Summer camps are something I’m extremely passionate about, especially after working two summers for CentriKid Camps. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if God hadn’t led me to CentriKid, and I know several people who would say the same. In my experience I’ve found that there are certain things you can do to make the most out of your experience of serving on summer camp staff for any kind of summer camp, and the lessons you learn are lessons you’ll keep with you for the rest of your life. I’m so thankful that God has taught me and so many others these lessons.
1. Preparation begins long before camp does. If you’re working a camp this summer or just considering it, your spiritual preparation begins NOW. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and it usually goes back to the fact that I had not allowed God to fully prepare my heart and mind. I can guarantee that I’m doing it differently this summer, and I encourage all of you to begin praying and searching now, and let God speak into your heart specifically about this summer and the ministry you’ll be doing.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
2. Give it your all. At the end of a long day working camp, when you’re barely able to walk, seek God and let Him comfort you. I know I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world, and that’s how God gets me through those days. Give God your all, give the campers your all, and give your fellow staffers your all. Being a camp staffer is one of the few experiences that puts you in the position to serve incredible amounts of people with Christ-like character. Don’t let it go to waste.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10
3. Stop comparing. I have DEFINITELY learned this one the hard way. I’ve struggled with comparing “my” successes with kids to the ones who haven’t really understood what God is trying to teach them and seeing it as a failure. However, that is a completely wrong way to look at things. When a kid accepts Christ, it’s not my success, it’s God’s. My successes are when I commit to follow God no matter what happens with a camper or anyone else. That’s what we all need to remember.
There are many more ways to get the most out of your experience working as a camp staffer, these are just the three that stuck out in my mind. If you want information on working for CentriKid, be sure to check out www.centrikid.com/become-a-staffer!
This is a guest post by Joey Koogler. Joey was a CentriKid Camps staffer.