Summer camp is one of the most highly anticipated summer-time activities for kids aged 5 to 17. One of the best parts, though, is the countless options a child can pick from depending on their interests. Whether it be the good old-fashioned summer camp with the rope swing, a lake, and the crabby old head counselor who should have really retired a decade ago, or a music camp (ahem, that's the nice way of saying band camp), sports camp, or even a more specific a camp that is tailored around their beliefs.
One such camp is usually called a bible camp. Here, a child of typically the Christian or Catholic faith will spend a week or more learning and diving deeper into scripture and other aspects of their belief system. The campers will be paired off by gender and age into cabins, where they will be assigned a counselor who will help guide them through a week of fun, learning, and adventure.
A typical day at a bible camp will include kids waking up early, making their beds, and heading down to the dining hall for a filling breakfast where they can put as much syrup on their pancakes as they want without getting scolded by mom or dad. Then, all of the campers and their counselors will meet up in a type of gathering hall where they will sit down for a chapel service. Typically, an evangelical guest speaker is invited for the week who will teach them stories of faith and try their best to make it as applicable to these young persons' lives as possible.
After the main chapel service, counselors are usually directed to do a breakout session. These sessions are to help dive even deeper into the message and help the kids connect to it on a personal level. Afterward, the fun really starts to begin.
Now it's time for a cabin activity. These activities are usually tailored to whatever the camp offers, but they can range in various options. Some options include swimming at the lake, tubing, water slides, pool time, archery, canoeing, arts & crafts, horseback riding, and many others.
Of course, running around and having fun can work up an appetite, so it's off to lunch they go, where they normally get to indulge in camp favorite foods like pizza, mac & cheese, and hot dogs, and of course, they can't forget dessert!
After lunch, it's more fun and games, typically with other cabins, and then that leads straight into free time. Counselors will usually leave instructions for their campers to meet at the cabin right after so they can all go down to dinner together. One dinner is wrapped, and then it's time for chapel service number two. This service is typically built off the earlier message and tends to have a more serious tone. Often, especially towards the end of a camp week, there is an alter call for those who feel led to give their lives to the Lord. This is usually a time of celebration and excitement, especially for counselors who get to see the fruits of their labor and investment in their campers.
Then, of course, once all the learning and adventure is done for the day, it's time to go back to cabins for lights out. After all, these campers need to get their sleep so they can be well-rested for the next day's fun and games!