After entering new hands of management, Camp Meridale near Meridian is undergoing a major renovation.  

Camp Meridale is 44 acres of campground donated by Joe Meyer to the Girl Scouts in 1938. But the camp has since become inactive, leading Meyer’s descendants, the children and grandchildren of Ruth and Harold Meyer, to repeat their ancestor’s kindness by donating the land to Fourth Day Ministries.

The religious organization, led by author and minister Ty Ford, seeks to spread the gospel of Christianity and to lead people out of darkness. 

“In the future it’s going to be a place for meetings, events, conferences, revivals, retreats and camps,” said Ford. “But also we want the community to have access to it, too.”

The camp will feature horses, outdoor sports, fishing, hiking trails, grilling, camping and an assortment of buildings for use, as well as a football field. 

“We want to enrich this place with activities and we’re constantly getting every activity we can get to add to what people can use here,” said Ford.

The group has invested about $300,000 in renovations so far, but still has a way to go with about $150,000 worth of work still needing to be done. Not only will the camp utilize its original acreage, it will also make use of an additional 126 acres, totalling 170 acres.

“The property cost was funded through Camp Meridale LLC,” said Ford. “Supporters of Fourth Day Ministries formed that LLC to help the ministry have use of the entire camp. The other expenses were paid for through supporters of Fourth Day Ministries.”

Ford and his wife, Hillary, were in the throes of addiction at one time, and as they entered sober living they began the process of giving back. That eventually led them to Camp Meridale.

“If we can just make a positive impact continuously and God work through this property and through us, we don’t want anything more than that,” Ty Ford said. 

“It’s about lives being changed and souls being saved,” said Hillary Ford.

The group values volunteers, but moving ahead, their main concern is funding, as that slows their efforts and puts a strain on how much can be done at one time.

“Every building that’s here we’re going to restore, we’re just doing at the rate we can do it at,” said Ty Ford.

Donations can be made online at FourthDayMinistries.org.