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...
The State of Camp Staff 2025
How's your "heart" health? The American Heart Association (AHA) introduced its Heart-Check Food Certification Program in 1995 to help consumers identify foods that could be part of a heart-healthy diet. This program created the now-iconic red-and-white Heart-Check...
Season 5 Kickoff & Camp Leader Pulse Check Insights
Welcome to season 5 of the Sacred Playgrounds Podcast! We're back! On this episode, we've got some words of welcome, a quick summer in review from our Sacred Playgrounds team, and what to expect from this season. Then, we dive right into some impactful insights from...
Bonus Episode for Summer Camp Staff!
Bonus episode of the Sacred Playgrounds podcast! Summer camp staff, this one's specifically for you! It's mid-summer for many camps, or will be soon, so we're taking a few minutes to offer 3 things specifically for summer camp staff to encourage, equip, and embolden...
Have an Amazing Summer
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...
Summer Prep Tips in 150 Words or Less
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,...
S4 E16: Trending, Bending, or Ending: Camp Trends Over the Past 25 Years
The more things change, the more they stay the same? The only constant is change? If you’re not riding the wave of change, you’ll find yourself underneath it? Whatever your cliché du jour, the truth is, things aren't the same as they were a quarter century ago, and...
Biblicize Staff Training
This summer, normalize the regular use of scripture at your camp. This involves more than just having Bible study every day or repeating a theme verse. The aim is to Biblicize every activity, program, and tradition. We lay the foundation for this when we Biblicize...
S4 E15: The Key to Fostering Faithfulness in Summer Staff
Where will they find spiritual grounding, these summer staff members of ours? These emerging adults that truly make ministry happen at our camps; what does it take to equip and encourage practicing faithfulness in their lives while they are at camp, and foundational...
S4 E13: Tips for Summer Staffing in 2025
2025 summer camp staffing is top of mind, heart, and task list for many camp leaders right now. We're in the heart of recruiting season, pre-camp prep time is on the horizon, our staff training schedules are maybe beginning to materialize, and our plans for the summer...
S4 E12: People Skills & Peer Ministry at Camp with Lyle Griner
The most impactful ministry just might happen in the under-programmed times, the times sitting by the well (or the campfire) hearing someone's story. When we give our staff members, and even campers themselves, the "how" - meaning the skills and the practice in...
S4 E9: 2025 New Year’s Resolutions for Camp
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...


















