What a year! As we round out 2025 and look toward 2026, it's a great time to look back at our hopes for this past year. Each year on the Sacred Playgrounds Podcast, we kick off a new year with a set of data-driven New Year's resolutions for outdoor ministry. Before we...
These are good ways to practice rejoicingto notice Christ in the mud on your feetand on the face of friends with flashlightsand the steady buzz or a bug in your ear. This life is a gift. This faith is an adventure.Blessed are you, who explore with awe. Excerpt...
The thing about our team at Sacred Playgrounds is that we really love camp. Really, really love camp. This sure isn't just a job for us - it's vocation and calling and passion. We've also been where you are right now, ramping up for a summer of camp as a director,...
Good news! Camps are, in general, keeping parents satisfied with the level of communication and preparation prior to camp. We learn that much in this week's #StatOfTheWeek. And, there's an opportunity to go beyond satisfactory amounts of information, to a noticeable...
Self-confidence. Leadership. Resilience. Faith in daily life. These are all character traits we measure. There is real data that says camp in exceptional at building character through the highly experiential, highly relational programs you offer. And that's a good...
Campy New Year! Our 4th annual New Year's resolutions for camp episode is here! We have a blast with this each year, and we've got 5 fresh data-backed resolutions for camps and their leaders in the year ahead. Here is your keyword teaser: Scripture Enthusiasts Cabin...
Dance Summer ModeOne of the things baked into the realities of outdoor ministry that many of us appreciate and thrive in is seasonality. For everything there is a season, and then another one, and then another one. It's a beautiful cycle, and we usually love it. It...
According to the American Camp Association, The number of family camps have doubled over the last 15 years In 2022, The Skit Guys released the movie, Family Camp. That same year, I published my memoir about my family's experience at Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp,...
Have you taken a walk through the life of Jesus? Have you brought your campers through an experience like this in a way that puts them in the story? Immersive experiences have power, especially in the context of camp spaces already so experiential in nature. Bringing...
A mixed methods study of lasting outcomes and program elements Summer camps are a setting well-suited for social-emotional learning. Increasing evidence supports this claim, yet little research has investigated the similarities and differences in the lasting outcomes...
Very little research is available on the unique characteristics and outcomes of Christian summer camps, in spite of their prevalence in the industry. The Effective Camp Research Project is a mixed-methods study seeking to close the research gap. This article presents...
Join us March 3-4, 2026 at Camp Wapo for CampWell x Sacred Playgrounds, a training experience for Christian camps and their leaders to create and sustain a difference-making culture of well-being in campers, families, staff, and beyond. Learn more & register at sacr.pl/campwellxsp or enter your email and we'll send you to the registration page.
