The Connection Between Summer Camp and Spirituality

by Cathy Ashby

Like canoes and campfires, religious teaching shares a long and celebrated history with summer camp. From programs that provide in-depth, theological training to camps that encourage kindness, tolerance and environmentalism as expressions of a nondenominational spirituality, data from the American Camping Association and the Christian Camp and Conference Association indicate that a quarter to a third of the camps currently operating in the U.S. are associated with religious organizations. And according to a 2004 statement released by the National Study of Youth and Religion at UNC-Chapel Hill, “Nearly 40 percent of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 have been a camper at least once at a summer camp run by a religious organization with religious teachings or songs in its program.”

The Great Outdoors

On the surface, religion and bug spray make strange bunkmates, but camp directors say the combination of summer camp and spirituality works exceedingly well. Away from the hurried schedules of daily life and surrounded by the miraculous beauty of the outdoors, campers are more open to spirituality, more in tune with their beliefs.

“Camp is a ‘place apart,’” explains Brent Fielder, program director for WinShape Camp for Boys in Rome, Georgia, part of the WinShape Foundation started by Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy. “Camp is the best place in the world for a child to learn how the Christian faith should affect their daily character and how they interact with other people in their society.

“When campers come to WinShape, we ask them to leave their iPods, cell phones and other electronics at home as one effort to allow campers to reflect on their experiences,” says Fielder. “We want campers to feel the presence of God around them through the nature that they are experiencing, as well as through the relationships that they are building. Our young people today are so bombarded with technology and other distractions; it is great for them to be able to stop and get away from that and be able to reflect on their spiritual lives.”

Ways of Worship

Religious camps vary widely when it comes to the amount of time spent in dedicated worship. Weekly services and masses are common, as are daily devotions, pre-meal prayers and religious songs. Some programs actively promote a specific religious doctrine; others nurture an overall feeling of goodwill and spirituality.

WinShape Camp and Camp Hope fall into the former category. “In all that we say and do during the camp day,” explains Steve Roys, resident manager at Camp Hope in Dahlonega, “we seek to build a Christian community, which we believe is a great way to proclaim the Gospel.” He describes the common goal of the camp’s programs: “Our primary mission is teach the campers how to be saved according to the Scriptures. To that end, we have a [daily] Bible study curriculum that is divided into themes by week. We also have two Bible studies a day – morning watch and evening – and two cabin devotions each day.”

Similarly, the programs of WinShape Camp make religious components a priority in the lives of campers. “We want to help sharpen the character of our campers – we want to grow in their relationships and deepen their Christian faith,” says Fielder. “We want to incorporate those goals into everything that we do in our daily life at camp. At WinShape we work hard to take opportunities that present themselves to teach lessons about life and also about their faith.” Campers at WinShape have specific times that they are engaged in devotions with cabin mates and counselors, Fielder says, but their nondenominational Christian faith is put front and center in other ways as well. “We want their faith to be more than a devotional thought at the end of the day. We want our campers to know that the God that they learn about on Sunday morning is the same God that is with them when they are playing baseball on the fields at home or with them when they are running through their neighborhoods the other 50 weeks of the year when they are not at camp.”

Camp Hope also takes its religious teachings a step further to ensure that campers understand how to live a Christian life according the Word. “We help campers that have already been saved live the Gospel in practical ways,” says Roys.

Small Groups, Big Effect

As with any group learning experience, religious camps do their best work when the staff-to-camper ratios allow for plenty of individual attention. In small groups, where campers feel comfortable with and supported by their peers, religious education and spiritual guidance make the biggest difference.

According to Barry LeNoir, director of Camp Bethel, a program run by the Church of the Brethren, “Our camping philosophy is centered around religious teaching. And small groups of 10-12 campers and 2-4 counselors ensure that relationships are built and that the campers and counselors can lead one another to experience and celebrate God in every element of camp, while living in a Christian community as the Body of Christ.”

The programs at Camp Hope encourage similar small group experiences and feature familiar faces from year to year. “Our staff that we use for counselors have been here for many, many years and always want to come back,” says Roys. “The children’s hearts are our big concern, and where they’re going to spend eternity, so we really become a family. Many of our counselors were campers as children – some former campers turned counselors have even gotten married as adults.”

Lessons Learned

The traditional benefits of camp – confidence, independence, respect for others, leadership and community awareness, among others – are found in abundance at religious camps. But religious camp proponents believe the spiritual aspects of their programs encourage campers to act with even greater kindness and generosity toward one another and toward their environment.

Another benefit is the campers’ increased understanding and awareness of their own faith, their culture and the religious traditions of their family. In much the same way that soccer camp builds better soccer players, religious camp builds better spiritual beings. By putting religion front and center and honoring its place in everyday life, camp staff members help campers define and celebrate their religious heritage.

The Foundation for Jewish Camping puts it this way: “Jewish camp builds Jewish identity.” Camp Director Sandra Bass at Camp Judea in Hendersonville, North Carolina, agrees. “Our goal is to make everyone that comes to camp comfortable in their Jewish skin,” she says. “We have campers that come to us from all different backgrounds. Our goal is for them to learn about their Jewish heritage, but most importantly what kind of Jew they want to become.” Camp Judea also teaches an appreciation of nature, the ability to function highly in a team or group, a better sense of self, and a love for Israel through its programs and religious services.

According to JewishCamping.org, research indicates that campers who attend “quality” Jewish camps show evidence of:

• Increased Jewish identity
• Increased Jewish affiliation
• Increased Jewish practice
• Increased Jewish professional careers
• Decreased intermarriage

Each of these outcomes strengthens the Jewish faith on a personal level for the camper and his family; but they also strengthen the faith on a larger, global level. And religious camps across the board report similar results.

Justin Boles, communications manager for the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA), says that a recent industry survey yielded very promising information about Christian conversion and leadership involvement. According to the survey, “Approximately 4 percent of all individuals served by CCCA member camps in 2002 made decisions to become Christians. That equals 276,000 decisions.” The survey also indicated “there are more than half a million Christian leaders [missionaries, pastors, Christian vocations] in ministry today as a result of decisions made at a member camp.”

LeNoir offers one explanation for these trends when he describes the philosophy at Camp Bethel: “Immersion in an environment of intentional Christian community revitalizes campers, creates a feeling of love, acceptance and safety, and gives campers a lasting zeal for the Christian faith.”

So make room in that duffel bag for a Bible (or Siddur or Quran), because with positive results like these, religious camps of all kinds are here to stay.