The highlight of the week? The chair.

That’s right. They had just finished their week of Extreme Camps, and my group couldn’t stop talking about their folding chair.

This wasn’t just any ordinary folding chair. No, this was the chair they put in front of their goal during a game of extreme soccer when nobody wanted to play goalie. This was the chair that, out of sheer luck, stopped the ball every time and didn’t give up a single point.

This was the chair that won the game.

Shared experiences are one of the greatest things that can happen to your group during a summer camp experience. They bond the group together and create stronger friends, both between leaders and students, and students and students.

Through those stronger relationships, shared experiences create exciting new opportunities for ministry.

I was a camp counselor the summer my group fell in love with the chair, and that soccer game was the turning point for our team and for the spiritual growth that happened that week.

I’ve been involved with Extreme Camps in East Texas for a number of years and in a variety of roles, but by far, my favorite job at camps is camp counselor. I love spending time with students 24/7 and watching for those incredible moments of ministry.

If you’re looking for a camp this summer, I encourage you to check out Extreme Camps. They have a great variety of activities ranging from headliner bands to paintball and a huge ropes course. But the emphasis throughout is spiritual growth in your students.

If you can’t bring enough leaders, they can even provide excellent camp counselors from their ministry internship so that each of your students can be part of a tight-knit small group throughout the week. These interns are passionate about the Lord and committed to ministering to students, and they are careful to work with each youth pastor to make your priorities that week their priorities.

The staff is great too and I’m friends with many of them. So if you have any questions, give Russ Underwood a call. He’s the Director of Extreme Camps and can be reached at 903-324-8530. You can also visit their website, www.extremecamps.com.

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