Never alone
When I was a backpacking guide at Sky Ranch, I often read from Deuteronomy to help my campers prepare themselves physically and spiritually for life in the backcountry. You see, it is important for a Christian to understand when to read scripture literally and when to...
Searching for OUTCOMES at Christian Camps
“Camp changed my life.” I have heard this (or something similar) over and over again from staff members, campers, parents, and church workers. I have even spoken these words about my own camp experiences. Some camp professionals speak about camp as a “mountaintop...
Introducing Anna
It is early September. Most students are back in school. Most churches are easing into a program year, many restarting Christian education programming like confirmation and Sunday School. At camp, the summer staff have departed, the retreat season interns have...
From Ministry Bastions to Ports of Entry
Why is there a disconnect between ministries of the Church? It sometimes seems as if the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. Ministries that are natural partners do not support or mutually reinforce one another. I often cannot figure out if this is...
People and Place: Finding Christ at Camp Calumet
I arrived at Camp Calumet late Wednesday afternoon, leaving just enough time for a short walk through camp before dinner. Stretching my legs felt good after a day of travel. I strolled through the campground, past scores of campsites filled with tents, RVs, and...
The Education Crisis in America
We have an education crisis in this country. We live in the age of “alternative facts.” We can argue that something as preposterous as an alternative fact does not exist, but let’s be critical realists for a moment and accept that alternative facts exist because...
Start a Fire: From Tolerating to Place Sharing
It was a truly extraordinary group of boys. There were eight in the cabin group, and it was the third day of camp. They were all in high school, and they were physically fit, very successful athletes. They worked together and thrived on competitive activities. The...
Sacred Playgrounds
My youngest son Nathanael has a playground radar. Ever since he was old enough to walk and talk, he could seemingly sense them from miles away. We would be driving down the highway at 60 mph, and he could spot a rusty old slide in the middle of an overgrown field....
Christian Summer Camp Has Lasting Impacts
More than 2 million young people attend Christian camps in the United States every summer.Data from the National Study of Youth and Religion indicate that 39% of all Americanteenagers have been to a religious summer camp at least once, and this includes more thanhalf...
What Parents Want from Camp
There is nothing quite like picking up a child from summer camp. I watched thousands of parents do this over the years that I worked at various camps, and now I get the chance to do it myself when I pick up my own children. I am convinced that there is really only one...
What is the Goal of Camp?
It was halftime, and we were behind. It was my junior year on the high school football team, and we had to win in order to make the playoffs. We could not seem to get our offense going, and our team’s offensive coordinator stood before our sweaty, exhausted team. He...
This Negative Summer Could Use a Dose of Camp!
There is a lot of hateful talk on our television screens and on our social media sites of late. We need camps to teach us how to be respectful to one another. Our society is experiencing an unhealthy dosage of disrespectful dialogue and rhetoric of despair. Simply...