Those of us who love camp think we know what it’s all about.
The camp critics think the same thing. Ask around and you will hear all sorts
of things about camp. Camp is life-changing. Camp is theologically shallow.
Camp is a mountaintop experience. Camp offers a brief high that quickly fades. Camp
is the only place where faith makes sense. Camp ruins kids for church. The list
goes on. What if we laid aside our assumptions and seriously asked the
question, what is camp and what does it do? Maybe we could get away from our
bias that the camp we love does it better than all others. Maybe camp
detractors could be convinced that one negative experience is not indicative of
all camps.
Read about them right now at www.effectivecamp.com
We are finding that the camp experience has many positive
impacts on participants and that these impacts extend to their supporting
networks! Even more intriguing, we have isolated 5 characteristics that seem to
be fundamental to the Christian summer camp experience. When these
characteristics function together, we call it the camp model.
- Camp is RELATIONAL
- Camp is PARTICIPATORY
- Camp is DIFFERENT FROM HOME
- Camp is A SAFE SPACE
- Camp is FAITH CENTERED
These have no set order or direction of influence. There is
not one characteristic that is more important than the others. They function
together in a dynamic interplay for each unique individual. A breakdown in a
single characteristic is a breakdown of the entire camp model, and this can
lead to interpretation of the entire experience as negative or even harmful to
the camper.
Here is how the camp model functioned for one individual in
our study:
"Her
mom is going through a divorce. She was sad and anxious but wanted this camp
experience. She made friends, learned how to pray, learned about faith and was
uplifted and healed throughout the week. It was one of the best weeks of her
life according to her: “I’m not depressed, my appetite is back, I believe I can
make friends in a new school, I am closer to God.” This camp experience for her
was the best!" (Camper parent)
Notice how this camper’s unique life circumstances
combined with the camp model to facilitate the incredibly impactful experience
that the parent describes. All 5 characteristics are present here, and if one
had broken down, the entire experience would have affected her differently.
Some of the camp supporters out there might be simply
nodding their heads and thinking that they already knew this stuff. If that is
the case, GREAT! This should look and feel authentic to you. It is not new
stuff to camp people who have been talking about these characteristics (or
something like them) for years. However, we have never quite been able to
articulate it this way. We can learn a great deal by stepping back and
observing. Some would simply say of the above camper: “She had a life-changing
experience!” Did she? Maybe, but those are our words, not hers. The experience
clearly affected her in very significant and positive ways. We can say she grew
in her self-confidence and sense of worth. We can say that she grew in her
faith. We can say that she grew in her social confidence. These are real and
incredibly significant impacts.
Only some of the campers have an experience that
they might consider life-changing or a mountaintop experience. We
do not need to promise that kind of an experience. In fact, it is misleading to
do so. Our findings make it clear that the camp model does not cause change.
Camp is not a magic formula! What camp does is facilitate positive impacts and
open the possibility for changes.
We are learning so much about camp, and there is
much more to come! Our research continues this coming summer, as we survey more
than 1200 campers to find out more about the camp model and the impacts of the
camp experience.
