1. Small groups. Praying out loud requires vulnerability, and one of the best introductory methods to this is praying in groups of two or three. After a worship service, before a meal, in the midst of a talk, participants can break into small groups and share their hearts. People will likely be drawn to pray with others they know, but it will still bond and unify the group as a whole, which is a central ambition of most group retreats.
2. Popcorn. As people become more comfortable with the idea of sharing their prayers out loud, many gain the courage to pray in front of many people. Popcorn prayer is a series of little blurbs—praising God, requests for healing, and expressions of gratitude—anything that God puts on the heart of participants. They’re not required to stand up in front of an auditorium and launch a huge prayer; they can pray corporately from their seats.
3. Korean style. Though rare in America, this method of corporate prayer has become more and more common at group retreats. In essence, every person in the room prays out loud at the same time. It’s terrifying to first timers, but it creates a setting and unified voice that exudes communion with God. Because it forces everyone to abandon insecurities and speak openly to the Lord, it can open community better than any other method. That community and closeness with God surpass any other outcome of retreats, which makes corporate prayer a good thing.

If you’re sending your son or daughter to Christian summer camp for the first time, they’re likely to be shocked by a number of things. Homesickness often dominates the letters sent home, and the ruggedness of the outdoors surprises many kids who haven’t spent much time outside of the city. The first time away from home and expansiveness of God’s creation is a lot to take in, but encountering the diversity of fellow campers can require more preparation than anything else. Camp may be the first time they’re confronted with kids of different denominations, upbringings, and ethnicities—or at least the first time they all have to live side by side. Culture shock isn’t just something that happens to missionaries going abroad. It’s a reality for even Americans, and one of the best antidotes to that shock is understanding the Body of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul described the various gifts that Christians receive, from teaching to wisdom to faith. It’s a long list and a segue into his metaphor of the Church. Like parts of a body, every Christian has different gifts, different strengths, and different weaknesses. On their own they’re very limited, but together they create a human machine better and more powerful than the sum of its parts. It all sounds great in theory, but differences tend to create disruption and distrust more than unity. Paul discusses the Body of Christ in almost all of his letters because he has to instill this notion in every church: that living and worshipping together may be a challenge, but it’s God’s design for Christian community. It applies to Bible studies, international ministries, and even Christian summer camp.

At Christian summer camp, the main things kids have in common is that they’re there, and they’re Christian. Everything else, school, home lives, and hobbies, can be completely different, but that’s okay—it’s actually one of the joys of camp friendships. Your kids will get to sleep, hike, and eat alongside dozens of others from different schools, denominations, even states. It’s a small glimpse at the grander Body of Christ. Amazing friendships will emerge, but not all campers bond instantly. Some will annoy your son or daughter; some will seem calloused or strange; and a few tend to boss everyone else around. In a work environment, that’s a fact to tolerate, but at Christian summer camp, it can lead to a spiritual lesson. If your kids know about the Body of Christ and understand that God gifted each person differently, they may be more patient with the campers that seem annoying. They might be hard to live with, but often they’re just different, and always they’ll have gifts and talents that the Church needs.

For Parents:

Just the idea of having sick kids away from home goes against all maternal and paternal instincts. At Deer Creek Camp, we realize all of our campers are someone’s children. We understand how hard it is to leave your loved ones in the care of others, so we take our role very seriously. Our staff is trained in emergencies, and though even the common cold isn’t common, we’re prepared and experienced enough to ensure your son or daughter recuperates fully and quickly.

For Kids:

Germs are everywhere. Daycares and airplanes are notorious for spreading viruses because they’re confined and crowded spaces. A lot of summer camp in Texas is outdoors, but cabins create the same environment as a plane. It’s less of a risk, but sanitary precautions should be taken. Washing hands isn’t just something to appease parents and teachers; it’s a powerful preventative method of contracting an illness. Enjoy the outdoors, but wash regularly in the cabin and before meals—and when you’re eating, even if a whole cup of punch is going to waste, never eat or drink after your friends. These little rules might sound silly, but they’ll keep you safe, which will keep your camp experience as fun as possible!

Every job requires a lot of empathy. Understanding where a customer’s frustration lies, reconciling contradictory opinions among coworkers, adapting communication skills for different personalities: all lines of work need empathetic people. Camp counseling is no exception. To really excel at the work, you have to communicate with campers at their level. Some nights you might not get much sleep, might have a poison ivy outbreak, might have to clean the sheets of a kid who had a scary dream. Things go awry, but through it all, patience is required to be a camp counselor in Texas. Your main job is to ensure kids have a great time, which means you need to stay composed and upbeat in even the most aggravating situations. It’s not a role just anyone can fill, but if you’re capable of being patient, it’s a truly amazing job.

In the Jewish faith, turning thirteen marks a child’s entrance into adulthood. They have grasped the Law, and they become responsible for their own actions, no longer able to blame their immature and childish minds. The Christian faith doesn’t possess such a rigid age, but many doctrines and theological perspectives imply that there is a point of accountability, when a child’s mind has progressed enough to understand God. It’s that point where faith becomes one’s own. Depending on the decision, it can be a frightening or exciting time for Christian parents. Kids are no longer “Christian” just because they’re put in Sunday School once a week. They believe in God by choice, or they don’t.

Faith is often described as a journey. Many high profile pastors and Christian writers discussed the years they spent apart from God. The reality is that few Christians have spent every day of their lives fully committed to the Lord: most have regressed from or rebelled against or rejected their faith at some point. Even in those moments, though, people are usually wrestling with God and doctrine, trying to figure out what they believe. From the outside they may appear completely calloused and set in agnosticism, but within their hearts they remain curious, longing for truth. Kids in that position may refuse to go to church with their parents, but they may still find peace and faith in God by attending Christian summer camps in Texas.

If faith is a journey, it’s absurd to think that every 8-18 year old is at an identical place with God. Every kid will have a different level of Scriptural knowledge, a different experience with church, and different questions about the nature of God. One of the great joys of Christian summer camps in Texas is that so many varied perspectives can come together to learn more about Christianity. Camp isn’t seminary. It doesn’t require a fifty-page application and interview with a board of theologians. Camp is a place where kids of all ages and levels of belief can congregate and journey together towards God. A child who’s militantly opposed to Jesus might be too resistant to travel anywhere in his faith, but someone simply pondering the Bible could still find a place at Christian summer camps in Texas. The name implies it’s only for the most religiously sincere, but Christian camp is more than anything a place to grow in God. It doesn’t matter where kids begin; as long as they’re open to growth and learning, there’s a place for them at camp.

God blesses all speakers and pastors with a unique perspective and wisdom no one else possesses. Through their individual experiences and studies, they have a wealth of knowledge to share with everyone. Because of that, a Texas group retreat is one of the best places to host a pastor or author from another church or city. Churches allow guest speakers all of the time, but their congregants only get to hear a 45-minute sermon from them, at best. Especially if they’ve flown in from another state, these men and women should be able to share a whole lot more. A Texas group retreat allows them to relay much more of their wisdom. After a whole weekend listening to these speakers, attendees leave with a fuller grasp of their knowledge. The presence of these guest speakers not only furthers the sense of retreat, but it allows people the time to glean and absorb much more of their wisdom.

1. While there isn’t a specific age that’s best for sending your kids off to camp, most professionals warn against sending kids younger than seven. A handful of six-year-olds might be prepared, but in general, boys and girls who have completed first grade tend to be more skilled at adapting to a camp environment. If they do well at friends’ sleepovers, they’ll probably do well at overnight Christian summer camps. Just be sure to research the age range of a camp before you send your son there. If he’s eight but surrounded by high school aged campers, it can be a terrifying experience. First time campers, in particular, should be surrounded by peers their own age.

2. Observe your child’s interest in Christian summer camps. If you went as a kid and loved it, casually tell some stories about your experiences, or watch a movie as a family about summer camp. It tends to be an amazing experience that almost any personality type can enjoy, but kids of any age can have a miserable time if they’re forced to go against their will. The idea should excite your kids, and judging their reactions to stories or movies about camp will reveal if it’s a good idea or not. You might think the socialization and adventure would be optimal for your daughter, but if she expresses no interest—or worse, a disinterest—this year is probably not the best summer to sign her up.

3. Parents fear college because it’s the point when, finally, their sons and daughters are independent adults, making their own mistakes and decisions. To lose that control frightens a lot of people, so they spend every year of parenting instilling values and offering guidance. Christian summer camps aren’t as dramatic as that, but they do serve as a time of little parental control. It’s the first time most children have to experience God without their parents beside them in church, and it’s the first time they encounter people and friends their parents haven’t met. It takes a mature kid to be ready for that sudden freedom. So before you send your children off to camp, make sure they’re prepared to make some good decisions.

Wilderness ventures probably sound more extreme than they actually are. It’s a vague term that could describe anything from nature walks to something that resembles Man v. Wild. In a camp setting, these ventures usually fall somewhere safely in between. True naturalists believe that the world and nature can’t be sufficiently appreciated unless they expend a lot of effort expended to see it. They hike miles into a desert to witness a perfect sunrise, or tread through endless acres of swamp to photograph a rare flower. God has made a violent and beautiful planet, and experiencing it really does become much more real with a little effort. Hikes and bouldering provide a visceral encounter with His creation—something a nature book or National Geographic Special can’t recreate. Wilderness ventures, then, allow participants to more fully appreciate and enjoy Creation. They require a bit of sweat and some cardiovascular activity, but their reward is great. Preparing for them hardly means anything more than conditioning yourself to walk long distances, and sometimes at elevation. You don’t have to go to boot camp to be ready, but they’re better enjoyed if you’re in sufficient shape to hike and explore.

1. Time commitment. Unless you have a high school employer to return to year after year, it’s almost impossible to find work that lasts exactly as long as your school’s break. A Texas summer camp job is exactly what it sounds like: a job that only occurs during the summer. You can start soon after you finish finals and leave before heading back to school, a time frame few jobs offer.

2. Experience. A lot of summer jobs are just a means to make some extra cash, but working at a Texas summer camp provides real world, marketable experience. It requires leadership, ingenuity, and hard work. You might encounter some stress working as a restaurant host, but the challenges of camp life can be adapted and used in a real professional environment.

3. Fun. Every job involves work, but the responsibilities and duties of camp life are intrinsically fun. Leading campers on adventures, bonding with other counselors, and experiencing the great outdoors are as much a pleasure as a job. So if you’re looking for something practical and fulfilling, working at a camp is one of the best jobs you can find.

Caring for newborns can feel interminable: endless nights of insufficient sleep, imagining you’ll be changing diapers and spoon-feeding forever. Once that passes, though, time can fly. Preschool and kindergarten flash by in an instant; grades seem to last just a month. After pottytraining, parenthood sometimes feels like careening down a highway, with high school (or college) graduation standing as a brick wall in the middle of the road. So: it’s natural to suppress and ignore the inevitable, but having your kids go to an overnight summer camp makes the inevitable a bit less painful.

Some people would argue you never control your kids at all, but everyone agrees you can’t control them forever. That’s certainly the case with overnight summer camp: the things they eat, the friends they make, the thoroughness of their hygiene. It’s a time where they really have to fend for themselves, and you just have to let go. That’s hard, but the peace comes from seeing them return, alive, all fingers and most clothes accounted for. It’s the relief every parent needs, because it’s probably the cause of most empty nest anxiety. Of course it’s hard to let go, to know your son or daughter won’t be trooping into the kitchen every morning, but they’ll be okay. They might not shower as much as they should, but they’ll survive—at camp, and in life.