Nestled in the northwestern corner of South Carolina at the Blue Ridge Escarpment is a part of creation that has seen thousands enjoy outdoor ministry since the summer of 1961.  Founded as a summer camp for children and youth, today Asbury Hills Camp and Retreat Center hosts people of all ages year-round on its 1800 acres of foothills forest land.

Located at the foot of Caesar’s Head, one of the highest points in South Carolina, the property rises in elevation from 1160 to 3000 feet above sea level.  Features on the site include a man-made lake and several creeks, including the pristine, AAA-trout stream, Matthew’s Creek flowing out of the 400-foot Raven Cliff Falls, just across the northern border of the camp.  The spectacular deciduous forests include oak, hickory and poplar as well as beautiful creek-side stands of rhododendron and hemlock.  White tail deer, fox, raccoon, bobcat and black bear populate the lands of the property while rainbow and brown trout, bass and bream thrive in its waters.  A variety of raptors, including red-tail hawks and bald eagles have been spotted in the skies over Asbury Hills, riding the thermals of the Escarpment.  This setting, so full of life, naturally offers transformation and renewal to the people of the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church today as it has done for the past forty-five years.

In the heart of the massive Francis Marion National Forest is forty-three acres of low country refuge from the rapid pace of daily life.  Sewee Coastal Retreat Center was acquired by the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1985 to provide a low country retreat for its members across the state.  Offering day and overnight summer camps for children in its early days, Sewee now hosts retreat, camping and picnic groups year-round and is in partnership with Clemson University offering environmental education camps to children state-wide each summer.
Surrounded by the Francis Marion National Forest, Sewee’s property borders the Intercoastal Waterway with both dock and boat access overlooking the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge.  Located halfway between Charleston and McClellanville, Sewee offers spectacular natural beauty to its guests
ramp on-site as well as access to breath-taking barrier islands, “black water” kayaking and low country hiking.  The history, culture and festivals of the Charleston area are only a short drive away.  

Now in its fifth decade of ministry, South Carolina United Methodist Camps and Retreat Ministries finds itself with opportunities that differ greatly than those before the founders of the camps in the late fifties and even in the mid-eighties.  Today more than half of those visiting retreat and conference centers nationwide are adults.  People come to retreat centers with the desire and expectation of engaging creation for experience, exercise or education.  Parental expectations of the camp experience for their children and youth have changed.  Many church retreat facilities find themselves increasing reliant on use by non-church non-profits for their annual income.
Faced with these new realities, in the spring of 1997 the Board of Camps and Retreats sought the guidance of Kevin Witt, National Director of Camping for the United Methodist Church.  In a retreat setting as a group with time spent in prayer, study and conversation, the Board recognized its role as more than only oversight of its two sites, Sewee Coastal Retreat Center and Asbury Hills.  Under Witt’s guidance the Board began to understand its expanded mission as offering hospitality and leadership and spiritual development opportunities to the guests at its facilities.  As a result of that understanding, the Board added the word “ministries” to its name, changing its name to the Board of Camps and Retreat Ministries.  This new understanding of its role in the ministry of the South Carolina Conference is reflected in the vision statement adopted under Witt’s facilitation:  “People experiencing God’s transforming love through communion with God’s people and creation.”

The Board recognized the need to transform their vision for South Carolina United Methodist Camps and Retreat Ministries into a plan of action.  As a part of that effort, they interviewed camp master planning firms from across the nation, hiring the Ames, Iowa firm of Harrison, Hempe, and Davis, Inc.  As lead partner in the firm, Art Harrison has over 50 years of experience in camp master planning.  His training as a landscape architect and extensive experience in working with camps across the country and abroad made Harrison uniquely qualified to guide the board in the master planning process.

Over a 24-month period beginning in 1997, a comprehensive planning process was used to develop the master plan for both Asbury Hills and Sewee.  The process consisted of four major components:

• Programming
• Inventory and Analysis
• Development of a Draft Master Plan
• Development of the Final Master Plan