Is camp worth the cost?

The past year has been a tough one in terms of our nations economy. Many jobs, retirements, and "toys" have been surrendered to an economic black hole. Naturally, this finds many families seeking ways to cut back on spending. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal titled "Cutting Back on the Kum Ba Yah", discussed many families having to make the tough decision of not sending their kids to camp this year. The article contends that this decision is a consumer spending decision like any other. The author writes, "For many familes, camp is an annual tradition that teaches kids independance, keeps them busy during the slow summer months and gives parents some alone-time in the house." By this definition, camp may be a luxury that needs to be cut from the budget for a year or two. However, this definition falls woefully short in defining the Christian camp experience.

Camp is a place for kids, teens, and adults to get away from the daily routine that can be so stifling to growth and spiritual development. New experiences, friends, challenges, and glimpses of God's glory are the norm at camp. The opportunity to step outside of the normal routine of life and evaluate how you are living and serving your creator...what is the value?

Camp is a place for breathing in all of God's amazing creation. Going to camp for a week, a weekend, or even a day takes you outside of four walls to where God’s creation shouts his name! See him as you walk in the shade of green leafy trees, hear him in the soft rippling of water around your canoe, feel him in the heat of an evening fire as you sing praises to his name, and taste him in the coolness of water after hiking to the top of a lofty overlook. Witness his majesty in the infinite stars of a calm summer night, understand more fully his forgiveness in the pure white covering of a winter snow storm, and learn to trust in him while hanging from a rope on a rocky cliff. All of this awaits at camp...what is it worth?

Camp is a place where connections and life-long relationships are formed. Living alongside friends and strangers in the temporary camp community will deepen existing friendships and create many new ones. These peer-to-peer relationships are forged on the challenge course, in the darkness of a mission impossible night game, or around a glowing fire. They are friendships that touch a deeper level than most and may indeed last for a lifetime. Also lasting for a lifetime are the mentor relationships formed between campers and counselors; counselors who are truly living their relationship with God and modeling that relationship for all to see. Campers see that "cool" people think that it's "cool" to live as a follower of Jesus. These earthly connections are signposts on the journey leading to true connection with God - and that is truly what camp is all about. Knowing that kids are shaped by their peers and mentors - how expensive is the alternative of not exposing a child to these positive relationships? Camp is a place where foundations, roots, are formed. Decisions are made and life courses are charted and set. The number of people in full-time ministry who made a formative decision for Christ at camp is astounding...ask a few of these dedicated ones and see for yourself. When the storms of life are raging, camp provides a beacon for the drowning soul to look back upon and exclaim, "God was real then, and he is real today!" The camp experience can direct the path of a person's entire life. What is the cost of not providing that experience for a child? For your child?

Yes, this year has been a tough one, and if camp is simply a way to keep the kids busy and give parents some free time, it may be budgeted out. But, camp is so much more than that!

The Wall Street Journal missed on their definition. Given the more full definition above, camp is a non-negotiable. After all, how can you cut life formation out of the budget? Whether it's for a week long summer camp, or a weekend winter retreat, camp provides a truly authentic, life shaping experience...PRICELESS!