Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) blogs

Here I am

Subscribe to this blog feed icon

About this blog

Brian Frick is the Associate for Camp and Conferences Ministries with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He has been involved in camp and conference ministry since high school. For the past ten years, Brian has served as program director of Johnsonburg Center in New Jersey, Westminster Woods in California, and Heartland Center in Missouri.

Camp and conference ministry compliments and partners with other ministry aspects of our church to foster faith development and reflection. As our communities and our church changes, our ministries need to grow and adapt with creative and emergent programming and leadership to meet new realities.

These blogs entries, though varied, are intended to spur thought and conversation around the opportunities and challenges before us.

Recent posts

Categories

Archives

See all PC(USA) Blogs →

PC(USA) Home →

April 21, 2010

Remembering the Why

Brian Frick

Giving Wow!  Things are warming up, the daffodils have finished their blooming and spring is in the air!  Summer is not far around the corner and our camps are abuzz with the work of registering campers, recruiting staff and leaders and preparing their sites for the summer season.
I've been going in many directions in the blog lately but want to take a strong focus on why we do summer camp as a denomination.

This summer, through our camps, children, youth and young adults will encounter Christ and learn what it is to be a disciple of Jesus in ways they can't in any other setting.  Thousands of campers will have these experiences that will impact them for the rest of their lives.  So here is a brief list of why we do it.

Camp provides:
Practiced contact with scripture - read about it, ask questions, then live it together.
Contact with the Holy Spirit through the formation of a supportive Christian Community.
Hands on contact with God's creation!
Opportunity to share their own faith story.
Time to meet other Christians just like them from different areas.
Retreat from their lives - they can leave behind the baggage that makes them act as they do in their day to day lives, and experience what it is to be loved by God for who they are, not for what they do.
Cooperative play instead of constant competition.
Daily spiritual practices like Bible study and vespers.
Quiet - time to reflect on what is important and what God is calling them to be.
Leadership opportunities for young adults where their faith is deepened by being called on to lead younger groups in Biblical/theological discussions.
Human interaction - group games instead of video games.
Sharing a meal together.
Learning new skills like crafts, boating, high ropes, swimming and so much more.
Life skills - growing up and being away from home (my kids will actually brush their teeth without me having to tell them!
Learning to interact with love, instead of conflict - young adults will lead them as they learn to resolve disagreements in ways that are healthy.

Retreat ministry is so essential to who we are as Christians and to fostering and maintaining a Christian life.  This list could go on and on.

Please take time today to pray for the leaders who are busy preparing, the staff who might be nervously anticipating a summer of leadership and learning, the campers who will be attending, the parents who are leaving their most prized people in the hands of loving Christians, and all those who's lives have been changed by their time at camp.

Remember that in a week of camp compliments a year of faith formation in the congregation by providing hundreds of contact hours living and learning Christian living.  Campers come back excited, strengthened and focused.  The time together allows them to internalize and "own" their faith in a way that is more difficult without the extended time away from the busyness of life that camp provides.

Please support your camp in volunteering, prayer, sharing the opportunity with others you know, and financially as you are able.

This year I am looking forward to digging deeper into the "Why" of Retreat Ministry and our long history of commitment to Presbyterian camping is a big part of that story.