CampWell x Sacred Playgrounds: Training for Christian Camp Leaders
straight to the point Why Well-Being Matters at Camp Right Now If you know anything about Sacred Playgrounds, you know that we do all we do through a lens of evidence. We act based on what we hear and what we learn. That's also been our call to camp leaders - to...
5 Camp New Year’s Resolutions for 2026
Happy New Year, camp and camp-connected friends! It's 2026, and we're kicking off the new year with our annual installment of the New Year's resolutions for camp. On this episode, we'll share a fresh set of hopes and dreams for camp based on the latest research data...
Did Camp Thrive in 2025? A Resolutions Recap
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...
A Mailbag & A Merry Christmas
As we release this episode, it's almost Christmas 2025! We're wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our sacred playground to yours. We're ever-grateful to share this space with you. On this (shorter) episode, we're taking a few moments to answer a handful of curious...
This Season’s #1 Gift – Camp!
Grandparents, godparents, uncles and aunts, neighbors, mentors, and all the faithful people who love and support the children and youth in your lives, In this season of giving, consider a gift with clear, lasting, life-long benefits - send them to camp!Why send them...
Grownups Need Camp Too
It's true. Adults are a deeply important audience for your camp in one way or another - or more likely, in many ways. Not just as a donor, parent, or partner, but as one who can have personal, meaningful experiences at your camp. On this episode, we're talking about...
The 5 Fundamentals: Unplugged from Home
Our Plugged-In World The world moves at a frenetic pace. We all feel it, and social scientists rush to define it. It is a loneliness epidemic. An anxious generation. A lack of grit. A surreal state of being “alone together.” A nature deficit disorder. We are more...
Breaking Down Breakdowns in the Camp Model
Camp is perfect, right? Right? At least, my camp is... You've thought it. So have we, and so has every camp enthusiast since the beginning of camp-time. And yet, we know that sometimes people have an experience that is less positive than we planned and prepared for....
3 Things We Learned & 3 Things We’re Going to Do
Reimagine. The Sacred Playgrounds team spent the second week of November gathered with camping ministry and supporting organization colleagues at the Outdoor Ministries Connection Great Gathering; a multi-denominational conference for outdoor ministry professionals,...
Live from the OMC Great Gathering: Insight-Driven Actions & Best of the Best Practices from Camp Leaders
Our team has spent the week at the Outdoor Ministries Connection Great Gathering! It's been an incredible week connecting in person with 500+ of our closest friends. From insightful keynotes to leading and joining engaging workshops to creative worship and making new...
Peer-Reviewed Article in the Journal of Youth Development
Promising Strategies for Impacting Youth Development Systems From Christian Summer CampsJacob Sorenson, PhD, Sacred PlaygroundsRachael Botting, Wheaton CollegeKaren K. Melton, Baylor UniversityRob Ribbe PhD, Wheaton CollegeAbstract As research on summer camp continues...
Get On The Same P.A.G.E. with Church Leaders & Parents
This is a cutting edge for outdoor ministry right now, and camps, when we understand our role as a catalyst, is poised to have an outsized impact on faith lives of countless campers and families. The connectivity in three sacred spaces - camp, church, and home -...