What are the rewards of camp for children?
When children and youth leave behind the stresses and expectations of their normal daily routine and enter the temporary community of a camp, they have the time and space to consider who they really want to be and the type of future they want to pursue. They also experience many adventures they would never have the chance to experience at home, like some of the activities above, making it what many call the best week of their lives.
Due to priests’ scandals in the church and the raging hormones among young people, many may be apprehensive about sending their children to a religious camp because of the fear of sexual misconduct. What does your camp organization do to combat these fears?
We encourage all our member camps, about 850 across the U.S., to develop and adhere to strict policies and practices that help to ensure the health and safety of every camper. We also point them to resources that operate to provide these. Our member camps exist because the leaders love young people and want to serve them and make a positive impact in their lives. Our experience is that they take seriously the responsibility for adhering to health, safety, and behavior policies.
Parents considering sending their children to any camp should feel free to contact leaders there and ask questions about their policies. They may also ask to speak to other parents who have sent their children to that camp over the years. That’s what I would do as a parent. I would also encourage parents to go to www.ThePowerOfCamp.com and select “Find a Camp” so they can search for a member camp nearby for their child.
In addition to BTSCelebs, I have worked as an editor/writer for South Korea. The Buddhist nation has a growing number of Christians in recent years. Do you want to take your Christian camp experience to the global scale? If so, what impact do you feel your faith based camps will have on countries of different religions?
Christian camping is already global. I just returned from a conference in Spain this week hosted by Christian Camping International, representing leaders from similar associations from 20 countries. Each of these countries has its own collection of religious traditions and cultures, and the Christian camping associations are committed to working cooperatively and peacefully alongside and within those cultures.
What is the ultimate mission of Christian Camp and the Conference Association?
Our mission is very simple, really. It is to serve our member camps and conference centers by helping to maximize their ministries. We want to help enhance what they are already doing well in their service to children, youth and adults, and to improve in areas that need to be strengthened.
A Special Thanks to Gregg Hunter and Lori Lenz -Heiselman
BTSCELEBS 