Summer Camp can make a big difference for students. However, for a volunteer or part-time youth leader in a small church, planning a week at youth camp can be a big headache. So, how do you put the pieces together? Where do you go? How do you know what the right experience is for your students?

Let’s address the headaches one at a time:

1. Do I choose a youth camp that someone else is putting on or do I arrange something for our kids myself? For most small church youth leader, this is an easy choice. The myriad of details involved in planning a youth camp experience for your students can wear out full-time youth leaders. While you will have to work on some issues (like rooming lists, permission forms, and transportation), a camp offered by LifeWay, Student Life, Big Stuff, or Inlighted Ministries will take care of most of the details of the actual running of camp. Your students will generally get to participate in youth-targeted praise and worship music and be taught by exellent youth communicators at any of these camps. On the other hand, there is an intimacy in your students getting away with each other. If you have a few adults willing to invest the time in planning a camp experience for your kids, it might be worth the extra effort.

2. How do you find the right camp? Some camps are more geered to sharing the message of Christ with kids. Some are more targeted at discipleship. Some camps, such as M-Fuge (LifeWay), World Changers (North American Mission Board of the SBC), or Work Camps (Group), focus on getting kids involved in ministry. Other camps such as Jay Strack’s Student Leadership University or Super Summer are targeted at developing kids for leadership. Think about where your students are and what challenge they most need. If your church has a tradition of going to the same camp every year, don’t be too quick to change that. Sometimes those traditions can be important glue for youth ministry and can really make a big difference in kids’ lives.

3. How do I find the time to plan? Even if you feel like the Lone-Ranger, get yourself a Tonto. Find someone who will take care of the plans for camp. If you decide to do camp on your own rather than attending someone else’s camp, you may need a whole group of Tontos. Sometimes a mom who would never show up and lead in youth ministry will be happy to do all the organizational work for you. Give her the job and get out of the way.

4. How do I get students to sign up? Start early. Talk to parents. If you can get a fun video of the camp, play it for the students. Talk to parents and students about what difference you think the camp experience will make for students. If you have kids who have gone before, get them on-stage talking about what they got out of camp during worship time. Set a deadline. Have a phone blitz the week before the deadline and call every student that has any connection with the youth ministry.

5. How do we pay for camp? This can be tricky in a small church. Here’s what I usually have tried to do, but you may need to vary this for your context. Budget for the cost of transportation and to pay the way of adult leaders. Schedule a couple of fun-raisers to reduce the amount each student will have to pay. Talk to adults that I know can help with scholarships for students who can’t afford the trip and let parents know that scholarships are available and how to get one.

6. How do I get adults to go? This can be a problem in the small church as well. You need to take at least one adult of the same sex for every one to five students. In other words, if you have ten students, six boys and four girls, you need at least two men and one woman. Don’t be afraid of taking too many adults, especially if you have adults that are willing to work and play alongside the teenagers. Parents are usually your best option for adults. Sometimes the church pastor may be willing to spend the week with students. That can be a great experience for the pastor and the students. College students? That depends. The camp you are going to may want adults that are 25 or older. Also, your church insurance policy may mean you need adults over 25 to drive your students. You certainly want to make sure that college students are spiritually and socially mature if you use them as counselors. Make sure your adults know exactly what you want them to do as sponsors.

7. How do I find the time to take a week and go to camp? Working in a week of camp when you already have work and family responsibilities can be tough. It is possible you may not be able to go. While it is best if the youth leader is at camp, consider asking one or two adults with more flexible schedule to take the kids. You can even send your students to camp with another church, although it would be best to send an adult with your students who can take responsibility for them. If you can go for part of the week, that would be better than not being there at all. Check with ministries that provide camps; some ministries, such as Student Life, offer some camps that straddle a weekend. For example, they start on Friday and end of Tuesday. Sometimes getting off three work-days instead of five can be a big plus.

8. When do I start planning summer camp? The truth is, in a small church, you can put camp together in a few months. However, you may find that families have already made plans and schedules are set. Also, the dates you would like to go to camp may be full. If you are planning for this summer, don’t give up; you can make it work. But next year, I’d recommend something like this: Choose a camp the August before and get it on the calendar. In January, start talking up summer camp. Set a deadline in March or April for registration (though I always tried to keep a few places open so we could invite other kids to go later) and require a deposit. Require all money to be in by May 1. If you are doing your own camp and have some flexibility in lodging and transportation, you can continue to enlist students as late as you would like. However, most of you will need some time to plan for the number of kids you are taking.

9. What if I only have two or three kids who want to go? Go! It may be tough to justify the time and money for one or two kids, but you may impact their lives in ways you never could at home. I remember doing a mission trip once with three students and four adults. The kids were surprised when I didn’t cancel, but it turned out to be an amazing experience for all of us. The investment in those few students paid big dividends. They became the biggest cheerleaders in our church for future mission endeavors.

10. What do I do while the kids are at camp? Build relationships. Avoid weighing yourself down with too many responsibilities. Laugh with them. Listen to them. Pray with them. Be with them.

Here are some links to ministries that offer summer youth camps. These are only a few of the hundreds of options you will find through your denomination or through other ministries online.

Big Stuff Camps

Centifuge Camps

Group Work Camps

Student Leadership University

Student Life Camps

World Changers Mission Camps