Camp History

Making disciples since 1945.

The Mt. Lebanon Story

Isaiah 35:2 – “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it.”

Our Story

In 1945, Women’s Missionary Union director Gladys Moore and Mrs. C.L. Doughty went to visit Tom and Pauline Patton regarding the possible donation of a few acres of land to build a camp for children. The Pattons caught a vision for the project and wound up donating their entire 519-acre ranch to the Dallas Baptist Association.

The churches and people of the Association quickly rallied, served, and gave sacrificially to build one of the largest camps in Texas. Over 850 children attended the very first camp, many sleeping outside in tents!

The Pattons continued to assist throughout their life, funding a chapel and eventually endowing camp scholarships still available for any child who needs help to attend. The camp was later named Mt. Lebanon from Isaiah 35:2 – “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it.”

Since Then

Over the decades since, more than a million children, teens, and adults have filled the camp with joy and singing, learning the good news of Christ and making countless life-changing decisions along the way. We seek to honor the desires of those pioneers who gave so sacrificially in the past so that Mt. Lebanon will always remain a place “Where People Meet Jesus!”

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For God’s Glory

“One old timer called me on the telephone and wanted to know what the Baptists were going to do with all that land. I told him use it or keep it as they liked but my thinking was that in time they would use every acre of it to the glory of the Lord, and I believe it.”

-Tom Patton, 1964