Effective Camp
for outdoor ministry professionals
Camp Wisdom Speaks
What you do as a leader in outdoor ministry is a critical part of the ecology of faith formation. The experiences and encounters you dream up, create, and execute for campers serves to nurture faith, build character, strengthen families, and support congregations for the sake of each camper and for the sake of the world.
The wisdom of camp works when 5 Fundamental Characteristics come together in balance.
Share the story
When the 5 Fundamentals of Effective Camp come together, outdoor ministires become an integral part of faith forming experience. Use the resources below to tell the story of effective camp, and the difference it can make in the lives of campers. These resources help you make the case for camp.
Shareables
Below you’ll find your easy button on things to share about effective camp. These graphics and written statements help you tell the story of camps like yours and the depth of impact your ministry can offer in partnership with churches and families. The images are downloadable just by clicking. They are sized ideally for Facebook, work great in Instagram and Twitter, and can be embedded in your websites and emails as well.
“The Christian summer camp experience impacts campers in positive ways that extends to their families, churches and others.” Learn more at effectivecamp.com
“90% of those attending a Christian summer camp like ours report that they grew in faith.” Contact us at ______________to learn more and go to effectivecamp.com
“97% of those attending a Christian summer camp like ours report that they had fun!” Contact us at ______________to learn more and go to effectivecamp.com
“Kids report that they feel safe at Christian summer camp because of the powerful relationships they form.” Contact us at ______________to learn more and go to effectivecamp.com
“Kids report that by growing in faith at camp it helps them in their daily life back home.” Contact us at ______________to learn more and go to effectivecamp.com
“Camp doesn’t end when the week is over, research shows that it has lasting effective. Many campers read their Bible more, pray with their family more, and attend church more.” Contact us at ______________to learn more and go to effectivecamp.com
Articles + Blog Posts
Feel free to use and share these posts on your websites, in your newsletters, and in conversations with other leaders, pastors, parents, and supporters.
Introducing the Camp2Congregation Project
We are excited to announce that Sacred Playgrounds is directing a new research project on a ministry program called Traveling Day Camp. In these intentional partnerships between a camp and congregational ministry, trained summer camp staff travel offsite to bring the...
Effective Camp Findings: Key Factors that Lead to Camper Growth
More than 5,000 summer campers have participated in the Effective Camp Project or Power of Camp Study over the past three years. On the last day of camp, 91% of these campers agreed that they were strengthened in their faith. Three months after camp, 83% of responding...
Effective Camp Findings: Outdoor Adventure Programs
We now have a data set from more than 5,000 summer campers at 30 different camps over 3 summers. We have been very intentional about casting a broad vision for what summer camp is, based on what the Effective Camp Project has identified as 5 fundamental...
Thinking about Safety at camp
Dear camp professionals, This week, Don Johnson at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries brought this disturbing news report to our attention. “Hundreds of sexual abuse cases reported at children’s camps across US,” the headline screams. That’s scary! A closer read shows that...
The Fundamentals Part 5: Camp is Relational
We close this series on the 5 fundamental characteristics of Christian camping with the one that is most prominent in camper descriptions: Camp is relational. This does not mean that it is more important than the other four. It is, however, the most valued. Let’s hear...
The Fundamentals Part 4: Camp is Participatory
The research is screaming at us from nearly every academic field. We nod approvingly, feeling that we are wiser. And then we go on doing exactly the same thing. We sit at our desks in front of computer screens. We demand more automation in our homes and our modes of...
The Fundamentals Part 3: Faith Centered
Remember, these five characteristics have no particular order, but I thought it poetic to cover this one in the middle. This is the characteristic that sets Christian camps apart from all other types of camps. Every well-run camp in the country has the other four...
The Fundamentals Part 2: Unplugged from Home
This might be the most recognizable characteristic of camp. Think of the most iconic mental pictures of camping: a tent, a campfire, a grove of trees, a body of water. The philosophy of summer camp, from its beginnings in the late 19th century, has centered on...
Graphics
You are free to use the 5 Fundamentals of Effective Camp and the Effective Camp Research Project graphics and logo whenever you are sharing about Effective Camp or the Research Project in your communications. The download package is a .zip file with a variety of logo styles and colors. For questions about style and brand standards, contact Jared.
Maximizing Your Impact
The 5 Fundamentals work. When each of these pillars are intentionally planned and faithfully practiced, the faith forming impact of camp is realized in the lives of participants, and extends to their families and communities back home.
Where do we go from here?
Below you’ll find your easy button on things to share about effective camp. These graphics and written statements help you tell the story of camps like yours and the depth of impact your ministry can offer in partnership with churches and families. The images are downloadable just by clicking. They are sized ideally for Facebook, work great in Instagram and Twitter, and can be embedded in your websites and emails as well.
Conduct research at your camp
Talk with a Team Member
Train Your Summer Staff
Bring in a team member to lead interactive training sessions with your summer staff. This is a practical way to use the research findings and have a direct impact on the camp experience this summer.
