Our History & Mission

The ministry on this hill began in the late seventies. Bob Warren, a western Kentucky native, returned home from an eight-year pro basketball career to resume farming. Comforted by the wide open spaces and the familiar rolling hills, Bob sensed the Lord leading him into teaching ministry. The door soon opened for him to begin holding Bible studies in his log cabin. At that time, the ministry on The Hill was born. As the Lord continued to increase the ministry, it became obvious that the need for a larger facility was to be prayerfully considered.

The first building to go up was the Manna House conference center. Next came the Ark dormitory, followed by the addition of a work shop, a log home for small retreats and sabbaticals, the Lodge Dormitory, the Library Meeting Room and Dormitory, and other outdoor recreational opportunities. With these additions, the ministry was now equipped to meet the needs of a wide variety of church groups and Christian organizations desiring to gather Bible studies, retreats, conferences, and camps.

Bob Warren was taken home to be with Jesus in 2014. At that time his wife Kim stepped into the role as ministry director. God's favor has continued to expand the ministry to include more onsite discipleship with college age men and women, multiple Bible study opportunities, more summer leadership camps for teens, and Bible study support materials. Jenelle Porterfield, Kathryn Sperry, Andrew Porterfield, Erinn Finley, Rick Underhill, and Brent Armstrong round out The Hill staff.

These individuals, along with many more who volunteer, invest their lives into the lives of others through discipleship. A board of directors continues to provide wonderful guidance and counsel, making sure the ministry holds true to God's Word and properly uses all resources to its care.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to strengthen and equip believers to know Jesus as their joy, freedom, and life.

The History of Summer Youth Leadership Camp

In 1990 Bob casually said to his wife, Kim, he would like to bring 13-18 year-old students to The Hill at BASIC Training for a week in the summer. There was not a lot of planning or fanfare. If the youth could get to The Hill, Bob would introduce them to God’s word so they might come to know and love this Jesus they had always heard about in the western Kentucky and Tennessee regions where most were raised. His idea was that the time throughout the camp week would focus heavily on the Scriptures, emphasizing Who God is and who they are to Him and in Him.

Bob was not deterred when a man approached him saying teens had short attention spans of about thirty minutes. He was told they would lose interest and would need a lot of extracurricular activities, play time, and very short Bible sessions. Bob countered with an unpopular thought. He believed the young people were being underestimated, and that we could indeed engage them in the Scriptures for several hours a day.

We just needed to ignite a fire and fan the flame through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the years, Bob continued to remind these teens through the Scriptures of how much they are loved by God their Father, and that walking with God is the greatest adventure they will ever know.

Summer Leadership Camp started with two men in 1991, Bob Warren and John Patton. Bryan McKenzie joined the Camp as a third leader in 1992. Bryan explains Bob's heart for Summer Camp was to teach God's Word in context for the purpose of knowing the heart of Jesus. In doing so, he believed the youth would learn to study God’s Word in context, therefore growing in knowledge of the heart of Jesus for the rest of their lives. He also believed that by physically working together it would model how to walk in the Spirit in our day-to-day activities as well as teach them how to build relationships with others.

At The Hill we believe truth is knowing a person and His name is Jesus. Jesus is our Camp theme, our leader and highest example of Christian faith in the Father. We aim to live by His life. Jesus has not grown weary of us, nor have we of Him, nor has any generation of youth learned a better truth that they would stop coming to Summer Leadership Camp in Hardin, KY. Join us as we teach the Bible in context, have daily work crews, free time and a lot of laughter.

Recent Newsletter Updates