How to Level Up Your Summer Camp Experience

Summer camp is amazing. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, in fact. There’s just something about camp. Over and over again, I’ve witnessed the power camp has and the opportunities it provides to both change a child’s eternity and grow a child’s faith. Maybe it’s the extra time building relationships with leaders or the fact that it’s five days of intentional discipleship, but camp is powerful for discipling a child.

As I come up on my 17^th year of camp, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way that will help you level up your summer camp experience.

Know where your kids are spiritually before you go.

What children are saved? Who is fighting God? Who is close to making a decision? Knowing where your children are spiritually helps you go into camp with intentional prayers and eyes open to the Spirit’s moving.

Start taking your vitamins right now!

You might laugh, but it seems like every year by Thursday of camp, I have caught some germs. There are a lot of kids at camp, and as you know, kids aren’t always the best at keeping their germs to themselves. Start well before camp building up your immunity so you don’t take any germs home.

Take extra leaders if you can.

Finding chaperones can be daunting, but trust me, I know. But if you can, extra chaperones will be a huge blessing. If any children get hurt or deal with anxiety, having an extra chaperone who can sit with the child will reduce your stress levels. Plus, that one-on-one time will build relationships.

Plan for downtime.

Did your group have an early dinner rotation, and now you have twenty minutes to kill before chapel? Have a plan for what to do! A back-pocket game list, card games in your backpack, or even fun conversation/get-to-know-you games are always a win. These help build relationships (a key component of camp), but can also be used to usher in deeper faith conversations.

Pack everything… then pack some more!

Every year at camp, when I first started taking kids to camp, I thought of something I wish I had that would make camp easier. If you think it could potentially happen, then pack it!

Here’s the good news: I’ve done some prep work for you. Take a look at my camp packing list, here!

Need a little extra help making this summer the best camp year ever?

• Check out episode 119 of The Kidmin Huddle for even more tips to level up your camp experience.
• Head over to The Family Ministry Community and watch the live camp training with our Manderley Camp Executive Director, Dave Sekura.
• Learn more about Manderley Christian Camp – a discipleship-focused camp to take your kids to.