It is the most important part of what we do. When we center everything on our faith in Jesus Christ, all the other characteristics of camp are transformed and aligned with the coming reign of God. Camp becomes what it is meant to be: a glimpse of God’s kingdom here on earth.

Unfortunately and almost inexplicably, this one sometimes seems like the add-on to the list of the 5 fundamentals of Christian summer camp. After all, every effective summer camp could be described as unplugged from home, participatory, relational, and a safe space. Christian summer camp is part of this larger industry, so it stands to reason that the faith-centered characteristic is simply the extra piece of the pie that makes Christian camp unique. Many of our historically Christian camps operate this way, with some downplaying their Christian identity. Others emphasize their nominal Christian identity while adopting policies and practices that align more with a particular political or social ideology than the gospel message. This is, perhaps, what some Christian camps shy away from so much that they downplay their Christian identity. After all, they do not want to be seen as that type of Christian.

Faith at the Center

I think it is important to reorient our understanding here. Faith is not an appendage or extra piece of an otherwise secular industry. Faith is also not a leverage point or means of manipulation. Faith is not a program element. We are not summer camps that happen to be Christian. The term faith-centered is chosen for a reason: Christian faith is at the center of program, philosophy, and operation. When this is the case, the other elements of camp are transformed.

Christian camp is not simply relational. It is intentional Christian community based on the core Christian values of love, patience, humility, generosity, and forgiveness.

Christian camp is not simply participatory. It is faith in action, an opportunity for participants to live out the gospel message, actively explore their deepest questions, and be the hands and feet of Christ for one another and the world.

As a safe space, Christian camps go beyond freedom from judgment and ridicule to a space where young people are invited to explore their core identity as children of God and feel not only safe but encouraged to ask the tough questions about life and faith.

Christian camp is not simply unplugged from home. It is unplugged with a purpose. It is unplugged to facilitate deeper connection with all of creation and the Creator, so that we are free to explore our role as caretakers of God’s creation. It is unplugged so that we may plug into a life of contemplation, prayer, and Christian discipleship.

At a faith-centered camp, we are given a glimpse of God’s kingdom, as we live out the petition, “Thy kingdom come.” 

Christian Camp is Different

In the first years of ACA’s massive national camp impact study, the research team conducted an assessment of how previous camp experiences had impacted first-year summer staff. Outdoor Ministries Connection, a loose collection of Mainline Christian camp associations, had the opportunity to participate in this phase of the study as an oversample, alongside other specialty camp types. This allowed the research team to isolate some of the core values and unique impacts of various types of specialty camps (see article here). The main finding was how similar different camps are across the industry. However, it was also abundantly clear that camp priorities impacted camp outcomes.

What set Christian camps apart from the other camp types, as I have written about elsewhere, was the assessment that camp experiences had more impact on participants’ faith in God than any of the other outcomes. Faith was not just part of the larger program. It was viewed by these incoming summer staff as the outcome on which camp had the most impact. Christian camp participants also identified the role of camp as more important compared with other camp participants in their development of self-identity, appreciation for diversity, and (perhaps most crucially) the core Christian value of empathy/compassion. Interestingly, Christian camp participants were significantly lower in their regard for camp’s impact on one outcome in particular: responsibility.

Here is my research-informed take on these findings. The camp industry as a whole emphasizes things like workforce readiness, responsibility, and independence: things that are valued in American society and help young people succeed in life. Faith-centered camps are different because they are focused less on preparing young people for the “real world.” This is because we Christians have a fundamentally different understanding of the real world and our role within it. Our goal is not to succeed in the real world but, rather, to transform it. Because of this, faith-centered camps seek to prepare participants for the Kingdom of God rather than the real world. Far from doing them a disservice, this preparation seeks to reorient their understanding of what the world is meant to be.

Getting to Work

Ensuring that your camp is faith-centered begins with your leadership. Take time to pray together and worship together as a year-round staff, board of directors, and volunteers/constituents. Continually seek and be open to God’s direction for your ministries. Dwell in the Word. As an outgrowth of your leadership team, hire summer staff who have a solid commitment to the Christian faith, and work to nurture their faith before, during, and after their time on staff.

Train your staff and your campers for faith-integration. A large number of Christian camps are compartmentalized camps. This means that they tend to separate the program and practices overtly related to faith from the other aspects of camp. They might have daily worship/chapel and Bible study, but the rest of the daily activities are often indistinguishable from those at a secular camp.

Faith-integrated camps, in contrast, work to integrate faith teachings and practices into all programs and activities so that the entirety of the experience seems caught up with and dependent on the activity of God in the world. Campers say things like, “They were teaching us things without us knowing that we were being taught” and “Everything ended up being related to faith in some way.” We are not Christians who occasionally participate in faith practices and then go about our merry lives. We are people transformed by the work of God in our lives and sent forth to build the kingdom. A faith-centered camp experience is an opportunity for participants to live into that possibility.

Camp is not about preparing young people for the real world. Those are the camps that try to toughen them up, teach them self-reliance, and develop skills that help them get ahead in the world. Faith-centered camps are different. We do not prepare them for the real world because we do not accept the world as it is. We teach participants and help them experience the world as it should be (I am indebted to the late, great Jerry Manlove for this insight). This is how we change the world and proclaim the message of Jesus: “The kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15).