Windermere Baptist Conference Center

The banquet was great. The prime rib was perfect, and everyone really enjoyed it.

Just wanted to say thanks to the kitchen staff for their hard work.

Camdenton Christian School

"How peaceful it is. Just to sit by the lake early in the morning and revel in God's creation." Heidi Cokendolpher

Thank you so very much for all your help for this retreat. I've been planning this yearly retreat for 8 years and this one was by far the best! Thank you for allowing us to use your facilities! They are amazing so so conducive to our weekend plans of spending time connecting to God and connecting to people!

Thank you.
Evangel Temple Christian Young Adults

"We have camped thousands of places and your facilities were the cleanest by far. No cave we have ever been to has even compared to yours. We were very impressed. And your staff was very caring and their availability was great. We had a great time and can't wait to come back."

Boy Scout Troop #83

It was the spring of 1984 ­­when the RV Park was first opened. We came down Friday to Windermere the very first weekend it was open. We set up our popup camper. We fixed our supper and were enjoying Windermere. We had checked out the cave, returning to the camper it was dark outside and both our children were outside checking things out. I think my son was 6, at the time. I was just coming out of the camper to check on my children, when my daughter 4, yelled at him to STOP! I looked down at the bath house and he was chasing and trying to catch this pretty striped cat. I quickly ran to catch him and fortunately he had stopped when my daughter yelled. He was within a couple of feet from the skunk. Luckily the skunk didn't feel threatened or just realized how dumb our son was. If he had caught the skunk he would have been sleeping outside while we would have been in the camper. Oh, also it could be that God looks after people and children who are at Windermere.

- Warren Livingston

"My favorite memory of Windermere would be going there every summer,and it was always SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! because I had one brother and two sisters and my brother would always stay in a separate tent. When we were going to Windermere we would get our own big bag of candy and me and my brother would stay up and play games and trade candy. But all of that is going to change soon because my favorite memory is going to be my sister getting married in July. I really can't wait to come back we haven't gone in a couple of years because we moved to Florida but I can't wait to come back!!"

- Nathan Schmied

Positive feedback - where do I begin !
Staff - absolutely INCREDIBLE
Housekeeping - absolutely INCREDIBLE (very pleasant, professional, accommodating)
Up front prep (had table and chairs brought in for the cabins) - absolutely INCREDIBLE
Check in/out process - absolutely INCREDIBLE

-The food was excellent, as usual.
-We loved the homey feel of the conference room and the fact it was directly across the hallway from our rooms. The kitchen area was so nice—we really appreciated being able to bring our own snacks and soft drinks. We felt we had our own conference center since we were off by ourselves.
-The young man who helped set up our AV equipment was very nice and more than willing to help.
-We had some issues with a heater in a room but your maintenance staff bent over backwards to take care of the problem.
-One of your ladies also provided us with a coffee pot, which we greatly appreciated.

I wanted to pass along that our trip to Windermere far exceeded our expectations. The family cabin was great, the towel service and housekeeping were a pleasant surprise, the grounds and facilities were wonderful, and the EDGE was fantastic. The staff at the EDGE were so great. They worked so well with our youth and the youth were able to accomplish so much and feel so good about themselves. Thanks so much for everything. I am sure we will be back again.

Vickie Linch
Youth Director
North Cross United Methodist Church

Larry Skaggs, Windermere Board of Trustees

I came to Windermere the first time in 1964 as part of the Baptist Student Union of Mineral Area College. Windermere had just rock cabins and the sanctuary; no challenge courses or zip lines, but that was enough. I look across the cove and it could be 1964 again. Being at Windermere as a 19-year-old young person was a defining moment for me. I remember listening to a sermon by Dr. Frank Kellogg. I can't recall exactly the message, but I remember well that he was speaking to the heart of a 19-year-old young man that was having a lot of opportunities to veer off the path. I had grown up in a church family, had 13 of the brass pins for perfect attendance - talk about geeky - and I wore those to the picture show. But I was still having an opportunity to get off the path. When I teach our sixth grade Sunday School kids, I talk to them about setting a compass and getting one degree off when you are heading west for Kansas City or the West Coast. One degree doesn't sound like much, but it is enough to put you way off course from where you are headed. Being at Windermere and listening to Dr. Frank Kellogg was like putting my feet back on the right course. What a good thing that has been, kind of like Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the plan I have for you...

One of the other things I tell our sixth grade class is once you have made that one enormous decision to follow Jesus Christ, all the other decisions are small after that. I don't think that I have been required to make many big decisions. After that first really large one, they've all seemed like the next logical step. For I know the plan I have for you...

While living away in Nashville and Dallas, we came back in the summer time for vacation with Edie's family of brothers and sister. Windermere was a a special time and place for us. It was evident that God lives here. It provided such a great atmosphere for us to come back to. For I know the plan I have for you...

I believe Jer. 29:11 is good for all of us and that verse has applications to Windermere. Are there challenges? Yes, there will always be challenges. The most important thing is that God is with us. Just as long as there are people who will serve here in the many roles it takes, Windermere will be alive and here for a long, long time. I believe it will span many more generations, as it already has. Windermere will continue to bring people to make decisions for Christ, and it will continue to alter footsteps and put them back on the right course. And it can provide defining moments in the lives of many. For I know the plan I have for you...