On Sunday they arrive at camp, all full of excitement… and probably a little apprehension. They have an idea about what their week will look like, and the reality is that most of them, they don’t know anyone. But our unique arrival process at SpringHill Camps means most kids have the opportunity to set up their bunks, and start to get to know their counselors and cabin mates before their parents come by to say their goodbyes.
It’s proof of just how highly value the context of the cabin group at SpringHill.
I was waiting by a path last Sunday when a few groups walked by, headed to their first activities. The campers and counselors had already fashioned a flag from a stick and old SpringHill banner that they had “found in the woods.”
The kids laughed and joked with one another, and as they passed, I heard one of them nudge the guy next to him with his elbow, kind of nonchalantly. “What’s your name again?” he whispered. “It’s ok,” he responded, “I’m Mike.”
And today, at closing day, it will be hard for those two new friends to say goodbye. Who knows, maybe next year, they’ll be cabin mates again.
But how do we, at SpringHill Camps, leverage the context of the cabin group to form those lasting friendships and maximize the life impact of a week at camp? Here are four things:
1. The relationships in the small group, or cabin group, are where life change happens.
Specifically, we say that we believe it is in the context of personal, loving and caring relationships that lives are changed. The counselors and kids spend all week together. They travel everywhere together, eat meals around a table together, go to activities (and do them) together, and share around the campfire together.
Counselors focus on relationships and earn the right to be heard, so that when they open up and model sharing the story of how God has worked in their lives, campers will do the same.
2. The cabin group is the primary teaching vehicle at summer camp.
Many camps, even very good ones, hire incredible communicators to share the message of God’s love, hope and grace from stage each week at their camps. We work with a talented team of speakers for many of our retreats at SpringHill. But, during summer camp, no one stands on our stage to teach.
Instead, the stage is the packed earth around the campfire. It’s the path from cabin to activity. It’s the dining table. It’s every moment when an activity instructor asks a cabin group of kids about the thing they just experienced or overcame. In this context, campers learn from each other, and from the counselors they are learning to trust and admire.
3. There is no free time at summer camp.
What?! No free time? Nope. After lunch kids don’t scatter to their favorite activities. They don’t chill on the beach with a new friend. And they don’t wander aimlessly wishing someone would invite them to do something fun.
At SpringHill, their days are scheduled full of activities—activities that they do together, as a cabin group. No camper is ever left alone or left behind. Even our activities are designed to be done together, with enough parallel ziplines for an entire cabin group (with their counselor) to zip side-by-side.
Everything they do during their week at camp is in the context of this new little community that was formed when they got off the tram at their cabin. And, whether everyone likes each other or not, they’re in it together—at least for a week—and they learn valuable lessons and relational skills along the way.
4. Closing days are hard.
Most closing days are hard for counselors and many campers. They are saying goodbye to the friends they’ve made, the people they zipped and climbed and rode horseback alongside all week long. They are saying goodbye to the kids they opened up to for the first time. And they are saying goodbye to the counselor who showed them it’s ok to trust an adult, to share your story, and to ask for help.
So they gather in their cabin group in a little circle, with moms and dads and aunts and uncles looking on. The counselor shares about their week, and then shares a verse of scripture and a character trait, something he noticed in each camper throughout the week. And then the kids share their stories, their moments, of how God worked in their lives this week.
It’s powerful because of the community standing around them. It’s powerful because they know that everything they experienced, they did it with these new friends. And though they may never see each other again, they have become a part of one-another’s journeys, of knowing Jesus and growing closer to him… together.
How has a small group or camp experience impacted your life? Who were the people who shared the experience with you?
Also in this series: Leveraging the family context for more effective ministry, God at work in and through you, leveraging the staff experience for life change, and Your youth group is going nowhere: leveraging the context of your youth group.
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Great summary of an excellent program. I know in previous years at camp (both as a counselor and camper) we have actually had free time. As a camper it was cool to hang out with other campers, however, it served the purpose of giving the counselors time to meet together and discuss the events of that day.
Does your counseling staff meet together during the week? If so is it done during a structured activity?
Jon, there are certainly “down times” in a campers’ day. They take time to rest, sit around the campfire, and do have some counselor-led activities. But they don’t have blocks of time where they are free to roam from activity to activity. They do everything in their cabin groups, or in their areas.
Counselors are relieved for an weekly small group time and worship with other counselors called Higher Ground. They also get relieved by other staff for a 2 hour break each day, and have morning meetings in their areas while their kids are just getting around in the morning.