Heartland Boys Academy · Boys ages 12–17
Kentucky
An 80-acre adventure campus in Nebo, western Kentucky.
Boys build confidence, teamwork, and perseverance through caves, trails, and wilderness, with the full Heartland program behind every day.
Where
Nebo, KY, located in western Kentucky
Setting
80-acre campus with trails, a pond, and woods
Academics
Accredited, on campus, with daily PE
Leadership
Student leadership track from month five
- 60+ Years of Experience
- Fully Accredited
- 1,000+ Lives Changed
- Campus Tours Welcome
Campus overview
Adventure is the classroom here.
Caves, trails, and open water are part of the week. Boys learn to lead by earning trust one outing at a time.
Ask about a campus tour during your consultation.
The Kentucky campus sits on 80 acres near Nebo in western Kentucky, with an indoor recreation space, a weight gym, an outdoor recreation field, and a spring-fed pond for fishing and kayaking. Exercise is a daily part of the schedule, and every afternoon after school the whole campus plays together.
Our residential program provides boys with a safe, structured home environment where caring staff are available around the clock. Each student attends our accredited academy and participates in the consistent daily routine used at every Heartland location. As boys make progress and demonstrate increased responsibility, they are given greater trust, privileges, and opportunities to participate in special activities.
From the fifth month, boys can apply for the student leadership track, which brings leadership meetings, community service, and mentoring from staff. Family involvement centers on regular calls and visits and on the transition plan for coming home.
Unique to Kentucky
Every campus shares the program. This is what Kentucky adds.
Academics, mentoring, counseling, team challenges, community meals: the core is the same at every location. These are the experiences that give Kentucky its own character.
Gardening
The boys are responsible for tending to healthy gardens. Daily care teaches consistency and follow-through in a way a lecture never could. In the gardens; boys plant, tend, and harvest in order to see steady work pay off over time.
RappellingHuntingKayakingCamping twice a year
Outdoor life
Archery, hunting, fishing, kayaking, and twice-yearly camping trips take the boys into the lakes, springs, and rolling hills of mid and western Kentucky. Outdoor events are scheduled throughout the year to provide a sense of adventure that every young man requires. Outdoor life is where students reset; away from screens they are given the opportunity to explore God’s creation, and focus on something bigger than themselves.
ArcheryHuntingKayakingHikingCamping
Cave exploration and spelunking
Kentucky has more than 130 known caves, and the boys get into them. Students hike and explore systems like Mammoth Cave, Lost River Cave, and Diamond Caverns, learning to stay calm, trust their team, and push through the dark.
Mammoth CaveGuided outingsYear-roundTeamwork underground
Activities
A full week, on campus and off.
Daily exercise, earned outings, and trips across the state are built into the schedule so that structure never feels like standing still.
Earned outings
Honor Roll trips
Boys who keep their grades up or show the most improvement earn outings each month: escape rooms, axe throwing, laser tag, trampoline parks, rock climbing, and more.
On campus
- Daily corporate game
- Indoor basketball
- Weight gym
- Soccer field
- Fishing & kayaking pond
Off campus & faith
- The Ark Encounter trip
- Museums & zoos
- Water parks
- Local mission trips
- El Salvador missions
Everything above sits on the full Heartland program.
Accredited academics, group mentoring, one-on-one counseling, team challenges, and community meals are the daily foundation at every campus.
Directors
Meet the directors
Twenty years of walking with young people.
Our greatest desire is to see families restored and young lives transformed through mentorship and the practical application of Biblical principles.
Bryan and Amanda met on a mission trip to Russia and married in 2003. They are parents of two teenagers themselves, and have led the Georgia campus since 2016.
Bryan is an ordained minister trained in counseling for addiction and life-controlling issues, and a certified Trust-Based Relational Intervention caregiver. Amanda, a Southeastern University graduate, spent years as a public school teacher and church administrator — and grew up around Heartland, where her father served more than 25 years on the Southeast regional board.
Ordained ministerTBRI caregiverAddiction counselingFormer public school teacher