Tag: Camp

Where I’m Taking My Students Next Summer

Earlier this summer, I did something rather crazy.  After a 10 day mission trip to Malawi, Africa, I flew directly down to Knoxville, Tennessee to check out a camp.  I mean, I flew from Malawi to Johannesburg to New York, ditched my team, flew to Atlanta and then on to Knoxville where my boss Brian picked me up in a rental car.  Then, we drove to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  If you’re keeping score, that’s 15+ hours of layovers and 20+ hours of flying.  I was beyond exhausted and I’m sure I smelled beautifully.  Oh, and I’m pretty sure our team made it home safely.  I think.

Normally, after a long mission trip I fly directly home, climb into my bed and sleep for three days but I just had to get down to Tennessee to check something out.  What was that, you ask?  High School Camp.  Starting this summer, reThink started putting on their own high school camp and I just had to see it.

I was impressed.  So impressed, in fact, that I’ll definitely be bringing a coach bus or two of high school students with me down to Tennessee next year.  Here’s why:

1.  reThink gets the power of small groups.

I love reThink as an organization because they are smart and strategic.  They are driving next gen. ministry forward.  They are helping us all think better about what we do.  They understand that small groups are the backbone of student ministry so everything about High School Camp is built around small groups:  housing, meals, programs, activities, experiences, etc.  It’s the perfect camp to elevate groups and capitalize on existing relationships or, to forge new ones.

2.  The Orange Tour for free!

If you’ve never been to the Orange Conference or the Orange Tour, this is your year!  The Orange Conference is the best conference out there for student ministry and children’s ministry.  Also, if you plan to be at the Orange Tour in Troy, MI, look me up!

My favorite thing about High School Camp is that the Orange Tour is essentially built into the camp schedule.  Youth pastors and volunteers get an hour a day with Reggie Joiner.  His content in these sessions is fantastic.  I’m pumped for my volunteers to receive some of the best training out there as part of the High School Camp package.

IMG_2585

3.  Zero Prep

We put on our own middle school camp and it is amazing.  I can say that without feeling like a bragger McBraggerson because I have very little to do with it.  Our team did an incredible job putting on the best camp I’ve ever been a part of.  With that said, we’re all in a coma now.  I don’t think we have the capacity to pull off another camp for our high school students.

The awesome thing about reThink’s High School Camp is that you show up with your students and volunteers and simply pastor them.  No prep required.  Beautiful.

4. Ginormous Water Slides

Spoiler alert:  The camp isn’t housed at a camp, it’s at a resort with ginormous water slides.  The resort also includes a huge arcade, several mini-golf courses, a mini-bowling alley, a rock climbing wall, a for reals grown up golf course, a ropes course and a million other fun elements.  Pardon my terrible photography…

IMG_2578

5.  Dollywood

Did I mention that Dollywood is right down the road?!?  Actually, that’s probably not helpful.  My bad.

6.  Epic Lights

Maybe it was because I hadn’t slept in 2 days or that I had just returned from Africa but the light show that accompanied the large group programming blew my mind!  What I mean is that the stage and production quality was on par with what you would experience at an Arena concert.  The students were LOVING it.

7.  Professional grade communications

I’ll be honest, at first I wasn’t sure about the teaching quality because I kept falling asleep.  I assure you it wasn’t the teacher!  It was that I hadn’t slept in 30 hours and I was sitting down in a dark room.

However, I did listen to a second teaching after a good night’s sleep and it was fantastic.  reThink writes the curriculum for High School Camp (think XP3) and it is delivered by a national level speaker.  It was great, and of course, it is designed for great small group conversation.  I love this because, in the past, it has seemed like any time I take my students to a camp, I either get great music or a great speaker.  Here, both were A+.

8.  I can worship to that!

Speaking of worship, if you’ve been in church work for a while you can probably relate to how critical I am.  It’s hard for me to really engage church services without evaluating the programming or noticing what is wrong or cheesy.  It’s one of the curses of working at a church.  What I loved about High School Camp is that the quality of music and production was so phenomenal that there was nothing to complain and I could relax and just engage in worship.  Maybe now you think I’m a horrible person.  Or, if you work at a church, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.

9.  Limitless Options

Pigeon Forge, the closest town to High School Camp is one of the strangest places I have ever been to.  There are literally limitless options for things to do…go carts, music, restaurants, giant dinosaur statues, shopping, a Titanic museum, amusement parks, theater, golf, and weird combos of all the previously listed options–think dinosaurs living on the titanic which is actually a large amusement shopping mall.  You really have to see this place to believe it.  My point is that if your group gets bored with the ridiculous amount of options at the resort, there are a bazillion things to do in Pigeon Forge.  Or, you could plan a fun excursion before or after camp.

10.  I thought the Smoky Mountains would be a lot more smoky.

I love mountains, camping, hiking, and natural beauty.  Pigeon Forge is situated in the Smoky Mountains.  First off, the scenery is amazing and secondly, if you or your group hate touristy things, there is plenty to do in the Smoky Mountains.  You could take your group camping after camp for crying out loud!

All this is to say that I’m going to High School Camp this summer.  I’m wickedly pumped about the impact the experience will have on our students and volunteers, and how easy the experience will be to plan for.  Maybe I’ll see you there.

If you ant to check it out, here’s a link to reThink’s High School Camp page.  Fear not, if everything I said about camp in Tennessee sounded terrible, they are holding camps in Florida and Texas as well.

In Case You Thought I Was Normal…

Part of what makes Camp LifeLine so outrageously fun are the program characters.  Our students love Chucky and Lucky, El Mattadore, Strawberry Sam and the rest.  If you’ve never seen these videos or characters you will think we’ve lost my minds…sorry about that.

By the way, if you knew me in high school or college, I assure you that I’m just as intelligent and popular as I was.

Camp 2013 Opener from LifeLine Student Ministries on Vimeo.

Camp LL 2013 | Wednesday Story from LifeLine Student Ministries on Vimeo.

 

Camp LL 2013 | Friday Story from LifeLine Student Ministries on Vimeo.

Worship Night in a Box

Year after year, our most impactful night of camp is worship night. The experience this year was the most amazing yet. We built the experience around the theme of surrender. What transpired so was powerful that I thought I’d share our script. Feel free to steal all or some of it for your own ministry.

ATMOSPHERE

We always begin our worship nights with small group time. The purpose of this time is to set the tone for the night. Instead of a countdown, explosive music and beach balls flying through the air, small groups walk in silently.

For the most part, we lit the room exclusively with candles. On a side note, it is much easier to employ minimal lighting if the band uses iPads for their chord charts. We use a mobile app from planningcenteronline.com. Check it out.

NOTES

  • We always attempt to keep our worship experiences at an hour or less. Always leave your students wanting more.
  • I usually build our worship nights around a new song that fits the theme very well. This year the theme song was Arms Open Wide. It’s cool to bookend the experience with the same song.
  • Our worship nights usually include a few short talks—no more than 5 minutes, several videos and an interactive element or two.

SETUP MODULE

Intro Song (as students are walking in)

Arms Open Wide (chill and without bridge)

Intro Talk

We welcomed the students to worship night and invited them to connect with God. We introduced the theme, invited everyone to experience the event as they felt comfortable and then led the group in prayer—everyone with palmed lifted upward, ready to receive whatever God had for them. It’s important to note that we gave them permission to sit, stand, sing, pray, be quiet, write, or basically whatever else would help them connect with God.

Worship

Here for You

The Lord our God

 

CONFESSION MODULE

Confession Video

Confession from LifeLine Student Ministries on Vimeo.

 

Confession Letters

We spoke to our students for a few minutes about what confession is and how it unlocks our hearts toward God. We shared 1 John 1:9 and then invited each student to write their own letter of confession to God.

Worship

Instrumental during letter writing

Never Once

 

CROSS MODULE

Communion Video

Communion Talk

We spent 5 minutes describing what communion is and how to participate in it. We also invited students to come down and nail their letters of confession to the cross after communion.

Communion (The Wonderful Cross during)

We stationed pairs of leaders with bread and juice at stations around the crowd. We like to have students come forward to the elements. It makes the experience more interactive.

Nailing Letters of Confession to Cross (Beautiful Things during)

photo(4)All Things New

 

SURRENDER MODULE

At this point we brought the cross, which had been in the shadows, to the forefront of the stage. It was a powerful moment as we talked about how, at the cross, all our sin has been washed away. In Christ we have a new identity. We are sons and daughters. We are no longer defined by our mistakes or what has been done to us.

Then, I read Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Jesus is asking for for our lives. He is looking for disciples—for partners in His kingdom work on this planet. We then brought all of our volunteer leaders to the front and invited students to surrender their lives to Jesus to and come forward to be prayed over.

Worship

Here’s My Heart Lord (During prayer time)

Arms Open Wide (full version)

No One Higher

SMALL GROUPS

After the final song we sent our students to their small groups to process and share. As always, groups are central to what we do. Middle school students, especially, need help understanding and communicating what they experienced at worship night.

So that’s it–pretty simple really. Go ahead and steal all or some of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Things I Learned at Camp

One of the keys to success in ministry (or any field) is to never stop learning.  Never stop observing and listening.  Last week our staff and 60 volunteers put on an epic week of camp.  Camp LifeLine is my favorite week of the year because it’s ridiculously fun and because God always does amazing things in the lives of our people.

I learned a lot last week just by watching our students and our leaders.  Here’s what I picked up.

CAMP IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO TACKLE HARD TOPICS

One of the reasons we put on our own camp is that we can tailor the curriculum to our students.  And one of the things we’ve learned over the years is that camp is the perfect context for complicated or difficult issues.  Camp provides the time, space and relationships to unpack and wrestle with difficult issues.

THERE IS HOPE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

I hear a lot of doomsday talk about the future of our country and the next generation’s lack of potential.  Let me say that I deeply believe in this generation.  I believe in them because I have seen them leading and serving.

1077236_694065650610234_351763300_o

Last week our student leaders absolutely killed it.  They put their own agendas and issues aside and loved and led middle schoolers exceptionally well.  They were heroes in the eyes of our middle schoolers.  I can’t speak to the future of our country but I’m confident in the future of the church.

ONE-ON-ONES ARE THE SECRET WEAPON OF STUDENT MINISTRY

It’s painful to admit that students don’t remember much of what we teach.  I’d estimate that 90% of our communications are forgotten within one day.  However, students always remember relationships—specifically relationships with adults or older students who loved them.

This is why we build our student ministry around mentoring relationships.  The key to mentoring relationships is one-on-one time.  One-on-one meetings are the secret sauce in our ministry.  I firmly believe they are the most strategic thing a volunteer can do.

One of my favorite memories from last week was watching leaders do one-on-ones with their students.  These conversations led to many students embracing the gospel for the first time.  But they also led to many tearful follow-up conversations between our volunteers and our staff, which leads me to my next learning.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE DEEPLY HURTING

I used to consider middle school ministry as less complex than high school ministry because high school students wrestle with heavier issues.  After last week I’m not so sure anymore.  The one-on-ones between our volunteers and students dredged up a lot of pain.  Our middle school students are hurting—pressure to perform, families that are disintegrating, bullying, pornography, loneliness, depression, and a whole lot more.  My heart breaks for the students of this generation.  They feel alone and unloved.

On the one hand, I feel incredibly grateful that our staff and volunteers put on an excellent camp and that 250 middle schoolers walked away feeling loved and valuable.

On the other hand, can we as parents and churches start engaging and loving our kids better?  Our children are the most valuable treasure that we have.  Why do they feel alone?  Why do they feel abandoned and unloved?  How in the world can a 7th grader be wrestling with depression?!? Let’s engage them.  Let’s pay attention to them.  Let’s love them well and point them to Jesus.

 

Why We Do Summer Camp

Last week was Camp LifeLine—a week of camp on the illustrious shores of Stoney Lake.  It was an incredible experience for everyone—staff, volunteers and students.  I’m so grateful for how our volunteers left it all on the field.  Our team absolutely killed it and most importantly, God showed up in a big way.

I can’t imagine our student ministry without camp.  It’s an indispensable part of what we do.  Here are a few reasons why we believe in camp.

GOD MOVES

On Thursday night we led our students in an hour long worship experience.  God moved powerfully.   Near the end of the night I invited students to surrender their lives to Jesus.  200 middle school students came forward to pray with their leaders.  It was amazing.  There’s just something special about getting away with students and creating space for God to move.

IT’S JUST TOO FUN

Camp is where we drop our most ridiculous and hilarious videos.  For example…

NurseryBack from LifeLine Student Ministries on Vimeo.

TRAINING

Throughout the week, high school students who served as junior cabin leaders came to me with extraordinarily difficult questions from their small group time.  Some were theological, some were practical and some were downright ridiculous.  I love the fact that our high school students were wrestling through tough issues with our middle school students.  When it comes to ministry and leadership training, it really doesn’t get much better than camp.

“I FEEL LOVED BY THE WAY THEY TEACH”

Halfway through the week, one of our cabin leaders came to us with a story about an incoming 6th grade girl.  During their cabin small group time, the question was raised, “What makes you feel loved.”  The girl’s response was that the teachings that our staff were giving made her feel loved.

I love camp because in the span of a week you can teach your students somewhere between 8-10 times.  And truthfully, kids listen better at camp.  This means that you can really dig into issues or clearly communicate a few ideas.  For this 6th grade girl, who for whatever reason doesn’t feel loved; we were able to drive home the fact that she is desperately loved by her Creator.  That truth, well understood, can transform a life.

AN ENTIRE CABIN COMING TO CHRIST

Very early in our week of camp we went old school.  We preached the gospel and called for a commitment.  We didn’t go Billy Graham and ask people to come forward but we did send them to their small groups with a few pointed questions.  After the salvation teaching, an entire cabin of middle school boys gave their lives to Jesus.

Many other students decided to follow Jesus during the week and I love the fact that many of our high school leaders participated in the conversations and prayers.  What a life changing experience for them.

BUILDING TRUST WITH PARENTS

Lastly, I love summer camp because it is our best marketing tool with parents.  As it turns out, when you have their middle schooler with you at camp for the week, parents listen to your communications.  They watch the videos and read the blog attentively.  This is a big opportunity for us to communicate our values.

We received an astronomical amount of appreciation from parents through social media during the week and in person at the end of the week.  Camp provides our ministry with an opportunity to build trust with parents.  We’re a ministry that highly values partnering with parents, so for us, camp is a huge win.

 

 

Why Camp LifeLine Rules

Tomorrow is almost better than Christmas.  Tomorrow our student ministry leaves for camp.  Without a doubt this is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  I am incredibly proud of our camp both in terms of our program and for how astronomically well our volunteers and students lead and serve.

When it comes to camp our team is boss and yet, we keep it very simple.  We’re only aiming to do three things.  But, we’re planning to knock these three things out of the park.  Here they are.

FUN      

We unapologetically attempt to blow the roof off when it comes to fun.  There will be entertaining videos.  There will be dance parties.  There will be ridiculously creative games.

We have been working for months on some of the best videos we’ve ever created.  Our camp storyline is epic.  That’s really all I can say because it’s all top secret.

Here’s the thing, I happen to believe that fun can be a spiritual experience.  Yes, I’m being serious.  Many of this generation’s students are hurting.  Many of them are under enormous pressure.  Many of them feel abandoned by the adults in their lives.  If we, as a ministry representing Jesus, can offer them laughter and fun and a reprieve from the pain, pressure and abandonment then fun is a spiritual experience.

When adults take vacation time to spend a week with students—when they get on the students’ level by having fun and laughing with them—God is pleased.

FOCUS ON JESUS

Everything we do at camp points toward Jesus.  The sessions, the worship, the fun, the games, the relationships—everything is focused on Jesus.   If we get to the end of camp and we haven’t made it crystal clear to all of our students that God loves them and wants a relationship with them through Jesus then we have failed.

More than anything else we are interested in connecting students with Jesus because we believe that life, meaning and purpose is found when we connect our passions, talents and possessions with the mission of Jesus in the world.

LOVE STUDENTS

Everything we do in LifeLine revolves around relationships and our camp is no different.  Each cabin functions as a small group.  Cabins compete together, eat together, and experience sessions and small groups together.   Our goal is that each cabin would function as a family at camp.

I like to think of a week of camp as a little taste of heaven.  For one week each student can get away from his struggles and pressures.  For one week each student is treated with love and respect.  For one week each kid doesn’t have to produce anything.  For one week distractions are put aside and a kid can worship her creator without worrying about what other people are saying about her.  For one week a student can share her heart and a caring adult will listen empathetically, cry with her and pray with her.   For one week students can feel the very presence of God and hear His voice calling them to real life.

Camp is so amazing.  I can’t wait to see how our volunteers and student leaders rise up and love students—some of which haven’t been loved well ever in their lives.  I can’t wait to see the smiles and laughter of students getting a little taste of heaven.  I can’t wait to see how God moves and transforms life.  Can you tell that I’m psyched for Camp LifeLine?