of campers say they often or always felt supported and happy at camp

Why Why Camp?

We’re approaching the launch of a fresh resource designed to equip church leaders to share compelling stories backed by the latest research with parents and caregivers.

Nearly all of what we create and curate at Sacred Playgrounds comes from listening. The initial Effective Camp Research Project came from listening to an increasing volume of camp leaders wanting to empirically know they are having the impact they want, and finding a gap in that research. The Camp & Church Leadership Project came from big curiosities around the impact of camp staff experiences on vocation and call. Holy Ground came from listening to a clear need to support and equip summer camp staff, especially mid- and post-pandemic. In 2024, Camp Builds was designed in response to a conversation between a camp leader and college career center leader unsure of the value of encouraging students to work at camp, so it was built to share the research-backed reality that developmentally, camp staff experiences go way beyond a summer of fun.

Our latest resource, Why Camp?, is no different. This year, we heard church leaders engaged in children, youth, and family ministries struggling to find compelling ways to share the value of camp experiences with parents and caregivers. Camp leaders have then expressed a desire to be an equipping resource for those important ministry partners. We continue to learn in projects like Rhythms of Faith and other research, that outdoor ministry works when camp leaders understand that they are part of an ecosystem of faith formation, alongside other spaces, including church, and most-impactfully, the home.

So, offering a resource that comes from your camp to the hands of your valued church partners, equipping them to share the research and reality that camp offers what many parents want most for their kids: a safe, fun place to grow.

Compelling Stories that Lead to Confident Actions

We know that reaching parents with the value of camp experiences is vital. More than 80% of the time, mothers are the ones filling out registration forms, sending check in emails, asking questions, and more. So what makes a compelling story? Camps have been telling parents for decades about the difference camp can make? What’s different now?

For one, the landscape of parenting is different. Children and youth spend more time on screens and less outside than ever before, leaving home overnight is harder when mental health struggles persist, and the expectations around being able to find and communicate immediately have changed. Plus, even in more rural communities, the options for activities are vast. Parents are making choices and evaluating priorities, so how do we communicate in a way that helps them chose camp?

Story + Proof + Easy Action = Impact

That means when we equip ourselves as well as influencers like church leaders with stories of impact, combined with the data that backs them up, and then we make taking action easy and immediate, we have a compelling narrative. That’s what we’re building Why Camp? to help do.

How does it work?

Next week, Why Camp? will available in the Sacred Playgrounds camp store. Camp leaders can purchase and download the resource, and then pass on to the various church leaders Similar to our Post-Camp Parent Resource, this will be a kit available for digital download, or optionally contact us to print and send physical pages. It will be editable in various formats to add camp branding, links, and other content specific to your camp.

of campers agreed with the statement, “I tried something new at camp.”