An Open Event to Celebrate all the Lord has Accomplished through His Ministry at Truett
Truett Memorabilia
We are looking at creating a space in the historic George W. Truett home to display memorabilia connected with him and the camp’s history. We are accepting donations of appropriate items. Should you have an item you are unwilling to part with, you may loan them to us for the 70th Anniversary Celebration and pick them back up following the event.
Suggested items include newspaper clippings, pictures, books owned/written by George W. Truett, photos of former Truett Camp Directors, camp t-shirts, photos, and marketing materials from over the years.
Guest Speakers
We have an exciting slate of guest speakers we plan to announce soon!
Our Past
- The property is the boyhood home of George W. Truett.
- At a walnut tree behind her house, Mary Kimsey Truett, George’s mother, was said to pray daily for her family and ministry.
- Local pastors and Christian leaders, including Fred Lunsford and Kenneth Woodard prayed to use the Truett family property as a camp for children.
- The following year, 1953, the first Truett Boys Summer Camp was held.
- 1954 was the first Truett Girls Summer Camp.
- The property was donated to three local Baptist Associations, and eventually ownership was given to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
- The Boys Camp and Girls Camp have operated annually since their inception.
- Truett has hosted countless NC Baptist events, church groups, and programmed retreats in its 70 years of ministry.
Our Present
- Truett Conference Center & Camp now hosts sixteen annual programmed retreats.
- Over a dozen recreation activities, including tomahawk throwing, paintball, and mountain biking, have been added.
- An eleven month leadership work program has been added to intentionally disciple the next generation.
- Youth Group Camps have exploded in popularity at Truett, growing five fold in the number of participating churches from 2021 to 2022.
- Boys Camp and Girls Camp have operated at or near capacity for the last two summers.
- Renovations to nearly every building, including some extensive work, has taken place since 2019, including the creation of a dedicated office space in the original dining hall.
Our Future
- Strengthening our ability to keep Western North Carolina connected with the overall mission of the NC Baptists.
- Evaluating the addition of new programs to serve underserved demographics.
- Expanding upon and improving our existing facilities to increase our quality of service and capacity.
- Growing our existing programs and hosting more churches.
- Increasing our marketing reach and awareness to Baptist churches
- Become known as a facility that sends well-equipped young leaders to other camps and ministries from our RISE Leader program.
- Continue to carry out the Lord’s Will for His ministry through Truett Conference Center & Camp.
Humble Beginnings
Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Mary Kimsey Truett was a woman of great faith. A large walnut tree grew behind the Truett home in Hayesville, North Carolina. While her kids, including George W. Truett, were growing up, she would almost daily seek the shade of this tree and pray for her kids, their future, and the work of God to move in the mountains of North Carolina.
Nothing is impossible with prayer. We want to emulate Mary Kimsey Truett’s faithful prayer life. During the 70th Celebration on July 3, a plaque will be revealed at the location of this tree, a short distance from a newer walnut tree that likely came from the seed of this tree. A plaque in her honor will serve as a reminder of the great power of faithful prayer, even faith as small as a seed!
