Out of the sleeping bag and into the world: Rethinking UMC camping ~ The Michigan Area Reporter

By RJ Walters, Editor

Through thickets of poison ivy and swarms of obnoxious mosquitoes comes the opportunity to relate, equip and inspire in ways the mortar and brick of a church can’t offer.

But the United Methodist tradition of camping is changing and so are many of the people in leadership positions at camps around the state.

It’s about more than just families sending their kids to camp to learn songs and Bible verses and it’s becoming a whole lot more diverse than just church bodies gathering for a good time.

As congregations gather this month to “Rethink Church” it is apparent that many dedicated directors and volunteers around the state are rethinking camping.

With reservations filling up around the state and deadlines nearing for camp scholarships, the church has more options than ever for recreation, discipleship, and bonding.

What some of the progressive thinkers in the UMC camping arena are doing could be looked at as sound business models, or as simply new means of expanding the church’s reach to make disciples for the transformation of the world.

What’s good for some can be good for all

When Mike Symons took over Lakeview Campground and Albright Park Camp several years ago he was not going to accept the status quo.

A couple of hundred campers here and there coupled with some well-run youth camps was fine, but not up to par with his standards.

“If you do any kind of a marketing study the children camps alone are not doing that well, the adult camps alone are not doing that well. But if you are servicing both the children and adults in a family then you are doing OK,” he said. “For example, if you were to take the other camps in our system, most of them are doing around 700-800 kids a summer at what are exclusively kids camps….we did 1,600 children last year, and we’re not a children’s camp (anymore) —the kids came along with their families, parents and grandparents.”

His theory that “as pocketbooks have tightened in recent years people are cutting back on recreation, but still finding ways to spend quality time together as a family,” is paying dividends.

In 2007 Lakeview Camp had 1,850 camper reservations. In 2009 that number had ballooned to 6,211.

So what exactly is Symons doing? Simply put he is giving people what he thinks they want instead of just what the campgrounds already offered.

Both Lakeview and Albright Park have added Amish horse-drawn hay rides on Fridays and Saturdays and there are fresh-baked Amish good available Friday through Sunday every week.

A little love and labor has also paid dividends.

Some of the first things Symons did at Lakeview was take down the 30-plus “No Trespassing” signs that littered the campground and his staff also cleared some old trails that hadn’t been tended to for quite some time.

Another project was the old chapel, which received new benches, speakers and a communion table.

Prior to 2009 they would get about 200 people to services in the summer — a far cry from the 1,600 they were getting last year.

At Albright Park they also did heavy renovation on the chapel and they have quietly become a hotspot for weddings, something they didn’t even offer before.

They have also teamed up with Ferris State University to bring in an improv group once a month, and Albright Park is offering indoor and outdoor church services with a brunch buffet following the gathering.

Albright has gone from having 800 total camper nights last year to over 7,500 reservations for the upcoming season.

Symons is the first to admit it’s not a “him thing” though, it’s a “God thing.”

He said more volunteers than ever have jumped on board to help with projects, and the word-of-mouth has been a powerful tool in bringing in new faces.

“I would like to point out that Bill Dobbs, the District Superintendent for the Heartland District, has spent a great deal of time out promoting camps, and that has helped to no end,” Symons said. “Also, using the Web site, we’ve been sending out information to churches in the area and we’ve been spending a lot of time out visiting the churches, saying we’re here and here’s the beauty of what we have.”

He said the Web is a great tool and he’s borrowed and researched successful ideas from campgrounds around the nation, as far away as Oregon and Florida.

Bringing the city to the country

Carter Grimmett, the pastor of People’s Church in Detroit, and a native “Detroiter,” said the camp atmosphere has been sorely in need of a revolution to relate to 21^st century adolescents – and with the help of dozens of motivated volunteers and the guidance of Cliff Stallings he has taken rural and made it suburban.

“Before it was all about marshmallows and hot dogs and identifying leaves and looking at birds. We recognized that being in a rural environment was good for them to be able to focus on things, but not necessarily those things; you have to make camp relevant to their environment,” he said.

Last year Judson Collins Center in Onsted was host to an urban youth camp for middle school and high school youth. It was so successful that they actually had to turn some people away — so this year they are dividing the middle school and high school crowds up and doing two separate week-long sessions.

Grimmett said it has been a hit for a number of reasons, one being the activities offered.

There is team building on the high ropes course, and sports like golf and soccer to master and compete in. The camps also teach youth how to stay fit and live an active lifestyle.

Beyond the glitz, these camps are focused around building relationships.

Grimmett said attendees join small-group discussions based on different themes and the youth come up with team names and cheers — bonding experiences they may lack in their everyday lives.

There are also conflict/resolution exercises and open discussion about abstinence, as well as physical and verbal abuse.

“What makes this really galvanizing is we’ve got a diverse group of kids coming together to experience and explore their faith. Some kids (at these camps) have never had a religious experience before,” he said.

Grimmett said the camp focuses on de-mystifying Christ and helping kids and teens realize how simple it is to allow God into their lives, no matter where they come from and what they’ve been through.

Most of the participants come from the metropolitan Detroit area, but Grimmett said it is really a huge melting pot of ideas and backgrounds.

“It’s about bringing kids together to discover and explore their faith and bringing kids together to build relationships — racial relationships, cultural relationships,” he said. “We want to continue to let people know that this is not a ‘black camp,’ this is a camp for urban children who are black, white, Hispanic and Asian and others.”

The goal is still discipleship

No matter how camp is carried out at different camps, the overwhelming fact is it has an impact on the younger generation.

A recent study from the Christian Camp and Conference Association stated that 85 percent of all Christians make “personal faith commitments” before they turn 19, and half of those commitments are made at Christian camps.

Jan Thomas, who recently retired after 14 years as the Director of Outdoor and Retreat Ministries for the Detroit Conference, said United Methodist camping is a great complimentary component of continuing Christian education for young people.

“In Sunday School you learn that you should love your neighbor, but what does that mean in real life when you put your wet bathing suit on my bed, or when I want to go to bed and everyone else wants to talk all night?” she said.

Thomas said she will never forget being a camper, especially her first year at Judson Collins.

“I was having some difficult times at home and my mother was sick and the counselors said some things to me that really had an impact and helped me after I got,” she said. “I think it helped me see the power of the experiences.”

This year camps for elementary through high school students are in full-force in the Detroit Area and West Michigan Conferences beyond just what Grimmett or Symons are doing.

There is everything from the Laura Ingles Wilder Camp for sixth- through eighth-graders at Crystal Springs which includes horseback trail rides and making homemade soaps and candles to the Water Games Camp at Camp Kinawind where swimming, boating and aqua activities are the norm for third- through sixth-graders.

CHECK OUT FACEBOOK AND TYPE IN CAMP NAMES TO SEE WHAT CAMPGROUNDS HAVE GROUPS AND PAGES TO JOIN

Online registration for West Michigan Conference camps

http://www.westmichiganconference.org/camping_reg1.asp

Online registration for Detroit Conference camps

http://main.umc-detconf.org/camping/

West Michigan Conference Camp Sites

Albright Park (Reed City)

www.albrightcamp.org

231-832-9094

Crystal Springs (Dowagiac)

www.crystalspringscamp.com

269-683-8918