| Type: | 501(c)(3) non-profit |
| Foundation: | Stewartville, MN (1976) |
| Founder: | Bob Bardwell |
| Location: | Stewartville, Minnesota |
| Footnotes: | denomination = Christian (non-denominational) |
| Key People: | Bob Bardwell (founder) Tracy Bashore (Executive Director) (president) Mike Enke |
| Homepage: | ironwoodsprings.com |
Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch (ISCR) is a Christian camp in southern Minnesota serving over 22,000 people per year. Founded by Bob Bardwell, ISCR's express purpose is to provide an atmosphere and opportunity for adults and children to get to know themselves, others and God better. Ironwood Springs has been a non-profit organization since 1976. The camp gets its name from the hundreds of Ironwood trees on the land and the boiling springs along the Root River.
Since 1969, Bob Bardwell (wheelchair marathon racer and author) had a dream to start or work at a Christian camp when he worked at Horn Creek Ranch in Westcliffe, Colorado. God used Bob's experiences at this camp to show him the spiritual, social, and emotional impact a Christian camp can have on a child for lifetime. After leaving Horn Creek Ranch, it was Bardwell's goal to start a Christian camp of his own.
In 1973, Bardwell finished seminary and got married. That same year he was paralyzed from the waist down in a heavy construction accident. This event led to a series of changes that allowed Bob to see the Lord's purpose and plan for his life. By 1976, land that Bob's father, Lester Bardwell, had purchased was transformed into the start of a non-profit, non-denominational, independent Christian camp. "Bob's dream was realized."[1]