February always nudges us toward thinking about love, but around here, we see it as more than a holiday on the calendar. It’s a chance to live out the heartbeat of camp… the very message we repeat at Cabin Time, Team Meeting, and Think Twice: Love God, Love Others.

Some of you have been part of our annual Wear One Share One tradition—two simple bracelets that spark something bigger than a camp memory. One worn as a reminder of Christ’s love for us… and one shared to pass that love along. Even if your family isn’t receiving bracelets in the mail this year, the mission behind them is still yours to take hold of right where you are: because Jesus has loved us, we get to love boldly, generously, and purposefully.

This month, we’re inviting our T Bar M family to lean into that rhythm together. To make February a month where we open our eyes, slow our pace, and recognize all the places God gives us to show His love—at home, in car lines, across classrooms, on sports teams, in friendships, and even with strangers we pass by without meaning to.

Love God. Love Others.
It’s a simple call with a powerful ripple. And when families step into it together, hearts grow… conversations deepen… homes shift… and kids learn that faith is meant to be lived, not just talked about.

So whether you’re sharing a bracelet or simply sharing kindness, encouragement, time, forgiveness, or truth—join us in pointing back to the One who loved us first. Let’s make this month one big Wear One Share One moment… where camp’s heartbeat spills into everyday life and the love of Christ becomes something our families carry into every room we enter.

When families gather around God’s Word and commit it to memory, something powerful happens: 

Our December Family Verse Challenge 

This December, we invite every family in the T Bar M community to meditate on and memorize Luke 2:8‑20: the story of Christ’s birth. Together we’ll reflect on the shepherds, the angels, the humility of the manger, and the glorious declaration: “Glory to God in the highest… and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” 
Let this passage become part of your family’s ordinary rhythm: at dinner, in the car, on your couch.  

Tips from Our Staff for Practicing Scripture Together 

  1. See it, read it, say it, sing it! Repeat it together at breakfast or on a bike ride – incorporate it into your everyday routines. 
  1. Write it on a large poster board and hang it in your house where you will see it each day. 
  1. Create hand motions together as a family that goes with the verse. Do the motions each time you recite it. 
  1. Write it on your kids bathroom mirrors with a dry erase marker so that it can be read out loud each morning and night. 

1. Go See DAVID Together — Then Talk About Your “Giants.” 
Make one night during break a family outing to see the new animated film DAVID. When you’re home with hot cocoa, take ten minutes to ask: What giant am I trusting God with this next season? 
It’s simple, grounding, and opens the door for meaningful connection. 

2. Alpha vs. Omega Christmas Game Night. 
Share one of T Bar M’s favorite traditions with the people you love. Most families will naturally fall into one team, so make it bigger — invite friends, cousins, neighbors, or grandparents over and introduce them to our favorite red and blue tradition. 

Split into teams, gear up in your colors, and play a few easy, camp-style competitions: 

Keep score, celebrate wildly, and expect the tide to turn at least once. It’s the kind of friendly chaos that feels like summer fun wrapped in Christmas lights. 

3. Family Campfire With a Story Swap. 
Gather around a fire in the backyard or turn down the lights, and light a few candles for an indoor campfire. Invite everyone to share: 

Roast some marshmallows or make oven-made s'mores and you've got instant campfire magic.

4. A “Love God, Love Others” Countdown Chain. 
Make a paper chain with a simple act of love or service on each link and tear one off every morning during the break. 
Ideas: 

It’s a hands-on way to practice the heart of T Bar M at home. 

5. Create Your Own 2025 “Session Video.” 
Just like the end-of-week highlight videos your campers get each summer, make your family’s own version for 2025: 

Kids feel celebrated. Parents see God’s faithfulness. Everyone ends the year remembering the good. 

Around here, we love the dinner table. Not just because it’s where the food is (though that’s a perk!), but because it’s where real connection happens.

If you’ve ever stepped foot in one of our dining halls at camp, you’ve seen it. Every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is spent shoulder to shoulder. No screens. No distractions. Just the sound of laughter, stomping feet on benches, and campers swapping stories about the zipline, cabin devos, or who's going to "win" the round of Scraper Head. The table becomes the heartbeat of the day - a place to be known, to belong, and to remember what really matters.

Back home, the rhythm of family dinners can look a little different. Soccer practice, late work calls, a toddler meltdown… it’s easy for evenings to blur into survival mode. Maybe you’ve tried to eat together, and it just didn’t stick. Maybe you’ve thought, what’s the big deal? Or maybe dinner has just become another task on the list.

But what if it’s more than that?

When we sit down at the table - even if it’s just for 20 minutes - we’re doing something quietly radical in today’s world. We’re saying: this family values presence over productivity, connection over convenience.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have a three-course meal or a devotional planned every night. Sometimes, discipleship looks like a simple question across the table:

Those small conversations are seeds of faith. They’re where our kids learn that Jesus isn’t just someone we talk about on Sundays - He’s someone we can talk to, right in the middle of mac and cheese and spilled milk.

At T Bar M, we see how Jesus uses community to shape hearts. Around every table, campers get a glimpse of what it looks like to live differently; to slow down, to share, to listen. It’s one of the simplest, most beautiful rhythms of camp life… and one that can carry home with you

How KP and Ryan Kuenast Continue to Partner with T Bar M Through Generosity

Since our beginning in 1981, T Bar M Camps & Retreats has been all about relationships. We desire to see life-change and God’s Truth practiced in our relationship with Him and our relationships with each other. Ryan and KP Kuenast have experienced life-change here at T Bar M, by serving as Coaches, Leadership, and now partnering with us!

For KP, T Bar M was a fixture of her childhood, starting at age five when she leapt into the world of Day Camp in 2004. Her summers were marked by adventure and spiritual growth, as she transitioned from Camper to Day Camp Coach to Sports Camp Coach and eventually the Sports Camp Leadership Team. Yet, becoming a Coach wasn’t always a clear path. KP remembers doubting herself, thinking she wasn’t as “cool” as the Coaches she looked up to. It took the encouragement from Will, her former youth pastor and then Day Camp Director, to convince her otherwise. This simple push led KP to become a Coach where she learned to selflessly serve and love others each day.

Not growing up as a Camper, Ryan’s story begins quite differently, but his life is forever changed by the Truth he experienced while serving at T Bar M. “College was a difficult time for my faith,” Ryan recalled, which left him feeling hesitant about the idea of serving as a camp counselor. Like KP, “I thought I wasn’t good enough.” It wasn’t until he picked up his sister from another summer camp that he felt like he should give it a try. The encouragement of friends and a memorable interview with Judah, his future Camp Director, led him to T Bar M, where he worked several summers, finding new life and joy in Jesus Christ. During that time, he was baptized - publicly proclaiming his new life in Christ and his understanding that God uses broken people to create something beautiful.

Though the two of them first crossed paths at T Bar M Sports Camp during training week, they did not work the same halves until the next year. After playing together as partners in the infamous Coaches’ Cup tournament, the rest was history. They started dating that summer and got married a few years later. Even now, they laugh with their friends about having “the best future Family Camp cabin” with their own kids someday (they might have some competition for that!).

After experiencing those bittersweet feelings we all feel when we reach our first summer away from Camp, Ryan and KP learned that some of the most meaningful ways to stay connected are through prayer and giving. Their generosity started with the desire to be faithful with what God has given them.

They both recall a sermon series done by their local church on 2 Corinthians 8-9. Their pastor focused on God’s heart in giving for the lost, giving for the city, and giving for the future. This led the Kuenasts to pray and consider giving to both their local church and to T Bar M.

“Giving isn’t just another line on the budget. It is an opportunity to pray, worship, and thank the Lord each month for His provision.”

For the Kuenasts, partnering with T Bar M serves as a reminder of the way God has used Camp in their lives, and a chance to pray for the ways He will continue to change lives for generations to come. They know that their gifts, though given humbly, are part of a larger story God is writing - one where future Coaches and Campers might encounter Jesus just as they did.

KP (Innergized - Take A Stand Camper, Take A Stand and Final Score Day Camp Coach, Dial’d In, Real Deal, Fired Up, Bonadife Sports Camp Coach and Leadership) and Ryan Kuenast (Dial’d In, Real Deal, Fired Up, Bonafide Sports Camp Coach and Leadership)

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24 

"On Saturday, November 9th, 2024, T Bar M Camps & Retreats staff, trustees, and friends gathered at the old Cedar Theater in the Outback of our New Braunfels property. There, we celebrated the groundbreaking of our new Family Camp and retreat facilities on 20 recently added acres adjacent to Base Camp (formerly known as Sports Camp). It was an exciting day of anticipating and praying for all the Lord will do as He expands our territory. 

It was my pleasure to welcome the crowd of 150 friends and family as we looked out over the freshly cut trees that had been cleared to make way for the new dining hall and maintenance facility that will be built in the first phase of construction. 

I wasn’t sure whether this was a “four score and seven years ago…” or a “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” type of event. So, I went with what was on my heart. A day of thankfulness and Psalm 118 seemed to be a perfect narrative for the day. This psalm is an expression of faith and gratitude. I love the emphasis on each day as a gift and a chance to respond with joy and thanksgiving. It was a blessing to have so many there to support T Bar M’s next season as we marked that day as one of remembrance with a desire to be faithful and obedient to what the Lord is doing both in and through this ministry. 

I was reminded as we gathered to celebrate buildings, fields, and plans; it is really the people that are the difference at T Bar M—and that includes each of you! It has always been about relationships, our relationship with our Lord and our relationship with each other. 

We have several battle cries around here, and I think they are appropriate to acknowledge as we move into this new chapter for T Bar M. Maybe “Don’t Waste Fun” or “Love God, Love Others” is permanently etched in your heart. Our heart’s desire as the Lord expands our territory is that these values and themes would not only be descriptive of our past but also would define the experience of all who come through our gates in the future. We are so thankful for this platform the Lord has used for 43 years of Christ-Centered Adventure. 

At T Bar M, worship is a soundtrack that resonates deeply in our hearts, and this day was no different. We worshiped the Lord in song, ending with a heartfelt chorus of “Sanctuary.” The singing quickly turned to laughter as our skit characters, Jack Hammer and Allen Wrench, showed up to remind us about all the history of this place we call home. 

The actual history was shared by Scott Turpin, a second-generation member of the founding family and current Trustee. He shared an inspiring reflection on all the Lord has accomplished in and through T Bar M. His thoughts on Proverbs 3:5-6 painted a picture of our desire to trust the Lord in this season and offered a realistic perspective on what it means for Him to “…make straight your paths.” (Hint: it’s not usually straight, but it’s always worth it)  

We also heard from Randy Sims, a former Sports Camp Director and current pastor who partners with T Bar M by hosting Discover Camp. The memories he shared were both a reminder and a challenge to pray as the Lord continues to use T Bar M in the lives of families. He shared, “My greatest memories of this Holy Ground are watching families learn how to Love God and Love Others.” 

John MacDonald, a former Camp Travis Coach and now T Bar M’s President (or as we like to call him, Head Guy), delivered a great charge from Deuteronomy 28. His message reminded us of our covenant relationship with God and His steadfast love and care as He continues to guide us through this season of growth. John’s encouragement finished with, “As we break the soil today, we declare this new property for the furthering of Christ’s Kingdom. May all who come in be blessed, and all who go out, be a blessing to others.” 

The ceremony wrapped up with a sweet time of prayer as we all circled up—yes, in one, huge circle. We took plenty of pictures, of course, both formal and informal. We started with a group of family and friends representing every stage of T Bar M campers: The Turpin Family representing Family Camp, a few Alumni, Timothy Team, a Coach, and Campers of all ages. We’ll look back on this photo for years to come, remembering the day we declared, ‘Lord, this is YOUR day, and we want YOU to receive all the honor and glory for all that you will do with this new platform!’ 

As we prayed, we reflected on the core values that are the cornerstone of all we do. I invite you to join us as we continue to ask the Lord to use T Bar M Camps & Retreats to point people to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Will you pray with us: 

As John 10:10 says, we desire the abundant life. Lord, help us embrace ‘Don’t Waste Fun’ and live joyfully for Your glory. 

From Philippians and Colossians: Lord, help us walk in humility, valuing others above ourselves, so that we may serve our guests well. In all we do—whether in word or deed—help us do it all in Your name with grateful hearts. Guide us to be servant leaders as we live out this Christ-centered Adventure. 

Lord, we desire to excel still more, practicing Your Truth in relationships and conduct. Help us grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with You and with others. 

Most of all, Lord, this is about Your Kingdom, by Your power, and for Your glory alone. 

Amen.” 

- Cole Adams, Senior Director of Development

  1. Together is better.  A family that prays together, and plays together, stays together!  The time at Family Camp sets a tone for when you get home.  It reminds you of the importance of praying and playing together regularly. 
  2. Make time to huddle.  Pick a time … in the morning, just before bed, whenever is best for your family. Sit around the table without distractions to talk and listen and know one another. 
  3. Don’t Waste Fun.  In fact, weave fun into your rhythm of life. 
  4. Add to your family.  There are still amazing College Students living for Jesus … at T Bar M they are grafted into your family for a week of great impact (on the kids AND the parents) 
  5. Timely Reset.  Your annual reset doesn’t have to happen in January.  Pick a week in the summer for your family’s time to look back and reflect as well as make goals and look forward to the rest of the year. 
  6. Goodnight Goodies are always a good idea.  Topping off the day together with warm cookies and milk is a special treat (and the cookies are good too!) 
  7. Let your kids see you be silly.  Dress up for the theme night, let the belly laugh come, go all in at the kickball game, even if you whiff.  Kids need to see you play … and well, you need to play. 
  8. Welcome Home! As alumni, we can’t WAIT for you to come “home” to Camp as a family! Show your family the place that had such an impact on your life. 
  9. God is writing amazing stories. Gather with other adults to hear what God is doing and how He is carrying them through the hard. It is quite a gift to hear and share these stories.
  10. God is good, all the time.  He just is. Take a week to get away and be reminded of that very Truth. 

"There is an old rustic camp in Spicewood, TX where “Breakfast at Rio Grande” ignites a flood of nostalgic feel goods buried deep in our bones… I’m talking about a little place called Camp Travis.

If we’re counting (and we always do) it’s been almost 24 years since my first summer as a Travis Camper. I was thirteen and thirsty for attention, affection and the appeal of the world. And in the midst of those cravings, Camp Travis became a little taste of heaven on earth, better than anything this world had to offer. I still remember the moment God called me to abandon the lifestyle I was chasing to follow Him. After lights out that night, I called my Coach over to my bed and whispered to her, “I won’t ever be the same again.” And I wasn’t. 

As a Coach, I watched this same story unfold in the lives of my Campers, and as I got to be a part of it, my heart beat faster and harder, as if it was in sync with the very heart of God. I knew there was something about this Camp thing I was created for.

Years passed, and just when I thought Camp had disappeared in my rear view mirror, God made my way back through the Camp Travis gate and down the dirt road for one last summer in the Rio. It was the most fun I’ve ever had, and the icing on the honey bun cake was when the Programs guy smiled and asked me for a cup of yogurt. A couple of months later, on the Rio porch, he asked me to marry him. 

Together, we’ve been at this Camp thing since then, traveling Texas with Discover and making the shift from Sports to Base Camp. But after two years of working on Facilities, we’re ready to get back to the nitty gritty of camp life! 

“So I said, ‘What about breakfast at Rio Grande?!”

We’re humbled and grateful God is making our way back through the gates of Camp Travis with the big ole gift of stewarding such a sacred place and people for his namesake, this time, with our three boys in tow. We are so excited for them to get a taste!

As we reflect on the story God has been writing, we are in awe of the redeeming notes throughout it. It’s a story that boasts of God’s faithfulness amidst our failures, testifying of Christ alone. And to that, we are filled with joy!


Hoop Diggity and Andele Andele!!"

- Kara Overby

On October 7th, 2024, we gathered for the 3rd Annual T Bar M Classic - and what a day it was! With over 90 golfers coming together to enjoy some friendly competition and support a cause close to our hearts, the energy was high at Kissing Tree Golf Club.

Thanks to the generosity of our players, sponsors, and donors, an incredible $93,000 for our Campership Fund. These funds will make it possible for even more kids to experience the life-changing impact of Camp: A place where they’ll grow in their faith, deepen friendships, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

From the moment our golfers hit the course to the final putt, the atmosphere was filled with camaraderie, laughter, and a shared purpose. Teams teed off and had some fun along the journey with holes featuring a ball launcher, skit clothes, and a hole-in-one contest. There were plenty of moments that reminded us that while golf is fun, this tournament is about so much more.

We have the privilege of serving with our time, our talent, and our treasures. All are given to us by God to invest in His Kingdom. To our players and sponsors, thank you for serving T Bar M Campers with all three.

Time: Busy lives and busy schedules often present challenges to gathering, so thank you for spending the day with us on the course.

Talent: Thank you for connecting us to those who joined The Classic and for connecting us to families who may benefit from Scholarships.

Treasure: You helped raise $93,000 for the Camper Scholarship Fund in one day! Your treasures will go directly to helping send a child to Camp who would not be able to come without your support.

Events like the T Bar M Classic are only possible because of the amazing support from sponsors, players, and everyone who believes in the impact of a week at Camp. Your participation doesn’t just make the day a success - it makes Camp possible for so many kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to come. If you would like to continue supporting Camper Scholarships or know someone who would, find out more here.

Special shoutout to our title sponsor, Keith Wing Custom Builders, and all the incredible teams who made this event one to remember. Your generosity and enthusiasm have made a tangible impact, and we can’t thank you enough for partnering with us in this mission. Check out all our amazing sponsors here.

As we wrap up another successful T Bar M Classic, we’re already looking forward to next year’s tournament. Until then, we celebrate the amazing results of this year and the countless lives that will be changed because of it.

Thank you for making the 3rd Annual T Bar M Classic one for the books!

Where Love and Camp Meet: The Impact of the Campership Fund

At T Bar M, we believe every kid should experience the fun, growth, and deeper faith that Camp brings. Thanks to our Campership Fund, made possible by generous Donors, Campers who might not otherwise have the chance are able to come, play, and experience God in powerful ways.

Life-Changing Moments at Camp

Each scholarship opens the door for Campers to dive into a week filled with new friendships, fun, and Jesus. As one Base Camper shared, “I love that I get to grow my faith in God. Thank you for getting me to Camp!” It’s not just about the activities - it’s about hearts being shaped for eternity.

Another Camper expressed, “My favorite thing was Trail Guide because I got close to God and learned memory verses.” Whether it’s learning about Jesus or conquering the blob, Camp is full of moments that last far beyond their time with us.

Community that Transforms

At Camp Travis, the impact goes even deeper. One Camper shared, “At Camp, I learned and grew to walk the way Jesus did, to not live for things of this world.” Here, it’s all about the community - believers coming together, encouraging one another, and building lifelong relationships rooted in faith.

For many, T Bar M becomes a second home. One Camper reflected, “Camp Travis truly is like home to me.” That sense of belonging and spiritual growth is what makes T Bar M special: Campers leave different than they came, carrying the love of Christ with them.

Your Gift, Their Growth

Thanks to the Campership Fund, stories like these happen every summer. A Camper shared, “No matter how broken you are in life, my Father will pick me up and help shape me to be a citizen of heaven.” That’s the kind of transformation your generosity makes possible!

If you want to be part of this life-changing impact, consider supporting the Campership Fund here or learn more about The Classic, one of the events that helps make camp possible for so many