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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Benefits of Christian Camp

Over the years I have developed many great memories because of the church camps that I have attended and the volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to them. This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to be around Christian teenagers and staff at Western Kentucky Youth Camp's Teen Week. As I was there I realized how blessed we are to have Christian camps and thought it might be pertinent to share some of the benefits of Christian camps.

1.       Knowledge. One of the greatest things about church camp is the great sound lessons that are delivered, and the Bible classes that are taught. This allows a chance for our teenagers to grow in knowledge and in their Christian walk.

2.       Friendships. Another great thing about camp is it allows Christian teenagers to get together with other Christian who are their same age and make friendships. These friendships can encourage, strengthen, and give courage to our teenagers to make the right decision, and to help them remember that they are not alone.

3.       Role Models. In my experience, one of the great things that I have noticed about Christian camps are that they usually have staff that truly care about the campers. These Christian staff members can do a world of good by being great role models for the campers to follow and strive to be.

4.       Priorities. I have noticed that when the teenagers of the church today, go to camp that their priorities realign themselves. At camp, teenagers are forced to stop depending on their cell phone on a 24/7 basis, television, computers, video games, and the many other things that can sometimes be distractions. Campers then focus on Christianity, and it is amazing the things that they learn and realize when you take away distractions.

5.       Fun. Along with the other things that happen at camp, the campers have fun. This allows them to foster and grow their friendships, and sometimes it even makes them want to bring their friends with them the next year. I have always been amazed at the number of kids that bring their friends with them to camp who are not Christians and expose them to a Christian atmosphere. It is always amazing to me to watch what happens, these kids who are non-Christians see the joy of Christianity and want to learn it for themselves. What a joyful thing that is!

I am so thankful for the impact that camp has had on my personal life, and the countless others throughout the years. I am also thankful for the elders and parents, who allow our kids to go and receive the benefits that camp has to offer and make sure that the camps that we attend are camps that will truly have benefits like the ones listed above for our teenagers.