Retreat center vows to rebuild after Southern California wildfire

CEDAR PINES PARK, Calif. — The Hilltop Renewal Center, a popular renewal destination for Christian leaders, is seeking financial assistance to help rebuild the center after the devastating fall fires.

The 7,800-square-foot center—a common retreat for faculty, students and alumni at Biola and Talbot universities—was wiped out during the Southern California fires.

“The center now looks like a war zone,” Gene TenElshof of the Hilltop Renewal Center, said in a news release. “It looked like firefighters made an attempt to save the center from destruction, as burnt fire hoses were found laying in the driveway.”

TenElshof and his wife, Biola professor Dr. Judy TenElshof, serve as the president and executive director, respectively, of the retreat center.

The TenElshofs vowed to rebuild and have reached a settlement with their insurance carrier. The settlement will provide 70 percent of the reconstruction costs.

Tucked in a remote area of Cedar Pines Park, the 57-acre site played host to Biola student and alumni retreats, and also served as a place of solitude and rest for Christian leaders.

“The loss of Hilltop impacted Biola and Talbot in many ways,” Gene TenElshof said. “Several professors finished up their dissertations at Hilltop while others finished books at Hilltop. Hilltop was a place where God was very near.”

The rebuilding plans will include reseeding the mountain. In addition, volunteers have already assisted the recovery by spreading 350 bales of straw hay to help prevent erosion on the mountain.

“It will take a few years for the forest to come back, but we hope to break ground by next summer on the new facility,” TenElshof said.

To raise the additional 30 percent of the funds needed to rebuild, TenElshof said the center is planning a benefit concert and golf tournament.

Once rebuilt, Hilltop’s leadership team hopes the center can continue to create an environment where Christian leaders can experience an authentic connection with God. The new facility will likely be equipped with many of the same amenities as the former center.

“We want the new center to continue to have a home-like feel to it,” he said. “The center’s goal is not to become large, but rather to stay small in order to keep the retreat feel and offer people a place of solitude.”

For more information on the rebuilding effort, log on to hilltoprenewal.org.

Published by Keener Communications Group

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