S2 E4 Plugged Out: Is it Still the Great Outdoors?
We hear it and see it from parents, youth, and society - plugged in to some kind of technology is our near-constant state of being. There are precious few places and it takes more intentionality than ever to get ourselves outside - yet it matters as much as ever for...
Searching for Connection
The church is about connection. You know the analogies: vine to branches (John 15), different parts to make one body (1 Corinthians 12), grains of wheat gathered to make one bread. The church connects the people of God to one another and connects them all to Christ....
S2 E3 Take Me To Your Leaders: An Executive & Board Episode
The relationship between your Executive Director and your Board of Directors is a vitally important - maybe the most important - relationship in the infrastructure of your ministry. There are ways to keep it healthy and thriving, giving foundation from underneath,...
Camp Director Annual Evaluation
Here's one thing you can do that is good for your ministry center, good for your board, and great for your camp's executive director or CEO: an annual review for you executive leader. A good evaluation process means that board and staff leaders all know what is...
S2 E2: A Holy Handoff
Pick your analogy, a seamless pass of the baton in the zone while speeding around the track, a quarterback placing the ball squarely in the gut of a tailback headed for the endzone, an instrumental duet with a melody passed perfectly from one first chair to another -...
The Pocket God and Emerging Adult Ministry
Like most people, I had a summer reading list. I finally got around to finishing Back Pocket God (Denton and Flory, 2020), the latest book from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). It is full of fascinating statistics and implications for...
S2 E1: A 3×3 Camp Summer in Review
Season 2 begins now! How was your summer? Did you encounter challenges? Did you experience things worth celebrating? Either way, you're not alone. As we kick off this new season of the podcast, Jake and Jared take an episode to review the summer and name 3 things...
S1 E19: EPIC Season Finale
It's the season one finale of the Sacred Playgrounds podcast! It's going to be E.P.I.C. This episode is framed with an epic alliteration of four key things to remember and apply as camp begins for the summer. Think of them as broad-brush questions to ask, focal lenses...
S1 E18: Conflicted.
Meet Amber Hill Anderson, a professional mediator and conflict resolution specialist, not to mention former camp staffer and current ongoing enthusiast. Here's the reality, camp won't be all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes people see and experience things...
S1 E17: Preview! Holy Ground: A Guide for Summer Camp Staff
Spoiler alert. The key ingredient in the secret sauce to an effective summer camp experience is a well-equipped, well-trained, faith-filled camp staff. It makes so much sense to give them the support they need to thrive. That's what Holy Ground: A Guide for Summer...
S1 E16: 4 Steps to staff mental health
There's a path for summer camp staff to be well, really well, in body, mind, and spirit this summer. When they, and you, are supported in mental wellbeing, it lays a foundation for a season of less staff attrition, more energy, and incredible ministry. On this episode...
S1 E15: So, how Christian are you?
So, wow Christian are you? That's a real question, one that camp leaders get. It's a question that parents are wondering when they're making choices about the kinds of experiences to say yes to for their kids. They wonder what happens to their kids if they send them...