Crista Ministries To Buy Alderbrook Inn

Crista Ministries of Shoreline, whose worldwide operations include schools, relief missions and care for the elderly, is acquiring the Alderbrook Resort on Hood Canal, one of Washington state's oldest inns.

The organization plans to use the 620-acre resort in Union, Mason County, as a Christian family conference center, Crista President Jim Gwinn said today.

Gwinn said nationally known Christian speakers will be invited to the 101-room resort to provide programming for weeklong family retreats during the summer.

The deal was worked out over the past two months with the estate of Wes and Frances Johnson, the resort's longtime owners, Gwinn said.

Gwinn said Crista has long been seeking a site for a conference center, having considered facilities in Oregon and Idaho. But Alderbrook's historic ties and proximity to Seattle and Portland made it a more desirable setting.

While the Crista conference center will be busiest during the summer, it also will host weekend retreats during the off-season.

Since the resort already has booked many reservations for this summer, Crista likely will take over in the fall, Gwinn said.

When Alderbrook was first developed in 1913, the area had no roads, so guests arrived by steamer. Now, Alderbrook is a 98-mile drive from Seattle through Olympia - or 85 miles by way of Tacoma and the Narrows Bridge.

Jake Batsell's phone message number is 206-464-2595. His e-mail address is: jbatsell@seattletimes.com