God > Google

I recently read an article about how the internet is making us less religious as a nation.

If you're like me, you've read similar articles in the past and everyone has a theory (and some have solutions) about why this is happening in our country. I am not going to delve into all of the blame that is being passed out to video games, the internet, atheism, etc..., but I am going to take the opportunity to reemphasize how much we've considered each potential employees abilities in the area of providing spiritual guidance.

At PSR Camp we know that there are different sociological factors that lead to having healthy & spiritual children. One of our responsibilities during our hiring season is making sure to choose people who are ready to be great role models for our campers. It's been said that a good camp director hires staff members who they think will be a good spiritual role model at summer camp, but a GREAT camp director hires staff members who are going to be good spiritual role models for a lifetime. 

In this new digital age, how easy is it for your child to look up one of our staff members on Facebook? Pretty simple. Google, Twitter, & Facebook have made our world so small that you can find almost anyone with a few keystrokes. Knowing this, we have to take a long-term view because being a counselor is a responsibility usually reserved for pastors, church leaders, parents, and family members.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject by way of estimating the potential spiritual impact by hours and minutes.

Impact by Hours
Church Sabbath School = 52 hours a year.
Church Youth Group (Sabbath school, events, etc...) ≈ 78 hours a year.
Christian Summer Camp (hours per day - sleeping time) = 96 hours in a week.  

But just measuring the hours doesn't provide a clear picture of the quality time children have with a spiritual role model.

Quality Time
During a week of camp, with 8 other campers in the cabin, let's say that our camp counselor splits their waking hours equally with each camper.

96 hours / 8 campers = 12 hours of quality time.

During a year of church, with 15* other children in a youth group, let's say that the youth pastor splits their time equally with each person.

78 hours / 15 youth = 5 hours and 12 minutes of quality time.  

It's no wonder that when I see campers at churches or schools, they always want to talk about their camp counselors! We say that camp is like a year of youth group/sabbath school all at once, but it may be closer to two years (*depending on how many children participate).

Personal Results
Today, I am still in some type of contact with several adults who were once my campers over a decade ago. Using social media they all found me and wanted to reconnect in some way, usually to reflect on their summer camp experience. Collectively, they're all at least 20 years old, some of them have families, and they all have transformed into interesting and thoughtful adults (who knew?).

Even after ten years have passed, I still pray for God to reveal Himself to my former campers. It still means something to me that they still come to me with questions, ask for advice, or tell me how much they miss camp. Google doesn't have the answer to every question and neither do I, but I believe that God does and I know that He's with us on the journey.

Once a PSR counselor, ALWAYS a PSR counselor.

~Jeremy

Last year's theme was 'Serve,' and we hope it made a positive impact!

New friendships are forged between campers and their counselors every year.