"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5, NIV)

About This Document

The purpose of this paper is twofold:

1) to clarify what God has put on our hearts over the years about building a Christian retreat center, and

2) to share this vision with others who may be interested in partnering with us in this project.

This document is also available in a "printer-friendly" version in PDF format. Click here to view the PDF version (You may need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader from here if you don't already have it.)

About The B Ranch

The B Ranch is envisioned to be a spiritual retreat center for families, couples, and individuals who want to grow in their relationships with the Lord and with each other. Our hope is to secure approximately 240 acres of both open and wooded land which would offer a quiet, scenic, and inspirational setting for guests who would stay in private guest homes on the property.

The B Ranch would serve as a natural extension of our existing Internet outreach called The Ranch at www.theranch.org. As such, The B Ranch would provide inspiration for people’s faith through nature trails, music, books, messages, and the opportunity to talk with someone about their faith. A special KidsRanch would be modeled after the KidsRanch website at www.kidsranch.org, offering games, activities, and inspiration designed just for kids.

In addition to spiritual encouragement, guests would be able to take part in recreational activities that would initially include hiking, biking, swimming, tubing, fishing, camping, and sledding. Over time, more activities would be added, including horseback riding, a petting zoo, a tennis court, a basketball court, a baseball diamond, rock-climbing, and ropes courses for both children and adults.

By making The B Ranch an integral part of The Ranch website, we could offer the best of a traditional retreat center along with the best of a leading edge ministry. This paper details how such an interaction would work.

A Place of Inspiration

While we hope the ranch offers recreation, renewal, and refreshment, the primary purpose of the ranch is to increase people’s faith in Jesus Christ. Many people have lost their connection to the Vine (Jesus) and still others have yet to discover His life-giving power.

Through our Internet outreach, we have been able to help many people re-connect with Christ through the creative use of a "virtual" retreat center. Several have asked to come and visit our "ranch" not realizing that it isn’t yet a physical place at all. But from the inception of our ministry, we have planned to one day create a physical ranch. The B Ranch would be modeled on The Ranch we have already created conceptually on the website.

Nature Trails

We hope to develop several nature trails on the property: through the woods, through the meadows, through orchards and vineyards, and along the river. Some trails would be unmarked to allow God’s creation to speak for itself about God’s existence (similar to "The Nature Trail" on the website). Other trails would have markers along the way with encouraging or inspirational words (similar to the "Walk of Faith" on the website). One spot at the ranch would be designated specifically for personal prayer, perhaps with a small shelter available for use in all seasons (similar to "Lover’s Leap" on the website).

Books

Each guest home would contain a library of books by various authors for spiritual encouragement and growth (similar to the "Read a Story" section on the website). These books would be available for guests to read and leave, or if desired, to purchase and take with them upon departure. We would also provide material for self-paced daily devotions, such as the Two Weeks with God devotional produced by our ministry.

Music

In addition to books, each guest home would contain a collection of CD’s by various artists selected to inspire, relax and encourage personal worship (similar to the "Listen to Music" section on the website). Stereo systems in the guest homes, as well as CD walkmans, would be available for guests to enjoy in their rooms or while walking on the trails. As with the books, CD’s would also be available for purchase upon departure.

Messages

Guests would be invited to attend the taping of "Live from The Ranch," the weekly broadcast of our Internet outreach (the same as "Hear a Message" on the website). This broadcast would originate from a central lodge or broadcast room on the property. These messages feature practical topics for living based on biblical principles, along with inspirational music and special guests.

Talk to Someone

Guests would have occasional opportunities to talk informally with other guests. In addition, they would be able to schedule personal appointments with us or with one of our volunteers for private prayer and encouragement (similar to the "Talk to Someone" section on the website). This type of interaction would not be considered "counseling" in the clinical sense, but would offer much needed prayer and personal encouragement for those who need a listening ear and biblical wisdom.

Annual Retreats

In addition to these ongoing spiritual opportunities for guests, we would plan to host a special annual retreat at The B Ranch, featuring a complete weekend of inspirational music, messages and activities.

A Place of Recreation

In addition to spiritual input, a variety of recreational activities would be available for fun and family time. Initially, we would offer activities with low start-up and maintenance costs, such as hiking, biking, swimming, tubing, fishing, camping, and sledding.

For these activities, we would develop intentional hiking and biking trails, build a small "tube house" near the river to store tubes, floats, and life jackets, and provide guests with bikes, fishing poles, tents and sleds.

Over time, we would begin to add more activities on the property such as an equestrian center for horseback riding, a variety of animals for a petting zoo (goats, sheep, llamas, cows, chickens), a tree-house, a tennis court, a basketball court, a baseball diamond, a rock-climbing wall, and separate ropes courses for both children and adults.

Guest Homes

Our initial plan is to develop at least three guest homes on the property during the first five years. The homes would be fully self-contained, including their own bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, and kitchen. The B Ranch would provide all linens, but no daily maid service. Guests would bring their own food, eliminating the need for a kitchen staff and allowing guests the flexibility to schedule their own meals.

For the sake of privacy, we would suggest locating the homes on various parts of the property, rather than grouped together. Each home could be unique, with its own style and size to accommodate various sized groupings. We have considered giving each home a distinctively American theme, which could be especially attractive to potential international guests: a pioneer-style cabin in the woods (to sleep 4-8), an early American farmhouse near the barns (to sleep 6-10), and a ranch-style home on the ridge (to sleep 10-15).

We would also offer camping on the property. For the sake of privacy, we would suggest limiting camping to two primitive campsites in the woods that offer water, sanitation facilities and fire pits. We would also suggest limiting the camping option to only those guests already staying in the guest homes. Guests could use tents provided by the ranch for a night or two in the woods as just one of several activities, rather than having guests come solely to camp on the property.

For the safety and security of both people and animals on the property, guests would not be allowed to bring pets, alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.

Central Lodge

We would like to develop a central lodge to serve multiple purposes:

1) as a central welcome center for arriving guests,

2) as an informal gathering spot for guests during the week,

3) as a broadcast center for our weekly Internet broadcasts, and

4) as a meeting room for our annual weekend retreats. A brief description of each function follows.

Welcome Center – Our intent is to recruit a core team of volunteers from the area who would welcome guests, provide information during their stay, and handle reservations. The lodge could house a small welcome center and provide a place for a volunteer to answer the phone and interact with guests.

Gathering Spot – The lodge would offer families an additional spot to gather, play games, talk by the fire and interact with other guests. Our vision of the lodge is one that would be attractive and comfortable, with relaxing chairs, game tables and a fireplace.

Broadcast Center – Once a week (such as Thursday nights), we would invite guests to attend our weekly broadcast of "Live from The Ranch." The message and music during this broadcast would be designed both for the guests on the property and for the Internet audience, allowing people to feel part of the event both locally and globally. This would also allow us to invite those watching via the Internet audience to be our guests at the property and experience the ranch in person.

Annual Retreats - We would expect to draw between 50-150 people each year for an annual weekend retreat. For these events, some attendees could reserve rooms on the property, and the balance of attendees could reserve rooms on neighboring properties. During the start-up years, these events could be held in the open air or, with modifications, perhaps some existing facilities on a the property.

While we want the lodge to be attractive and comfortable, it need not be elaborate to accommodate these four purposes. We envision it would consist of a large central room with vaulted ceilings, an area for a welcome desk, bathrooms, and perhaps a limited kitchen facility for preparation and clean-up of catered events.

This lodge could also be available from time to time for other events in keeping with the purpose of the ranch. Our intent would be to limit this type of activity so as not to interfere with the quiet retreat setting that we would expect to be the norm.

Management Plan

We’ve considered several scenarios for managing the property: running it as a private operation, creating a new non-profit entity for this purpose, or donating it to Eric Elder Ministries and running it under its existing umbrella. Of the three options, the latter seems to offer the maximum benefits to all parties in both the short and long-term.

Limited Liability Corporation

Our proposed plan would be to manage The B Ranch under the umbrella of Eric Elder Ministries, most likely as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) under its own name (The B Ranch). Technically, we can file a "group exemption letter" to add The B Ranch as a "subordinate organization" of Eric Elder Ministries without re-applying for tax-exempt status. This would also allow us to run the ranch as an arm of our existing ministry, using the same books, the same tax-exempt structure, and the same board.

Tax-Exemptions

The donation of the property to an existing, externally controlled non-profit corporation provides the following tax benefits:

the donation of land would be tax-deductible to the donor;

the donation of any future gifts by the donor for improvements would be tax-deductible;

all purchases made for developing the property would be exempt from sales tax;

the property would be eligible for an exemption from property taxes;

additional outside donors would be attracted to the project because of the tax-deduction they would receive for their gifts.

Pool of Donors and Guests

By running The B Ranch as an integral part of our Internet ministry, we would also be able to build on our already established and growing base of potential donors, as well as potential guests. We currently have over 5,000 visitors to The Ranch website each month, coming from 120 countries. Of those, over 700 have signed up to receive our bi-monthly newsletter "News from The Ranch." The pool of donors and guests in this audience would make The B Ranch not just a retreat center of local interest, but quite easily one of national and international interest as well.

Publicity

Because of our Internet ministry, we’ve had a unique opportunity to promote our ministry in newspapers, books, churches, and the radio and television such as:

USA Today (Nov. 2000)

Streator’s Times-Press (Nov. 2000)

LaSalle’s NewsTribune (Jan. 2001)

Internet For Christians email newsletter (Mar. 2001 - sent to over 100,000 Christian subscribers)

Peoria’s WPEO radio station (Feb. 2001)

Ottawa’s WTTO television station (Nov. 2001)

By including The B Ranch as an integral part of our ministry, we would be able to publicize both the website and the retreat center at the same time.

Our efforts to publicize the ranch would also include the development of promotional brochures and videos. A media developer has already offered to assist with the development of two promotional videos for The B Ranch, one for potential donors, and another for potential guests. These videos would be available on tape as well as in a format that can be viewed directly over the Internet.

Naming Opportunities

A number of naming opportunities exist on the ranch for potential donors who want to be associated with the project: the guest homes, the central lodge, the orchards, the vineyards, the nature trails, and the tube house, as well as individual bricks, furniture, and recreational equipment. This would allow us to solicit and acknowledge contributions of various sizes in various ways.

Staff

The board of directors of Eric Elder Ministries would oversee the activities of The B Ranch. Eric Elder would serve as the Executive Director of The B Ranch as part of his duties as President of Eric Elder Ministries. In this way, his salary would not need to be raised as part of the operating costs of The B Ranch, but would continue to be funded as a set salary, paid for by Eric Elder Ministries. Accounting functions for handling donations, fees and issuing receipts would continue as usual under the umbrella of Eric Elder Ministries.

Contractors would be hired for building projects on a project-by-project basis, using volunteer labor from the area to a large extent to reduce the cost of these projects. Additional part-time staff may be hired on an hourly or contract basis to see to the routine maintenance of the property and cleaning of the guest homes. We have already identified potential candidates for the functions of construction, maintenance, and cleaning.

In addition, we plan to develop a core team of volunteers to assist with guest reservations, personal appointments with guests for spiritual encouragement, and occasional building and maintenance projects.

Director’s Residence

To oversee, direct, and be involved in the activities of the ranch, we would likely purchase a few acres of property from The B Ranch, or from the adjacent property, on which we could build our personal residence. By owning this portion personally, we could use our own funds or take a personal loan to build a home, rather than having to raise additional money through the ministry for this purpose.

Action Plan

Year One

Secure approximately 240-acres of property for development. Our preference is to secure a property in Illinois to remain in the mid-west, but we are open to considering other properties. We would prefer this property be donated to the ministry so we can focus our fund-raising on developing the property, but we’re willing to raise funds for the property as well if necessary.

Develop the property’s infrastructure (i.e. clean-up of existing buildings, fencing and pastures)

Develop marketing materials

Continue fund raising

Develop plans and drawings for guest homes

Organize volunteers and contractors

Begin to build Director’s home on adjacent property

Year Two

Continue fund raising

Begin to plant orchards, vineyard, wildflower meadows, and pastures

Develop system of trails

Hold first annual weekend retreat in open air or existing structure

Year Three

Build first guest home and lodge

Hold second annual weekend retreat

Begin Internet broadcasts from lodge when complete

Year Four

Begin to invite guests to live in first guest home

Build second and third guest homes

Continue Internet broadcasts from lodge

Hold third annual weekend retreat

Year Five

All guest homes complete and fully operational, with ongoing Internet broadcasts and annual weekend retreats

Costs and Donation Goals

Capital Expenses

Year One - $60,000 to revive the property’s infrastructure

Year Two - $10,000 to develop trails, purchase trees, plants and seed

Year Three - $180,000 to build first guest home ($80,000) and central lodge ($100,000)

Year Four - $220,000 to build third and fourth guest homes ($100,000 and $120,000)

Year Five - Initial capital projects completed

Total Capital Costs over 5 years: $470,000

(If property must be purchased rather than donated to the ministry, the capital costs to purchase 240 acres would be approximately $600,000).

Operational Costs

Year One - $4,000 (grounds maintenance, insurance, marketing materials)

Year Two - $6,000 (grounds maintenance, insurance, planting and trail building)

Year Three - $9,000 (grounds maintenance, insurance, equipment for recreational activities)

Year Four - $17,000 (grounds maintenance, insurance, cleaning services ($5,000) and utilities for first finished home and lodge ($6,000 each x 2 = $12,000))

Year Five - $29,000 (grounds maintenance, insurance, cleaning services($5,000) and utilities for three finished homes and lodge ($6,000 each x 4 = $24,000))

Total Operational Costs over 5 years: $65,000

(The salary for Eric Elder is not part of the funds generated by the ranch as they are raised separately. His duties as Executive Director would be part of his normal salaried duties as president of Eric Elder Ministries.)

Donation Goals - Capital

Our intent is to raise the full amount to cover capital expenses ($470,000) from donations prior to building. No loans are planned for capital development. The above schedule will be dependent upon raising the full amount of funds for each project.

Total Capital Donations Goal over 5 years: $470,000

(If property must be purchased rather than donated to the ministry, the capital costs to purchase 240 acres would be approximately $600,000).

Receipt Goals - Operational

We expect to cover the operational costs of the ranch ($65,000) through a combination of donations as part of an initial fund-raising campaign ($19,000) and by fees from annual retreats and use of the guest homes ($72,000). This plan would leave a positive balance at the end of five years ($26,000) for future development of the ranch.

The fees charged would be set according to the actual operating costs, with an allowance for future expansion. We anticipate a fee of $80-$120 per night (depending on the size of the guest home and length of stay) as this would cover our costs and still be affordable to families. Although we would expect at least a 50% occupancy rate, this fee would still adequately cover our expenses even at a 33% capacity for the year.

Additional funds would be generated by the annual retreat ($6,000 per retreat, assuming 100 people attended at a fee to the ranch of $60 each, not including housing or meals).

Year One - $4,000 (from the initial fund raising campaign)

Year Two - $12,000 ($6,000 from the initial fund raising campaign, $6,000 from fees for annual retreat)

Year Three - $15,000 ($9,000 from the initial fund raising campaign, $6,000 from fees for annual retreat)

Year Four - $18,000 ($6,000 from fees for annual retreat, $12,000 for use of one guest home at 33% occupancy at $100/night)

Year Five - $42,000 ($6,000 from fees for annual retreat, $12,000 x 3 = $36,000 for use of three guest homes at 33% occupancy at $100/night)

Total Operational Goal for Receipts over 5 years: $91,000

(includes a combination of $19,000 in donations and $72,000 in fees)

Risk

We have structured this project in a way that involves relatively little risk to the financial health of the project.

The tax-exempt status allows us to maximize our use of funds;

Raising donations prior to building safeguards us from having to meet the demands of loans;

Employing ample volunteer labor reduces our construction, maintenance and staffing costs;

Charging fees to guests offsets operating costs.

The rate of growth of the ranch may be accelerated or decelerated based on the funds that are raised, but in neither case would the rate of funding jeopardize the long-term plans for the project. At no point would the ranch suddenly face a situation where it would need to be liquidated to cover expenses.

This plan both reduces the risk and allows for sustained growth over time. As guest occupancy increases and the Internet outreach grows in prominence, additional programs, staff, activities, and structures could be added accordingly.

Contacts

The following people have graciously provided background information for this document. They have also expressed their willingness to assist as the project moves forward, many on a voluntary or reduced-cost basis due to their relationship with our ministry (names abbreviated for Internet version of this document).

Lisa B., lawyer in Peru, regarding real estate transactions in LaSalle County and other legal issues

Linda O., administrative tax judge, Illinois Department of Revenue in Springfield, regarding property tax exemptions

Pat B., CPA, Friedman & Huey in Homewood, regarding accounting and tax issues for non-profit corporations

Clayton I., former board member, Miracle Camp and director of World Team Associates mission agency in Normal, regarding camp and ministry development

Russell P., video editor, Top Pup Media in Fort Worth, TX, regarding the development of promotional videos

Timothy H., senior pastor, Central Church of Christ in Streator, regarding resources in the area and spiritual direction as Eric and Lana’s pastor

David D., insurance agent, Country Companies in Paris, IL, regarding corporate property insurance

Shari L., ministry coordinator, Triple Creek Ranch in Elizabeth, regarding operations at Triple Creek and other retreat centers

Brent K., director, Window of Opportunity mission agency in Houston, TX, regarding ministry development

Don O., independent contractor in Streator, regarding construction and maintenance issues

Retreat Resources

The following websites are helpful for comparing and contrasting the vision for The B Ranch with other Christian retreat centers around the country.

Triple Creek Ranch, www.triplecreekranch.org

The Cedarly, www.cedarly.org

Renewal Ministries, www.renewalministries.org

Gray Fox Ranch, www.grayfox.org

Marble Retreat, www.marbleretreat.org

SonScape, www.sonscape.com

Stonegate Resources, www.stonegateresources.com

Sky Ranch, www.skyranch.org

Harvest Prayer Center, www.harvestprayer.com

Mountain Top Retreat, www.mountaintopretreat.org

Fairhaven Ministries, www.fairhaven1.com

The Cove, www.thecove.org

About Eric and Lana Elder

Eric and Lana Elder both have degrees in Business Administration from the University of Illinois (classes of ’85 and ’86). Eric spent 9 years in strategic planning as part of Texaco’s corporate computer department. Lana worked as a systems analyst with Electronic Data Systems, and later in computer training and support at Texaco when she married Eric married in 1989.

After launching Texaco’s first world wide web site in 1995 at www.texaco.com, Eric went into full-time ministry, making use of the Internet to reach out to people around the world. He was ordained in 1996 and served for one year as an Associate Pastor at a non-denominational church in Richardson, Texas before launching his own non-profit ministry to focus primarily on the Internet.

After giving birth to the first of their five children, Lana resigned her corporate career to focus on raising and homeschooling their children. She serves on the board of their ministry and coordinates the twenty volunteers who answer emails that come into The Ranch website.

Eric Elder Ministries raised over $130,000 in the first three years of operations to launch The Ranch website. Eric is the current president of the Streator Ministerial Association, and Eric and Lana serve on the leadership council of the Streator Area Home School Association.

About Eric Elder Ministries

The purpose of Eric Elder Ministries is to share the message of Jesus Christ throughout the world, instilling faith in those who don’t know him and increasing faith in those who do.

Our intent is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ by any and all means, including but not limited to:

transmitting the Gospel via the Internet, radio, television and publications; and

sharing the Gospel through evangelistic outreaches, retreats, educational seminars and missionary endeavors.

Eric Elder Ministries is a non-profit corporation organized exclusively for religious, charitable and educational purposes.

Keeping in Touch

If you'd like to provide feedback on this proposal, or if you'd like to make a one-time or monthly donation to this ministry, let us know on the Response Form. You can also use this form to receive our newsletter "News from The Ranch."

If you would like to make a donation towards the work of The Ranch, whether the website or the "real" ranch, you can make a donation to our ministry online. It takes less than a minute to complete the transaction and will help us move forward with these plans.

Donations may also be sent by check to: Eric Elder Ministries, 1305 E. Broadway, Streator, IL 61364. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Eric Elder Ministries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

You can read more about our ministry, our methods, and our financial commitment to you here. All gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.