Tag Archives: youth camp

Youth Camp Week Day Three : Discipline At Camp

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you-lack-discipline

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Discipline is no fun, but especially no fun at camp; but sometimes it has to be done. I had a student one time who had signed up for our camp. I did not know the camper very well, but he seemed a bit young to go. I was write. He was too young for this trip. He would wander way from the group and was basically on his own schedule. Here is how I handled it.

First offense: A warning to call his mom.

Second: A call to his mom and let her talk to him.

Third: A second call to his mom with the warning that if I had to call again he would have to go home.

Fourth: Called the mom and asked her to come pick up her son, six hours away.

It worked out fine. All the kids gathered around this kid and sent him off with prayer and well wishes. I don’t think he ever came back to youth group (for a different reason)  but that moment of discipline, with love, was worth it.

Here is what I think this process communicated to the parent

1. I communicated that I loved her son and wanted him to stay

2. I wanted her to be a part of the solution. She knows her son better than I.

3. I wanted to build a track record with the parent about behavior. If I would have told her to come pick up her son on the first call I would have shown that I did not  care.

Here is  a thought from veteran youth worker Greg Schmidt:  The first thing to remember is, you and the kids are representing Christ first, church second, and the rest after that don’t really count lol. JK. I always like to set the bar high and see if they can exceed my expectations. In my 25+ years of student ministry I have seen a lot of teens at camp that have gone home and a whole lot that should’ve went home. The one thing I always did was at the parent mtg. show the parents the guidelines and expectations and let them know if their perfect son or daughter happened to not follow them, THEY (the parents) would be either coming to get them or sending money for bus ticket home. With this I made sure I had the pastor and everyone else on the same page that way when something happens, and it usually did, they won’t be blindsided by an angry parent of a perfect teen.

Discipline is part of discipleship. Don’t shy away from it, even if they don’t thank you for it later.

Don’t forget to read Day 1: Tips For Sharing Devotions At Camp  or Day 2: 3 Ideas To Get Your Campers To Bed

 

Youth Camp Week Day One: 3 Tips For Sharing Devotions At Camp

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Here’s a video of our youth camp from last year.

I love youth camp. I gave my heart to Christ for the first time at a camp called Life For Youth Camp in Vero Beach, Fl. I worked there for 7 summers and have been speaking there, one week a summer, for the past 12 years. Oh, and I met my wife there. I love youth camp.

Summer and summer camp is almost upon our youth ministries and I thought this would be a great week for some last minute tips for making your camp awesome, and I hope you’ll share your yours tips here as well. Here are my 10 Tips

1. Be prepared to lead or prepare your leaders to lead the devotion. 

You can’t be angry with your volunteers if they did not lead the devotions the way you wanted if you have not taught them how you want them led. Be sure to meet with your leaders, train them, and build their confidence to accomplish their tasks.

2. Don’t re-preach the sermon

If you do your devotions after the service, it’s tempting, but don’t re-preach the message. I think devotions are about engaging camper, not speaking to them or even at them, but it’s a time to dig into what they really think about this “Jesus thing”.

And number three comes from

3. Your youth camp is like a house

I like this quote from a friend on LinkedIn

“Remember when you have a Camp its like building a house with four walls(four topics) your theme is the foundation and your Bible Studies /Devotions are your roofing sheets to complete the house.” - Rodgers Nkhuwa

I have never thought of Camp Devotions in this manner but Rodgers is dead on. The Theme is the foundation, topics the walls, and devotions are the shingles (like icing on the cake). Don’t obsess over the shingles, but don’t forget them either.

Obviously not an exhaustive list, but maybe it will get you to thinking deeper and wider about your devotions.

What tip would you add?

Youth Camp Devotion Resources

If you are looking for camp devotions to share with your group this summer, here are a few places you can get some. I was shocked that there were not more. I have not vetted these devos (except my one) for theological correctness so I encourage you to read the resources (including mine) thoroughly before using.

Living the Adventure of God by Andre Chua.(I really like the  format of this and it seems to be directed to boys, but it could be adapted.)

He also has an accompany leaders guide 

You could do video devotions with Jeremy Camp (name kind of suits this)

You could grab some devotions from Northern Grace Youth Camp

You could put your own youth camp devotion together using devotions from Dare2Share

If you are serious about making your own devotions here are some easy steps 

Finally,

I wrote a 5 day camp devo called Branching Out

I can also custom write you a set to go along with your theme

If you know of a good camp devo book, website, or idea, leave it in the comments section.

 

 

 

Life For Youth Camp Rocks The House!

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I  am back from a week of ministering at The Greatest Place On Earth: Life For Youth Camp. I have included most of the links to the videos I used as well as the worship songs so you can download them for yourself. I have also included a short video of what to do now the you are back from your camp. Have a great rest of the summer and a great school year. Stay Fired Up!

 

Monday Night

Psalm 1

Isaiah 64:6

Hebrews 10:1-11

Luke 18:9-14

I Peter 1:24

Tuesday

I am looking for my notes for this and will update this when I get home.

Wednesday – Pruning and Preparing

John 15:1-17

Romans 12:1, 2

Taking Off

Romans 13:12-14

Colossians 3:5-10

Ephesians 4:17-24

Putting On

Colossians 3:12-17

I Thessalonians 5:8

I Peter 3:34

I Peter 5:5, 6

Thursday – Be Fruitful Not Fake

John 15:8

Galatians 5:17-26

 

You could download the song I Am A Seed from iTunes HERE

 

You can download the song All For Your Splendor HERE 

 

 

 

Get Fired Up! Way To Go Life For Youth Camp!

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Hey LFYC Campers!

Forst let me say I love you guys! You were a  great group this year and God did some amazing things in our midst and in our hearts. I hope the week was a powerful for you as it was for me. As I promised here is a bunch of  the stuff I used this week like the Bad Evangelism video and the video, our Alabama Disaster relief. Oh, and even the Oliver video clip

Here is a list of the songs we sang this week

Christ In Me

Tell The World

Trading My Sorrows

Happy Day

Nothing Is Impossible

One Way

What The World Will Never Take

I Am Free

Your Love Never Fails

Mighty To Save

Our God

Love Like Fire

Father Will You Come

You Never Let Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rascal Flatt’s I Won’t Let Go

If you have pictures or video from the week please send it to me at thedproject@me.com

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

Don’t forget to download the 40 Day Sweat Club devotion. If you are needing more devotions please check the free resource. page.

 

The Week Before My Summer Camp

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I am heading off to our summer camp next week and I thought I’d pass along a few things I do that make my life easier:

  1. I meet individually with students who I think might cause me a problem. I challenge them to step and lead or give them a job for the week, such as watching out for younger students to make sure they are not picked on.
  2. I over communicate with parents about any changes.
  3. I make sure every kid has signed our camp standards covenant
  4. I think of a surprise or bonus I can spring on the kids that week. It could be as simple as candy bars or free t-shirts.
  5. I make sure my Pastor has a count and a list of campers so he can pray for us individually
  6. I meet one final time with parents right before the trip for about 10 minutes to challenge them to prepare a home where they can live out the things they have committed in their hearts to Christ.

Do you have a list of things you run through to make your camp run smoother?  Share them with us.

Oh, here is a free Generic Camp Covenant I created for our group. Enjoy.