Dear Ministry Leader,
You live and work at a sacred playground. Now, you have access to research and resources to maximize your ministry's impact. SHOW ME HOWMeet Sacred Playgrounds, the best source of research and training planning design strategy impact for Christian camps and connected ministries
How could your camp or related ministry benefit from actionable research and quality training? Let’s find out.
Start here.
Sacred Playgrounds
This quick, impactful read lays foundation for effective ministry. Sacred Playgrounds explores the wisdom of camping ministry for Christian education and faith formation, examining its rich history and fundamental characteristics with compelling stories, groundbreaking research, and theological grounding. This is the culmination and summation of much of the work done at Sacred Playgrounds, incorporating data from the Effective Camp Project and the Confirmation Project, alongside stories from camps in multiple Christian traditions. The insight and evidence presented in this book demonstrate that the contributions of camping ministry must be taken seriously among scholars, Christian educators, and ministry professionals.
From Dr. Andrew Root: “There is no doubt that camping ministry has played a major role in the faith formation of Protestant churches over the last hundred years. And yet there has been little to no rich theoretical and theological reflection on camping ministry. That is, until now. Jacob Sorenson in Sacred Playgrounds offers us all a gift. With whimsical writing, rigorous research, and penetrating theological reflection, Sorenson provides a practical theology of camping ministry. This book is essential for anyone concerned with faith formation who seeks to understand and sharpen the ministry of camps.”
The Sacred Playgrounds Podcast
Behind the mic. Behind the research. For the future of ministry.Founder and Lead Researcher for Sacred Playgrounds, Dr. Jake Sorenson, is joined by host and camp enthusiast Jared Rendell for some intriguing conversations about camp and why it matters based on the latest research. Each episode we’ll focus on one thing that’s making a difference right now in outdoor ministry.
CURRENTLY RESEARCHING
The Camp and Church Leadership Project seeks to cultivate church leadership among young adults who have been engaged in camping ministries. This project has a special focus on examining the key characteristics and impacts of serving on summer camp staff. It centers on camps and congregations in the ELCA.
Since 2015, the Effective Camp Project has been gathering data on the key characteristics and impacts of the Christian summer camp experience. Through 2020, we have gathered data from more than 7,000 campers and more than 2,000 parents at dozens of camps across the USA and in Canada.
The Camp2Congregation Project, funded by the Lilly Endowment, is examining the impacts of Christian Traveling Day Camp programs on congregations, families, and young leaders in the church. The project gathered data from campers, parents, camp staff, and pastors throughout 2019.
THE LATEST episodes & articles
Camp Director Annual Evaluation
Here's one thing you can do that is good for your ministry center, good for your board, and great for your camp's executive director or CEO: an annual review for you executive leader. A good evaluation process means that board and staff leaders all know what is...
S2 E2: A Holy Handoff
Pick your analogy, a seamless pass of the baton in the zone while speeding around the track, a quarterback placing the ball squarely in the gut of a tailback headed for the endzone, an instrumental duet with a melody passed perfectly from one first chair to another -...
The Pocket God and Emerging Adult Ministry
Like most people, I had a summer reading list. I finally got around to finishing Back Pocket God (Denton and Flory, 2020), the latest book from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). It is full of fascinating statistics and implications for...
Let's start with a conversation.
Send me an email to schedule a 30 minute introduction conversation. I’d love to hear about where your ministry could go when informed by actionable, localized research and well-designed, well-facilitated training experiences.
