Pay what you can afford, pure & simple

Choose the price that makes sense for your family.

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Why three prices?

Camp Deer Run has adopted a tiered pricing system so that families can choose the price that is most appropriate for their financial situation and so that we can be transparent about the true costs of providing summer camp for each camper. Every family is able to choose the tier that best suits them. The higher the tier that your family chooses, the more you help Camp Deer Run to use the generous donations of The Rafters Project and the Deer Run Family for projects and improvements rather than for paying the difference between our camper fees and our actual summer camp costs.

Explore the tiers
Every child at Camp Deer Run will receive the same experience regardless of the tier chosen during registration. Your chosen tier will not affect your camper’s summer camp experience in any way. We want every child to have the opportunity to experience God at Camp Deer Run, regardless of their financial background. If your family is sincerely unable to afford the base price, we also offer financial assistance. Learn more about our Campership program by clicking the link below.
Camperships

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why do you use tiered pricing?

As the cost of providing summer camp - including summer staff payroll, food service, canteen, insurance, utilities and more - continues to increase, the natural response would be to continue increasing our prices. However, we understand that at some point, rising prices become impossible for some families to afford. At the same time, if we don't increase prices, it becomes harder for us to continue providing Camp. That's why we've introduced tiered pricing.

For the families who simply can't afford a price increase, we will keep our base price at a rate that covers roughly 70% of the cost of providing Camp for a child. Families who are able to cover more of that cost can choose the second or third tiers, which each cover incrementally more of the total cost of a camper's Deer Run experience. By doing so, these families allow us to spend less of our donated funds on bridging the deficit between camper fees and actual operating costs, and instead spend it on improvements to our programs, grounds, and facilities. 

Will my camper be treated differently based on what we pay?

Absolutely not. All campers will receive the same Camp Deer Run experience regardless of which tier they choose to pay. The same is true for campers receiving financial assistance through a campership. Every camper who walks through our gates will receive the same treatment, the same meals, the same snacks, the same activities, and so on.

There are no special benefits of paying a higher tier, and there are no penalties for choosing a lower tier. We simply ask that you choose the Tier that you are able to afford. 

What if I can't afford the Base Price?

If you can't afford Tier 1, our base level price, we offer financial assistance through our Campership program. To learn more, please click here.

Are the higher tiers considered a donation?

No, the higher tiers are not considered a donation. The best way to think of the tiers is that Tier 3 is the true price of a Camp Deer Run session. Tiers 1 and 2 are just discounted rates in order to keep Camp more accessible. 

EXPLORE OUR PROGRAMS

Check out our overnight camps, day camps, and retreats to experience God at Camp Deer Run, pure & simple.

Day Camp

PeeWee day camp is for our youngest campers. Partner with us to help your children establish a foundation in Christ while having the best week of their summer!

Explore Day Camp

Overnight Camp

Get outside, make friends, and experience God, pure and simple. At our overnight camps, kids unplug from the world and experience old-school, authentic childhood.

Explore Overnight Camp

Retreats

Join us for a Camp Deer Run retreat during the school year or rent our facilities for your own event or retreat. Our retreat program includes options for the whole family!

Explore Retreats

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?