son. God has a special design for father-son relationships to pass on a legacy of faith and provide a lifelong guide. At our father-son retreat, we’ll build and enrich these special relationships in true Deer Run style – with a weekend full of fun.

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Mother-Daughter Retreat

September 5 – 7, 2025

This retreat is for all female campers from 9-17 and their mom to spend some quality time together building the special relationship that God has designed for them. We know that God works in profound ways through the mother-daughter relationship, so at our mother-daughter retreat, we build up these relationships the best way we know – with a weekend full of fun.

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4:12 RETREAT

October 3 – 5, 2025

All campers between the ages of 9 and 13 are welcome to join us for this fun-filled weekend of worship at Camp Deer Run. It’s a perfect time for our younger campers to take a step back from school and spend a weekend playing in the woods and reconnect with their favorite Camp friends and counselors!

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Overnight Camp - Camp Deer Run

Host your Retreat at CAmp Deer Run

Towering pines, peaceful forest trails, and a creek that never runs dry – the perfect place to escape for a weekend. Host your church, team, or corporate retreat with us!
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Rent the Camp House

This cozy and kid-friendly cabin rental two hours east of Dallas is the perfect accommodation for those who want an adventurous getaway to the great outdoors with all the comfort of home. The brand new cabin boasts two downstairs bedrooms, one furnished with a queen-size bed and the other with a double-twin bunk bed. Upstairs is a bunkroom featuring four more double-twin bunk beds.
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Stories of Rest & Renewal

"It was all the best parts of summer camp included in one weekend."

Hoche Retreat Camper

"I enjoyed every bit of it, especially the time I got to have with my daughter to studying God's word. My daughter has been going here for years and for us to enjoy time together, it was perfect!"

Mother-Daughter Retreat

"They loved getting to see their camp friends and getting to go to the cookout."

Hoche Retreat Parent

"I enjoyed meeting the other Dads and making new friends. My son and I had some good time as well. I enjoy the worshipful atmosphere."

Father-Son Retreat

"My daughter said it was extremely relaxing and a very good time!"

Hoche Retreat Parent

Can’t Get Enough Camp Deer Run?

Register your child for summer camp too!

Overnight Camp
Day Camp
Hawaiian Day

Day 1 - God Comes First

SCRIPTURE:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-6


DEVOTIONAL:

This is a verse that we hear often. It’s a common memory verse. It’s the basis for countless worship songs and hymns. It strikes at the core of all Christian faith and life. These words come from Moses, as He speaks to the Israelites before their entry into the Promised Land. Behind them, there has been a long journey – from slavery to freedom a promise of a land of their own that is very good. But along that journey there has been temptation, and the Israelites have time and time again lost sight of their covenant with God and forgotten the salvation that He delivered to them. Because of that, they spent 40 years wandering in the desert instead of going straight to the new homeland that God had promised.


It’s a lesson to all of us that when we lose sight of God, when we forget about Him and His Word, when our focus drifts away from Him, we end up wandering in a desert instead of enjoying the good things He intended for us.


At Camp Deer Run, we leave behind many of the things in our day to day lives that distract us from God. We leave behind the phones, the TVs, the social media, the stress of school or work, the trials and struggles that we carry with us. When you step through the gates as your session begins, you can leave all of it behind you and just focus on God, pure and simple.
When we set those burdens down, and remove all the distractions that are keeping us from seeing God clearly and putting Him first in our lives, we come closer to Him, we grow deeper in our relationship with Him, we feel His love. And when we know His love for us and understand that we are His beloved children, our love for Him grows too.


But Camp doesn’t have some kind of magic forcefield around it that makes you leave your worries at the door. It’s definitely easier at Camp to leave those things behind. There’s so much fun to be had, so much nature to enjoy, and so many friends to surround you. But at the end of the day, it’s still up to you to let go of the things that distract you from God and to put Him first. Sometimes that’s hard to do, and sometimes it takes a little while to figure it out. That’s ok!


As you prepare for Camp, we just want you to know that God wants to have a relationship with you. God knows you. God loves you. And He wants you to keep your focus on Him, because He doesn’t want you to be lost in the desert. He wants to lead you to the Promised Land!

 

DISCUSSION:


What are some of the things that make it hardest for you to focus on God at home?


Can you leave that behind when you go to Camp? How?


Camp Deer Run is all about seeing God in everything, not just worship or Bible lessons, but in the games and activities and friends and fun. How do you keep your focus on God in all of these different situations?