Loading up a bus full of sugar-and-soda-filled kids to go away from home to summer camp for a few nights is no small commitment. But if you’ve been to summer camp, you know that the late nights and hot days are worth it. Today’s post explains why by considering three things you could be missing if you skip summer camp.
Mentorship Moments
When it comes to building discipling relationships with the kids in your church, there’s no replacement for quality time. Summer camp is a unique experience because it takes place over several days. Summer camp can be a chance for your all-star volunteers to build mentoring relationships with kids that will last. It’s impossible to duplicate the effect of spending time together as a group.
Spiritual Moments
Lots of people think of summer camp as a milestone experience. It’s no surprise that this is the case because summer camp is a chance to retreat from our normal routines for the purpose of spiritual growth. Many times summer camp is the place where God causes kids to have “lightbulb” moments about the concepts you’ve been teaching them all year. These spiritual moments can become markers in our faith that we look back to for the rest of our lives.
Shared Memories
Where else will you have the chance for kids to cheer you on while you win the belly-flop contest while wearing a rainbow wig? How many times have you seen a more timid kid become the hero for your group when they decide to play a game on stage? What traditions does your group have that you can’t wait to return to every year? Summer camp builds relationships that go home with you, and that only increases your platform for discipleship.
Summer camp definitely isn’t just another thing to check off of a “must do” list. It can be the most transformative discipleship tool in your ministry. So if you think camp isn’t for you, think twice, because there’s a lot you could be missing.
To find out more about Lifeway Kids Summer Camps, check out centrikid.com or studentlifeforkids.com
Logan Meek leads the Student Life for Kids team. Logan joined the Student Life For Kids team in 2014 after spending two years as a Sixth Grade teacher with Teach For America. He believes in the importance of strong kids ministry to help kids build strong spiritual foundations..
