Camp Emanuel’s Family Life Center near completion of rough-ins; leaders say funding will determine finish date

Pastor Scott Hobbs and project lead Dave Stormont updated the Dare County commissioners on the Family Life Center project at Camp Emanuel, reporting that the site’s eleven cabins are complete and work is under way on a dining hall with a commercial kitchen and meeting rooms.

Stormont said the camp has taken about 10 years to build the cabins but completed the current Family Life Center structure in under two years. He described the interior as at the rough-in stage for electrical, HVAC and plumbing and said the project team has funding to complete rough-ins and move to insulation and sheetrock. The presenters said finishing the interior appointments—kitchen equipment, furnishings and final fixtures—depends on additional funding that has not yet been secured.

Pastor Hobbs and Stormont said the facility is intended for retreats, youth ministry, and broader community outreach and that the leadership expanded the design beyond an initial plan for a smaller dining hall in order to serve a wider constituency. The camp’s cabins can house close to 100 people, Stormont said, and the new building is intended to reduce pressure on Liberty Christian Church during large events.

Stormont thanked county planning, building-inspections and health-department staff—naming Donna Creef and Buddy Shelton (both noted as retired) and current inspector Corey Tate—for assistance during the permitting and construction process. He invited commissioners to visit the site and said the congregation and volunteer teams have written scripture on the building studs as part of a community participation effort.

No county funding request or formal action was made at the meeting; presenters said they would continue to raise funds and hope to finish the facility as donations become available.