Christian Camps – For the Whole Family?
Camping is something that is part of Christianity’s history. For hundreds of years, religious leaders have utilized nature to challenge and unify christian communities. Often times, community based camps draw not just children, but entire families.
The reason that families are drawn to christian camps is because of the five values around which
they are based. These five values are as follows:
1. A real community can only be achieved through unique experience.
When family members join their church camp, they leave behind the responsibilities and attachments of their daily life. This allows each person to focus on nurturing and growing their relationship with Christ, and this in turn allows them to have a unique experience that is shared with the other people in the camp. Because the temptations of daily life are left at home, community members get to experience a true model of Christian life that they can hopefully bring back and implement in their community and home.
2. People get to improve and focus on bettering their entire person and their whole being.
Most aspects of our life focus on improving only one part of the human being. Schools develop mental capacities and sports develop physical abilities. Christian camps allow people to improve themselves in four different ways- mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.
3. People are able to build relationships with God and their community members.
Christian camps foster both spiritual relationships and social ones, realizing that each has value. These camps especially catalyze the relationships between campers and counselors. Counselors are roll models who campers look up to and try to emulate their positive behaviors. The relationships built at Christian and church camps follow Jesus’ model of living and experiencing with his 12 disciples.
4. Fond, loving memories are made along with major commitments to positive life goals.
Because the duration of camp is much shorter than the rest of our lives, experiences take on new meanings and levels of intensity. Everything acheived and learned at camp before ingrained in memory as a special experience.
5. People get a chance to develop their leadership skills which they can bring back to the
community.
Christian camps help campers build leadership skills by having them take the reigns on many of their projects. The counselors let the cabins organize and conduct themselves. Many of the activities are camper led and learning is always taking place.
Is a Christian camp right for you or your familY? There are nearly 1400 Christian camps listed on camps.com. Research them online and then have a great time nurturing your faith in a camp
environment, close to nature and, perhaps, closer to your maker.
Click Here to find Christian camps near you.
