About Us
A faith-based retreat center owned by Our Father’s Children
Our History
Akiva was purchased by Our Father’s Children (OFC) in October 2012, previously known as CCLW (Christian Camp of the Living Word). CCLW was established in 1970 when a member of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas offered the land. Churches in North Central Texas collaborated to build and run the camp, with local ministers securing funding and volunteering labor. Early volunteers opened and closed the camp each season, and by the late 1980s, a full-time caretaker was hired. Wes Moseley became Camp Manager in 1998, seeking to broaden the camp ministry. CCLW’s summer attendance peaked in the early 2000s, but church support gradually declined. In 2012, OFC board members toured the property, finalizing its purchase in October. OFC launched a capital campaign to refurbish the property, now named Camp Akiva, to host summer camps and programs. The vision was to provide a royal, loving experience for children who had endured abuse and neglect, offering them a safe, comfortable environment to experience God’s love through exciting camp-life moments. OFC continues to make improvements, impacting lives for generations to come.
Our Mission
Our vision is to offer every child in Texas who has endured abuse and neglect the hope and healing found in Jesus Christ, within a safe, nurturing, and loving environment. We believe that every child deserves to experience the transformative power of God’s love and grace, regardless of their past hardships.
Our mission is to serve as a refuge, offering hope and restoration to children who have suffered abuse and neglect. We aim to provide Christ-centered hospitality not only to these children but to all age groups, fostering a space of peace, comfort, and renewal.
By creating an environment free from the pressures of the world, we seek to help individuals experience God’s presence, healing, and love in a way that equips them for a brighter future.
Statement of Faith
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are inspired of God. The Scriptures are the infallible Work of God, His revelation of Himself to all of creation, and the authoritative rule of faith and conduct for mankind.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His victorious and atoning death through His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return to power and glory.
We believe in baptism by immersion as taught in the New Testament. Therefore, all who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Savior should seek to be baptized.
Wes & Lisa’s Story
After serving at Lone Tree Bible Ranch, God opened the door for us to work at CCLW. In October of 1998, we jumped into full-time camp ministry. In our first few months we vision casted an ambitious 2-, 5-, and 10-year plan for camp. We started out with a summer staff of only 7, serving about 80 campers per week. Those 120hr workweeks were grueling yet fulfilling. As the years ticked by Lisa served “part-time” at camp while finishing her math degree. Through God’s faithfulness, camp grew to 175 campers a week and we were able to remodel cabins and construct new buildings at camp. Church participation slowly began to wane. Little did we know that God was shepherding us through some lean, hard years. In hindsight, we can testify that He was stretching and preparing us, and camp, for a change in ministry. In 2012, Our Father’s Children took over ownership of the property and Camp Akiva was born!
We changed from serving a small group of churches to sharing God’s love with abused and neglected kids and serving hundreds of churches. We have been able to grow the camp facilities by leaps and bounds. Lisa was able to join this camp ministry full time. Now we get to work side by side in construction projects, hosting retreats year-round, and serving 200-300 campers every week in the summer.
Looking back, we can still remember instances from being campers at CCLW that are pivotal in our walk with Christ. It’s fun to see God’s plan come to fruition: “the 10-year plan that has taken 25+ years”. He is so amazing and faithful, allowing us to accomplish so much more than we could ever have imagined.
Camp Akiva Timeline
EARLY 1971
CCLW Begins!
Bob Hawley, a member of Valley View Christian Church, donated 50 acres to the local churches to build the camp
August 1973
First Summer Camp
The first summer camp was held with construction underway on the dining hall and some of the cabins
October 1998
Wes is here!
Wes Moseley hired as camp manager
1999-2012 - CCLW Improvements
CCLW improvements
1999-Challenge Course was built
2000-Built Manager’s home
2001-Nurse’s station & pool bathhouse constructed
2002-Shop was built
2003-Original girls’ cabins (8) were insulated & climate controlled
2004-Two Original boys’ cabins were insulated & climate controlled
2005-Installed Walls on Original Gym Pavillion
2006-Original gym insulated and climate controlled
2007-Tiled the floor within DH building
2008-One Original boys’ cabin was insulated & climate controlled
2009-Bathhouse showers upgraded
SEPTEMBER 2005
Housed Hurricane Katrina Evacuees
185 arrived on property and were re-homed over a span of 2 weeks
October 2012
OFC purchases CCLW
CCLW was officially purchased by Our Father’s Children and renamed as Camp Akiva
2013-2014
Camp was closed for capital improvements
During this time, trees were harvested, the big field was expanded to 3x its size, bath houses were converted to lodges, the pond and lake were dug, and new construction was started for the pool, the chapel, the dorm, Akiva Suites, and the front gate
June 2015
First Summer as Akiva
OFC held its first summer camps at Camp Akiva
2016
Oak Room and Office Constructed
An additional meeting space and office were built
2017
An Apartment and Blacklight Dodgeball added
Upstairs of the Dining Hall was converted into an apartment for a FT staff member and Blacklight Dodgeball added
2018
Multiple additions to camp
Installed a 2nd drink station in the dining hall, added a master suite to the Manager’s house and built the Staff Lounge (Hillside)
2019
More additions added to camp
The Paintball Field was cleared & created, the Dining Hall was extended, a dish room installed and Paintball and Archery added.
2020
COVID-19 YEAR
No campers this year but summer staffers painted the exteriors of all the buildings
2021
Jacket Shack added
We constructed a new jacket shack by the pond to house all of the life jackets used at camp.
2022
Lake improvements
We added a Paddle Hut at the lake and a dock was constructed
2023
The Elm Lodge was built
We were able to add another facility that combines housing and meeting space by constructing The Elm Lodge. We also upgraded the twin mattresses in the Akiva Suites
2024
The New Gym and more upgrades
We were excited to add the new large gym next to The Oak Room. The new space will allow us to do more indoor activities. This year, we also expanded the Nurse’s Station and resurfaced the pool deck
2025
More meeting spaces and more activities
We completed the new Cottonwood Exchange. We also relocated our woodworking space to a new area by the new gym. We added new activities such as Bazooka Ball & Crate Stacking.
Camp Akiva Staff
Camp Akiva is licensed and regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
For more information go to dshs.texas.gov/youth-camp-program
owned & operated by
To provide HOPE to children of abuse and neglect in Texas, ages 6-18, in week-long camp settings and weekend retreats








