Reflections of a Camp Counselor
This Sunday I helped 15 middle school girls and two adult leaders get checked in to summer camp at Black Lake Bible Camp in Olympia. It got me thinking about my first experience as a camp counselor. I graduated high school in 2008. That summer I worked at a Christian summer camp as a middle school counselor. Ten weeks straight of sleeping in a cabin without air conditioning with middle school boys. I ate way too much junk food, wore far too little sunscreen, and went to bed exhausted every night. I wouldn’t sign up for it 34, but at 18 it was the best summer of my life. I have been involved in student ministries in some capacity ever since that summer. A lot has changed since 2008, but the most important lessons I learned that summer have remained true.
First, God is at work in the next generation, and it often looks different than what I expect. At the start of every week of camp our band of enthusiastic young summer staffers would pray for the students who would be at camp that week. Our prayers were telling of how we hoped God to work that week. We would pray for the speaker, hoping students would meet Jesus through their preaching. We would pray for our times of worship through music, hoping the Holy Spirit would speak to kids through singing songs of praise. We would pray for cabin conversations, hoping our carefully crafted cabin chat questions would spark transformational conversations. While these are good hopes, and I still pray these kinds of prayers, week after week, month after month, and now year after year of working with students I have found that God so often works in moments I don’t expect and didn’t plan. It’s happened during a walk across camp to the lake; a conversation about a YouTuber I have never heard of; and during an endless stream of off topic questions when I just want to go to bed. This past Sunday, Pastor Ellis encouraged us not to put God in a box. I would encourage us to apply this to the faith journeys of young people. God is at work in the next generation: let us be ready to join in with what he is doing.
Second, the kids are alright. Over the years, when people find out I work in student ministry, they often express to me their concern for the future and for the next generation. Sometimes in these conversations I feel a genuine empathy for the very real challenges that young people face today. I resonate and am motivated by these concerns. More often than that, I sense a fear for the future because of a pessimism about young people today. Their concern has more of a ‘kids these days’ tinge to it. And to a certain extent, I get it. It only takes a quick look around the internet to see young people up to all sorts of nonsense. Beyond that, the statistics concerning anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues in teenagers today is overwhelming and heartbreaking.
However, I am not discouraged by what I have seen in young people, but encouraged by the way God continues to be at work in the lives of young people despite the new challenges they face in today’s world. Even in the short time I have been at Chapel Hill I have already become inspired by our students. They love Jesus. They are eager to serve and care for one another. They aren’t satisfied with easy answers and are hungry to go beyond the shallows to experience the deep, abundant life of knowing Christ. If you are feeling discouraged about the future of the Church, I know some students who I think could change your mind.
Third, the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. The deepest impression I left my summer as a camp counselor with was the importance of consistent and intentional adult leaders in the lives of students. I loved being a camp counselor, but I was kind of like a relief pitcher in baseball. Relievers come in for one or maybe two innings and throw as hard as they can to get a few outs. The students in my cabin that summer were individual campers who signed up for camp without a church group. I had one week with the students who were in my cabin. I did my best to make that week as impactful as I could, but then they were gone. I would likely never see them again. All summer, however, I got to watch church leaders who were the counselors for the youth groups who came to camp. These were the real stars. They spent time with their students all year, and some of them had known their students for years and would continue to be in their students’ lives for years to come. The difference between the relationships they had with their students and the impact they were having compared to me was profound. It was what made me want to work in youth ministry.
Chapel Hill, I want to take a moment to commend and encourage you. We have some amazing men and women leading in our student ministry. Mature followers of Jesus who are consistent and intentional in loving and discipling our students. If you are a leader in MSM or HSM, I want to say thank you. The work you are doing is so important and is making a difference in the lives of students (even when it doesn’t feel like it.) If you are not a leader in MSM or HSM, I want to invite you to join our efforts to prepare the next generation. First, please pray for our students. God is working in their lives, and I believe he is going to do amazing things in this generation, but they are also facing many new and difficult challenges in their journeys of faith. Second, I want to invite you to consider if God is calling you to be one of the consistent and intentional adult leaders in our student ministry. I think it is some of the most important work you could do for the kingdom of God and some of the most fun as well. If you want to hear more about what becoming a leader entails, I would love to talk to you!
Caleb Bagdanov
Director of Student Ministries