Knight shares plan to save Hargis Retreat in Chelsea

Aaron Knight shared his journey to save Hargis Retreat while speaking to the Chelsea Business Alliance during its Jan. 5 meeting.

Hargis Retreat is a 179-acre campground and retreat center that was created on property owned by Estes and Florence Hargis. The campground was first established by the First Christian Church of Birmingham and was then purchased by the YMCA in 1999 and used for its day camp and summer camp programs for 20 years until it was sold to Eddelman Properties in 2019.

Knight’s family has a long history in Chelsea, beginning when his uncle came to Chelsea in 1936 and bought 200 acres near Hargis Retreat. Knight moved here in 1975 at the age of 2. His uncle helped start the water company in Chelsea and also owned a store on Old U.S. 280, and his cousin has owned an excavating company for several years, so his family has had a business in Chelsea for almost 100 years.

Knight shared how he went down the wrong path as a teenager and by the time he was 16, he found himself without a house, staying in 25 different places his last two years at Chelsea High School and going to jail eight times before he turned 18. He graduated from Chelsea High School in 1991 and left the city to start over in the Hueytown area, but instead continued to consume and deal drugs.

When he was 30 years old, he said he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to change his life. Three months after a car accident, Knight was preaching at Bessemer City Jail where he ministered each Sunday for about six years.

After a divorce at age 38, Knight moved back to Chelsea in 2010 to start over. He met his wife, Kelly, in 2021, and she steered him back to God. She encouraged him to attend a local Bible college, and he began filling in at a local church to keep it going.

After a merger with another church didn’t work out, he was asked to consider pastoring at what is now Redemption Church. After almost six years, the church has grown from 40 people to around 300.

Growing up near Hargis Retreat, it has always been a place dear to Knight’s heart. When he found out the camp was going up for sale in 2019, he figured it would be developed and hoped to get a small parcel of the land to build a house, but instead God told him to instead save the camp, he said.

“I fought it a little bit at first and finally told the Lord, ‘I’ll walk this thing out if You open some doors and help out and show me You’re there,’” he said.

He decided to reach out to Doug Eddleman of Eddleman Properties via email in April 2019 but didn’t get a response. In July, he drove to his office in hopes of meeting with him, but left feeling dejected after he wasn’t able to. Knight continued to go to Eddleman’s office every other week for the next 11 months, and Eddleman reached out to him in May 2020. After a discussion, he found out the price for the camp was $2.2 million.

After several more months, Knight learned that a $195,000 payment was needed by Dec. 31, so he began to reach out to Chelsea business owners with a handwritten letter. Donations began coming in, and on Dec. 31, Knight took Eddleman a check for $196,000 — $1,000 over the needed amount.

“We actually raised $235,000 in 30 days, but that’s just the beginning,” he said. “We still have to raise $1 million in 2022 and $1 million in 2023, but I don’t worry about it a bit. I know God’s in it, and He’s going to do it.”

To help raise the money, they will be applying for grants and selling a large parcel of property. His wife is working on summer camp plans. A fundraising campaign for 2022 called Save the Camp will be up and running soon, along with other plans including a silent auction, polar plunge and other things to bring awareness to the camp.

For more information or to donate, visit hargischristiancamp.org.