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 HOWWelcome to the premier source of research for Christian camp and related ministries.
How could your camp or congregation benefit from actionable research and quality training? Let’s find out.
Available Now
Sacred Playgrounds
Christian Summer Camp in Theological Perspective
Sacred Playgrounds, a brand new book about Christian summer camp, is available now and ready for your bookshelf. This uniquely data-driven perspective on the difference outdoor ministry can make for participants, their families, their churches, and their communities is rooted in the findings from the Effective Camp Research Project. In recent years, the research team at Sacred Playgrounds, directed by Dr. Jake Sorenson, collected and analyzed thousands of data points, conducted hundreds of interviews, and embarked on dozens of site visits to learn what really works in Christian camping ministry. These pages are filled with stories, findings, and the tools to apply them in your own context, whether you’re a camp leader, church leader, fellow researcher, or lifelong camper.
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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 articles
Sacred Playgrounds has arrived!
At long last, a project that was nearly a decade in the making has made it to print! From the back cover: Sacred Playgrounds explores the wisdom of camping ministry for Christian education and faith formation, examining its rich history and fundamental characteristics...
Summer Camp Staff Experiences and Call to Ministry
Call stories are unique and complex. When I was a camp program director, it was a privilege to accompany people on their faith journeys. I heard call stories from visiting pastors, retreat participants, campers, and summer staff members. I saw many camp staff called...
Ministers who Undervalue Camp, Group 3: Skeptics
Not all pastors value camp. Some are benignly dismissive, while others are almost hostile. We collectively call this group the camp skeptics. In our recent survey of ELCA pastors and deacons, just under one in five (18%) were categorized as skeptics. These folks do...
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.
