The Story of Camp Del-Haven
Camp Del-Haven had its beginning in the summer of 1952. Rev. Don Carpenter had seen a need to share the Gospel with children in the Kansas City area and saw an opportunity to take children out through the cooperative efforts of law enforcement and social agencies. It was through much testing and prayer of Rev. and Mrs. Carpenter, and some help from a few close friends, that they conducted their first camp session at Gray Rock near Little Blue. There were twenty-one boys gathered for the first camp who were taken out of a development for displaced families in the flood of 1951. There were problems mounting among the juvenile population in this area at that time. There were four more camping sessions conducted that same summer. The group of men who volunteered as staff formed the organization known as Del-Haven, Incorporated of Kansas City, MO, a ministry that is recognized by State and Federal authorities as a qualified non-profit organization to help delinquent and underprivileged children. “Turning Kids from Crime to Christ” became Del-Haven’s mission.
The ministry carried on into 1953 with the organization renting various facilities that they could find available. Del-Haven’s efforts to share the Gospel with young boys was hailed by ministers and law enforcement who saw this ministry as an answer to social problems in the area. Thus, Del-Haven began to think in terms of some place to settle as a permanent location. There was much prayer and thought given to the matter. The Lord prompted a local business man to give the organization $1,000 to find an adequate location. Ultimately 40 acres of available land were purchased.
There were no roads or facilities, only acreage of dense timber and rocks. A small lake was built on the property to begin the camp. Groups would go to the site working with axes, hatchets, etc., and managed to clear an area which now contains the heart of the camp facilities and operation. As a humble beginning, a dining hall and three spacious cabins were built. It was here where full time operations began in the summer of 1956. Some of the sessions were quite turbulent, but with God’s overruling providence and the ingenuity of some devoted staff members, some real victories were evident in young lives. Some of the changes were far reaching in their impact.
In 1964, at the insistence of the Carpenter’s only daughter, girls were included in the camping schedule. The first camp of girls was made up of sisters and friends of the fellows who had been campers.
For many decades afterward, Camp Del-Haven was able to regularly provide Christ-centered and Bible-focused summer camps for a multitude of children from families in need. The ministry’s focus during those years was in offering this camp experience free of charge to boys and girls, between the ages of 6 and 12, whose lives had been marred by crime and poverty. Each year the ministry was pleased to invite many dozens of underprivileged kids from around the Kansas City metro area in the hopes of turning them from a lifestyle of crime to a life with Christ.
In 2003-2004, the Del-Haven Memorial Chapel was built so that the children who came to camp were able to have a place, set apart from recreation areas, where they could come before God in a more secluded, focused location. Through the prayers and gifts of individuals and organizations that were led of His Holy Spirit to help our ministry, the $50,000 building loan for Del-Haven Chapel was paid in full in the Spring of 2005. The Chapel is currently being used as a place for Bible study and worship during various events.
In 2023, after the upheaval brought on by the Covid emergence, the leadership at Del-Haven had time to Biblically reassess the details of their operation. In review, they were compelled to make the hard decision to suspend the foundational model for their summer camp program in order to be completely disengaged from any worldly influences and more thoroughly conformed to the doctrines of God’s Word and the leading of His Holy Spirit. This position was articulated that same year with the publishing of their “Here We Stand” declaration.
Currently, Camp Del-Haven is in the process of rebuilding their typical weekly summer camp experience for underpriviledged children as the Lord sees fit. In the meantime, however, the ministry has been led to start hosting free Family Day Camps that offer a camping experience for both parents and children — which is used as another amazing opportunity to proclaim Christ and His Gospel of Grace.
Indeed, over these many years, the Lord has greatly blessed Del-Haven, and it is the hope of the ministry leadership that He will continue to bless this ministry as they seek to proclaim the Gospel of the Glory of Christ to the young people and their families who so desperately need the Savior. For more information, go to Our Current Mission page.
