Develop Spirituality in Your Camp Staff

One of the most important things camp leaders at Christian camps need to do is to prepare their summer camp staff members to minister to the spiritual needs of their campers. The best way to do this is to make sure that the staff members themselves are walking in close relationship with the Lord and are developing spiritually throughout the summer. This does not automatically happen just because staff members are Christians who come to work at a Christian camp. Many of them may be struggling in their walk with God and may not have developed habits of spending daily time with God.

Staff training sessions will set the tone for spiritual growth over the summer. Some camps run a weekend retreat for prospective staff members in the winter or spring, before the camp season arrives. The purpose is two-fold: to get to know applicants and get a feel for where they are at in their walk with God, and to help those who attend to grow in their relationship with God and deepen their commitment to Him before they arrive at camp to work.

Most camps have a staff training week before camp opens. Although there are incredible amounts of information and training to give staff in order that they will be prepared for camp, it is also important to include multiple opportunities for spiritual development and growth during training week. These may include some combination of morning and/or evening devotions, personal quiet times built into the schedule, group prayer times, Bible teaching, small group Bible studies, and evening campfire services. Included also may be testimonies from former staff and camp leaders about how God has worked through them in the past in a camp setting.

Staff training week should include challenges to examine oneself and to come to God for cleansing and filling by His Spirit. It should also cover important subjects like how to lead campers to Christ and how to counsel them so that they will also grow spiritually at camp. For overnight camps, it may also include how to lead cabin devotions. For day camps, it may include how to lead camper groups in discussions about what they are learning in chapel or Bible class times.,

During staff training week you can divide your staff members into small groups that will meet at least once a week all summer. Of course, if you have a small day camp, you might want to keep the whole staff together and plan to meet after camp one afternoon or evening per week. But resident camps will need to plan how to create time in the camp schedule for each group to be able to get away from campers and camp programs for an hour or so a week. By rotating groups and having staff members cover for each other, this can be done fairly easily.

Each group will need a Bible study guide or Camp Staff Devotional (such as the one found at http://daily-devotionals.com/announceJohnComes.html) to help them stay on track in their group meetings. And they should devote a good part of the group time to praying for each other, the camp, and the campers as well.

During Staff Training, emphasize how important it is for staff members to spend their own private time with God every day, reading His Word and praying. Build time into staff training and (at resident camps) into the camp schedule for staff members to have that time. You can't expect them to work nonstop for 15 hours a day and still be able to have this important time with God. Camp leaders must create breaks for each staff member to do this!

One of the best ways is to provide every staff member with a camp staff devotional that they can use throughout the summer. Make sure it is one that relates Scripture to camp life, has short sections to read (so staff don't get bogged down), and gets them to open their Bibles! The best camp staff devotionals will include questions for person reflection that can also be used for small group discussions.

If the camp staff devotionals are discussed regularly in small groups and in camp staff meetings, and if staff are given opportunities to share what they are learning from them, you will see the staff as a whole growing together. They will have common things that they are learning from the Lord, and they will inspire one another as they share how the daily Scripture and devotional readings are impacting their lives.