Retreat Facility

Retreat Facility

The Carmel Campus is the training center for the TENT Ministry. Apart from having facilities for training, the campus has a facility for people to get away from their busy schedules and work; to relax and have some fun. This is perhaps one of its own kind for Christian people, especially keeping Christian activities in mind.

The 12-acre land is twenty kilometers east of Hyderabad, near village Kondapur, north of Gatkesar NH202 (Varangal Road.) The whole setting is very idyllic, as it is surrounded by small hillocks, edging on a bushy forest. The backdrop for the campus is a beautiful hillock of about 300 feet high, with granitic boulders, resembling the Carmel Hill, where Elijah proved that his God was the Living God.

As you enter the campus from the south, you will see a map of the campus given to the scale, including the contours. The first one is the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a water harvesting pond, with the shape resembling Lake Galilee, in Israel. All the surface run-offs and the rainwater collected on the roofs of the buildings, is led into this pond, which recharges the ground water. There is a bore well next to the pond, from which the water is pumped to the overhead tank. The overhead tank is connected to other sub-tanks for irrigation purposes, and for domestic use.

Next to it is the King Center (Kingdom Information Network for the Gospel.) This is a two-story building, with Gilgal Auditorium in the Ground Floor. This auditorium has about a 200 seating capacity. The stage has greenrooms. The sound system is a 24-channel mixer. It also has focusing lights. There is also a well furnished guest room, with a small kitchenette. This also has an attached, western style bathroom. The 1st floor includes a library and a reading room, with over 3,000 books and journals on theology, missions, community development, etc. There is a computer center with Wi-Fi. There is a seminar hall with a capacity of 50 people, and LCD Projectors. On the same floor, you will find an Antioch, which is used for intercessory prayers every day.

In front of the King Center are a volleyball court, and the Carmel Waterfalls. Next to it is the Carmel Chapel. It is a circular structure, standing on twelve pillars, to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The roof is like a tent, and at the top of the center, there is a raised structure, with twelve open windows representing the twelve disciples, proclaiming the Gospel to the world. Around the Chapel, we have the four most frequently mentioned plants in the Bible. They are the olive, fig, pomegranates, and grapes.

By the east side of the chapel, there is a three dimensional model of Holy Land, showing the physiography. You can see Mt. Hermon, which is covered with snow year round, and 9,500 feet above sea level. The Sea of Galilee, which is 585 feet below sea level, can also be noticed. The Dead Sea, which is also shown in the model, is 1,762 feet below sea level, the lowest spot in the world. Other prominent places you can spot out are Mt. Nebo, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Mt. Carmel, etc.

North of King Center is the Harvest Hostel, which can accommodate 60 people. It has a dining room, and a lounge. Adjacent to the hostel, is the indoor games room, known as Elah. Elah has a billiards table, table tennis, caroms, and chess. Inside this, a gymnasium is also provided.

There are well shaded areas with lawns, which can be used by the retreaters for outdoor activities and services. The horti-pasture lands are specially designed for demonstration. The plants include varieties of mangoes, guava, sapota, custard apples, pomegranates, ber, and many large trees of neem, tamarind, teak, eucalyptus, babul, and subabul. There are kitchen gardens of different varieties, including the creepers. There are also different flower pots, especially a variety of roses. We can also see diverse irrigation practices, such as flooding, pot, drip, and sprinkler. There is also a windmill, which pumps water, to irrigate the fruit garden.

For a closer visit, of birds and nature, we have enclosures, with parakeets, parrots, pigeons, ducks, geese, turkey, etc.

There is a small diary of cross-bred jersey cows, a bio gas unit, supplies, gas to the kitchens, the cow dung, and the glyrecidia used for producing the vermicompost.

There are workshops for learning simple technologies, such as carpentry, fabrication, electrification, candle making, screen printing, mushroom culture, etc.

In the center of the campus, there is a life size model of the Tabernacle. In the northern part of the campus, there is the Women’s Fellowship Center, which can accommodate 40 retreaters. This has facilities for dining, conference room, library, seminar hall, and a workshop. Immediately north of this center, is the Noah’s Ark under construction.

As the campus is visited especially on public holidays by families and school children, we have also provided a Children’s Park, a canteen, a souvenir shop, and a greenhouse.