Keeping focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic when springtime hit was a challenge for me as a child. As soon as the days were longer and warmer, my mind wandered to thoughts of summer vacation. On cool spring evenings my friends and I would sit on the front stoop and share our summer plans. We always had great expectations for summer.
From fifth grade on, my summer expectations always included Pioneer Clubs' Camp Cherith. But plans began way before summer. In March or April, I started saving my nickels and dimes. My parents encouraged me in my camping pursuits, but part of the deal included my help with finances. I was responsible for paying the registration fee.
Christian camping was a mountaintop experience for me and my friends, and I know it continues to be for children today. Here's my top 10 list of what camp has to offer today's kids:
1. One of the important things children learn from a camp experience is to be self-sufficient—Mom isn't there to comb their hair or tell them what shirt to wear.
2. Camping helps kids learn to be creative and resourceful—planning a skit with cabin-mates using a cardboard box, three paper bags, and duct tape demands a lot more creativity than watching TV.
3. Camping instills an appreciation for the out-of-doors—trees are for climbing, frogs are for catching, rocks are for skipping, flowers are for smelling. Day in and day out campers are surrounded by God's wonderful creation—camping has always been green!
4. Kids learn to appreciate living without modern conveniences like cell phones, MP3 players, and handheld video games. They trade these things in for pocketknives, compasses, fishing gear, hiking boots, canoes, sleeping bags, and horses.
5. Kids learn to anticipate problems and challenges and figure out how to solve them with cabin-mates and counselors. They learn quickly that teamwork and cooperation gets the job done with satisfaction.
6. Plans and goals are healthy and rewarding—shooting enough arrows until you hit the archery target, getting a bull's-eye in riflery, paddling across the lake, or catching a huge fish.
7. Kids will learn by using all five senses, not just sitting and listening. They will learn by doing! Camp is not a spectator sport.
8. Campfire entertainment is one of the most memorable parts of the Christian camping experience. Campers will participate in evening campfires with songs, funny skits, and a spiritual message.
9. Christian camping is a mountaintop experience for children. Campers have an opportunity to respond to age-appropriate messages from God's Word.
10. Camp Cherith is Pioneer Clubs summer camping ministry. Our motto is "Leave no child indoors this summer!" Check out the camp page on our website: www.pioneerclubs.org.
I want to encourage you to help the children in your sphere of influence to have an opportunity to experience a Christian camping adventure this summer. The results could be eternal! They were for me.
Judy Bryson is president/CEO of Pioneer Clubs—a church-sponsored midweek ministry for children, ages two through middle school. Pioneer Clubs is a relational ministry that helps children come to faith in Christ and learn how to live daily by his Word. The ministry slogan, Christ in every aspect of life, is the foundation for all that is done in club.
