It was July 1, 1933 when Pinebrook opened her doors for the first summer Bible Conference. Since then more than 600 weeks of Bible Conferences and thousands of retreats have been held.

    When Percy Crawford (photo) started the conference center there were three main buildings on the property - an inn, dance hall and dormitory (photos). Over the years these buildings were replaced with a Guest Service Building that included an indoor pool (photo); modern Dining Hall - to look like a Howard Johnsons . . . at least “modern” in the late 50s (photo) and motel units (photos). All of these were built in the late 40's and 50's with the indoor pool opening in the early 1960s.

    Since then buildings suitable to all four seasons have been constructed - the Fellowship Hall, Meadowbrook, etc. (photos)  are very economical to maintain and heat.

    The problem lies mainly with the motel units and windows in the Dining Hall. These buildings are leaking like sieves when it comes to heat and air conditioning.

    When my administration arrived on the grounds in 2005, healing oil was a little over 50-thousand a year. This year we’ve been averaging 15,000-a-month on a ten month payment plan jumping the annual cost to $150,000 per year. Next year it’s almost going to double.

    An increase of  $220,000 more a year for fuel than when we arrived 3 ½ years ago is beyond what Pinebrook can do, nor can we pass this along to our retreat groups. They won’t be able to come.

    Therefore we need to winterize our motel units. New thermopane windows will replace the original glass. We have already replaced the windows in the dining hall. Air-tight doors will be purchased and installed. More insulation will be added to the ceilings. We are even looking into changing to wood-burning units. And we hope to have an army of volunteers to help us do this work.
    All told, the cost is around 300,000 thousand dollars. That’s a lot, but the payback will be almost immediate in that we won’t have to close during the Fall, Winter and Spring.

    Pinebrook has never deviated from its original vision of winning the lost for Jesus Christ. Thousands consider these holy grounds to be their spiritual birthplace. 37 teens accepted Jesus Christ during 3 weekends of Sno Glo this past January. We really do “offer real hope for the real world by committing all of our resources for the advancement of the Gospel.” We’d like to keep this ministry going unabated and without interruption.

    I hope you will consider helping us. We are looking for at least 100 individuals, churches, ministries, foundations to contribute $3,000 to help do the work for one room. Certainly donations below this will be greatly appreciated as well. I’ve got some folks who are committing to give $50-a-month for the next year to help. I hope you and your church or ministry will consider joining our army of volunteers.

    If you’re interested in helping, contact me via email - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it       

Together, let’s continue the ministry that God started here through Percy Crawford 75 years ago - all to the glory of God.