We’ve learned so much about summer camp staff over the past few years. With insights from more than 2000 summer staff members at more than 120 camps in the last 5 years, plus additional data from projects like the ACA Youth Impact Study and more, we know quite a bit about the emerging adults who make your summer ministry work. And here’s the truth.
The more you know about who they are, where they come from, the experiences they carry with them, and what they care about, the better you can create an impactful experience for them and the campers they serve.
On this episode, we’ll lay out 5 stages of the summer staff journey. We’ll focus on the front end of the journey, the first 3 stages, and the insights that can impact how we recruit, prepare, and train. We’ll share updated data on motivations for joining staff, internship-worthy skill and character building, and staff mental, emotional, and social health. We’ll explore four things that can and should happen during the staff preparation phase. Then, we’ll touch on what summer staff say about training and how prepared they felt.
The insights help us positively inform and influence these critical parts of the staff journey for the heart of your ministry.
Excellent podcast on Summer camp staff recruitment and training. I am currently serving for my 6th and final year as a member of the Board of Directors for a Lutheran camp, and currently serve on its Program Committee. I appreciated the updated camp staff pre and post survey data (from the Episcopal and Methodist church camps) re: staff hire mental health, as well as the overview of steps to insure their adequate training. Well done. I look forward to future updates.