ABOUT FOREST HOME
For almost 85 years, Forest Home has been a movement of God, seeing the winds of revival blow throughout Southern California and into the farthest reaches of our world.
Since 1938, He has moved in countless hearts as each guest faces life-changing decisions. Our chapel is filled with thousands of pages of personal history where campers write out their decisions, prayers, and cries to God.
Our summer camps are united under one vision – provide opportunities for all to explore the Word of God, pursue God’s personal calling for their life, engage in Christ-centered relationships and connect with God through His extraordinary creation.
We do this by:
- Partnership with churches
- Revolutionary Christ-centered experiences
- Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with people of all ages
We are one team, led by our core values and our King.
A Divine Intervention
In 1937, our founder Henrietta Mears visited Forest Home–then a privately owned resort in the San Bernardino Mountains. She declared, “Don’t bother to stop … we can’t afford all of this.”
The property was appraised at $350,000 in 1937. Where would that kind of money come from?
God was overlooking Forest Home Valley. He saw an auditorium filled and a chapel where children kneeled in prayer.
God said, “I want this place for My glory to dwell.” Hushed suspense fell.
Then His voice shook boulders from their beds and caused towering pines to bend to the ground in worship. Lightning crashed, and torrents fell into a gigantic wall of water.
Cabins were washed away. Yet, the rest of the campsite remained unharmed.
In the silence after the storm, the shrill telephone was heard. Bill Irwin called Henrietta Mears and offered to sell Forest Home for $30,000!*
Since that amazing start, God has granted Forest Home unprecedented impact for His Kingdom. Many have been a part of His purpose and plan here. Will you join us?
*Excerpt from Dream Big: The Henrietta Mears Story (Gospel Light)
ABOUT DR. HENRIETTA MEARS
“Dr. Henrietta C. Mears … has had a remarkable influence, both directly and indirectly on my life. In fact, I doubt if any other woman outside of my wife and mother has had such a marked influence… She is certainly one of the greatest Christians I have ever known!” – Dr. Billy Graham
On a mission as the Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, Henrietta Mears was one of the most influential Christian leaders of her time.
In addition to founding Forest Home, she also established the Gospel Light Sunday School Curriculum, and the GLINT (Gospel Literature International) ministry. She had a profound impact on the ministries of Jim Rayburn (Young Life) and Billy Graham (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) with her clear Gospel message catered specifically to young people.
She is believed by many theologians to have directly shaped Bill Bright’s (Campus Crusade), Four Spiritual Laws, which defined modern evangelism. Her What the Bible Is All About (Regal) has sold over three million copies.
“You teach a little by what you say, you teach most by what you are.” – Henrietta Mears
Our Statement of Faith
- We believe in the plenary inspiration of Old and New Testaments and hold them to be the very Word of God.
- We believe in the Deity of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, his substitutionary atonement for sin, His bodily resurrection, and His personal, visible return to earth to reign in righteousness and glory.
- We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit and His work of conviction, regeneration and sanctification, Who indwells every Believer.
- We believe in the necessity of the new birth, in Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and in the importance of a life committed to the Will of God, in Christ.