by Roger Glidewell

As a young youth pastor I was not too eager to take my youth group to camp. Why? Because as a youth I had been to youth camp. Sadly, my first camp experience was more about short-sheeting the counselor’s bed, sneaking out at night, and dozing through dry sermons than it was about spiritual growth. I came home from that camp little better off spiritually than when I left home. Why would I want my youth group to be involved in that? Then a fellow youth minister invited our church to join them one summer for a multi-church youth camp.

Wow, was I ever in for a surprise; my youth encountered Christ that week in a way that I had never experienced before. Now, decades and thousands of campers later, I am a firm believer in the value of those moments with God that happen in special ways at camp. In fact, Global Youth Ministry utilizes youth camps in the U.S. and around the world as a vital link in reaching youth and raising young leaders for local churches. We have learned that when camps are “pre-prayered” well, the result will be a more focused, God-honoring youth group.

If you are seeking a meaningful camp program for your youth, here are some questions to ask about the camp that will help you determine if the investment in time, money, and energy will be productive for your youth over the long term.

WHAT PRINCIPLES GUIDE THE CAMP?

Be sure the camp is biblically centered. Your youth can get activities and entertainment anywhere, but they are unlikely to get God’s Word anywhere else but at church activities. People joke about how bad “camp food” is, but sometimes a camp’s spiritual fare is even worse. Don’t settle for a camp where the messages consist of a video clip and a verse! Many Christian youth already suffer from “spiritual malnutrition.” Be sure your camp is “beefed up” with an appetizing diet of spiritual food where the messages, drama, music, recreation, and everything else point to the truth of God’s Word. Don’t settle for topical Bible studies if you can find a camp where an expository teaching approach is offered.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LEAD THE CAMP?

Be sure the camp leaders are not only godly guides but that they are accessible to your youth, as well. Don’t settle for camp speakers or musicians that breeze in, blow up and then buzz out, never spending time with your youth except from a stage. Look for a camp where godly leaders will pour into your kids up close and personal. The influence these leaders have on your kids will be in proportion to the time they are willing to spend with them.

Don’t be afraid to let other believers be role models for your youth. I know how it is; you spoke on a biblical truth the week before camp but when the camp speaker or the camp staff says the exact same thing, your kids act like they never heard it before. It isn’t a bad thing that God lets one plant and another water or cultivate.

WILL THE PROGRAM LAST BEYOND CAMP?

You need to use that extremely strategic week of the calendar year to motivate every camper to keep growing the rest of the year. So, be careful to find out whether the camp program has something for every camper:

For Unsaved and spiritually unmotivated Youth: Will there be opportunities for them to encounter Christ? An interesting question to ask in behalf of spiritually marginal youth whom you want to get to camp is this: “Will this camp appeal to 10th and 11th grade guys?” Why should you ask this question? Well, Connie Francis didn’t sing the song “Where the Boys Are” for nothing! If the older guys are involved during camp, chances increase that other campers will be involved as well.

For Younger Believers: Will these youth be challenged to grow spiritually in meaningful ways? Salvation should not be the “end all” of youth camps. More than half the youth who attend camps are already believers. These young believers needs must be addressed, too. They need to have opportunities to learn how to grow spiritually through small groups.

For Older Teen Believers: Will these “veteran campers” have the opportunity to practice and learn leadership? They need to be given opportunities to be “co-leaders” with older camp leaders, to assume greater responsibility. To treat them the same as you treat first-time campers is to risk having to deal with bad attitudes from many of the older campers.

For Adult sponsors: Will any ministry speak directly to needs of adult believers? The adult leaders are the ones who will continue to challenge the youth back at home. By all means, you want them to be exposed to spiritual growth in their personal walk with Christ while at camp. No adult sponsor is just “the bus driver.” That adult has devoted a week of his/her life to a spiritual endeavor. The adults may come home physically tired, but you better hope they also come back spiritually rejuvenated.

IS THERE A PURPOSE THAT IS ABOUT WAY MORE THAN JUST CAMP?

The point of camp—and of life—is to bring honor and glory to Jesus. When you start promoting camp, your youth will want to know whether the camp facility has an Olympic size pool, horseback riding, alpine tower with zip line, you know—fun stuff. And it may be that those things will persuade your youth (and their friends) to attend camp. But when they return home, do you really want them to only remember the “blob” or would you rather they come home talking about Jesus? If the T-shirt is their most lasting “take-away” from camp, it wasn’t worth it. Don’t waste your valuable time providing “fun” for fun’s sake; make fun events work for you to help you lead your youth to Jesus. If the spiritual impression made at camp doesn’t even last the bus ride home, you have just wasted one of the most important weeks of your calendar year. That one week at camp should translate into impetus for spiritual growth into the next several months, even years.

So how do you find a camp where the elements mentioned above for a meaningful camp are in place? First, seek the Lord in prayer. I’m not kidding; who cares more about the youth in your group than He does? Second, talk to the camp leadership; ask the hard questions that will help you determine what they think is important at camp. Third, ask fellow youth leaders who have attended the camp previously for their impressions. Finally, be willing to experiment with camps . . . until you find one that meets the criterion above. Then, settle in and be prepared to stay with that camp program for the long haul. You will be able to develop camp “traditions” and camp memories that will define your youth group for years to come!

Happy Camp Hunting.

Roger Glidewell is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Youth Ministry, an organization dedicated to developing leaders to reach and disciple teenagers around the world. For more information about Roger or Global Youth Ministry visit www.globalyouthministry.org.