Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Family Camps vs. Age-based Camps
Like we discussed in class on Monday, many of us have attended camps/retreats. Most of us have attended either Teen camp, Children's camp, Junior High camp, Senior High camp or Family camp. What were the benefits/hazards to being with others your age and how did that affect your experience? What were the benefits/hazards of being with your family and how did that affect your experience? Should we as leaders encourage and support one type of camp/retreat over the other? Why or why not?
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I never went to family camp, but I went to age based camps for ten years. one of the advantages I really liked about age based camp is that they can gear it to your level rather than trying to gear it for every age.this is helpful with games and activities but especially helpful with speakers because the speaker can talk to topics relevant to the group rather than just part of the group. overall though I don't think any type of camp can be bad for you.
ReplyDeleteI think that camps are a great experience for everyone to have. It is actually good preparation for moving out of our parents home, because it gives us a short period of time where we cannon rely on them for our needs or wants. Age based camps are awesome because they focus on a certain age group so the topic is relevant to that specific age. We are also able to interact with people who are our own age and learn from each other. While camps and retreats are always really great experiences, the campers come home on a spiritual high that will most likely not last very long. This is why I believe that we need to be intentional about the camps and retreats that we take our students on. Don't just make them an event, but instead incorporate them into your curriculum. I believe that doing this will help more students actually grow in their relationship with God.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to family camp, but have been to many high-school/middle school camps. When I was younger, I enjoyed having the older high-schoolers there that I could look up to. Being with the older kids at these camps allowed me to see someone who was older than me but not to old that I could not relate to follow Christ. This has had a huge impact on me to this day. When I was part of the older kids at the camp, I enjoyed having the younger kids at the camp because I knew that they looked up to me and I knew that I could have an impact on them. Since I have this experience, I would say that having a good diversity of ages can help both the older, and the younger group of kids. I would encourage this diversity.
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ReplyDeleteI went to both children and teen camps as well as family camps. The children and teen camps were excellent because they were programmed specifically for the age groups that were there. This allowed for intentional learning opportunities for the participants. These camps proved to be vital parts of my Church district's youth ministry. However, family camps were very different. There was a more traditional worship service in which there was a speaker and worship team. These services were planned with the entire family in mind. There was an emphasis on welcoming all families and joining in Christian community with one another. These events were great opportunities for my family and I to begin and maintain a network of Christian relationships with families from all over our Church district.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to family camp either, but I have attended camps in junior high/high school. I would definitely have to agree with Tyler about how much of an impact older kids can have on younger kids at camp. I remember being very close with some of the older kids in my youth because I went to camp with the majority of them. Who knows if I would have built the relationships that I did if it weren't for me going to camp with them. And because I valued those relationships so much I made it a point to try and connect with the younger kids as I got older.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to family camp either, but I think there are many benefits to family camp. It is a time to grow together and get away with each other. Everyone can support one another as we learn more about Christ. However, I think that aged based camps are needed. The things that go on will be geared more toward their age level as opposed to family camp and I think that will keep kids more engaged, especially teenagers. I think both types of camps compliment each other and should be encouraged equally. We can then show people that it is important to grow individually and grow as a family.
ReplyDeleteSame as most everyone that has responded here, I've never attended a family camp, but I have been going to church camp since about fourth grade. On these camps and retreats, there were mostly good times of fellowship with each other. There wasn't a lot of separation between age groups, everyone got along with everybody else. The only hazard I can recall from a camp was in 2009 when I was at Old Man's Cave and witnessed my best friend fall to his death. It was the most traumatizing thing for everyone there, and though it was definitely a tragedy, it did end up bringing us all closer together. I don't necessarily think that there are any types of camps or retreats that are better, but supervision definitely needs to be stepped up so that this kind of thing will be less likely to happen.
ReplyDeleteI have been to children's camps, Teen Camps, and a Father-Son Camp. The biggest benefit to the children and teen camps is being with the same age group. It is always easier to be yourself and learn and grow with your peers. There are always some risks. I remember people falling down on nature hikes and just goofing off and getting hurt but most of the time it is not too tragic. The father-son camp was a great way to bond with my dad. We grew closer in many aspects. There were really no health risks there, it was pretty structured and there wasn't a ton of free time to roam off and do dangerous things. Most of the time any camp is great for spiritual growth and great learning experiences. If the dangers are evaluated efficiently, there should not be much trouble.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to family camp. Although I see benefits to both types of camp both give different perspectives and challenges or stretches people in different ways.Also diverse exposure to different camp settings should be a good experience for teens to grow personally. I feel as though an age based camp helps put more personal focus and emphasizes growth within a community of people with like minds and struggles. Thus, having a greater impact on the person and helping them to grow where as a family camp a person is not really focusing on themselves and Christ but the family unit.
ReplyDeleteI feel as when I was younger it was more beneficial to be with someone my own age. I really wasn't able to relate to people older than me. As I grew older I see the benefit in being around people different ages than me. I could understand things better and loved hearing their experience and knowledge of Christ. A person should experience camps or retreats with people the same age and different ages. We can benefit from the perspectives of others. Christ calls us to be in a community with everyone and I believe there are times to be with your own age and to be with others of another age.
ReplyDeleteI think that both family camps and age-based camps are important. Family camps can allow families to grow closer together as they experience Christ together in the camp. However, i also think that age-based camps are important because they allow the attendants to build relationships with others their own age. Also, it teaches the attendants how to socialize with other Christians, which is a valuable experience to have!
ReplyDeleteAs to a personal experience, I loved all camps I attended. I cannot recall any negative situations that happened and therefore have none to share. I would then say, as leaders, I do not think we should push any type of camp, but let our students and parents make their own experiences and understandings. Being able to discern experiences can a good attribute.
ReplyDeleteOne benefit of a age specific camp is that you are able to build a strong community within the time that you spend at camp. Also another thing that is good is that if you keep going back to the same camp year after year you are able to build strong relationships with the people that are also there. A hazard of age camps is that you do not have the opportunity to dialogue with adults like you would at a family camp. The benefits of a family camp is that you have the opportunity to be mentored by the someone that is older than you. A hazard is that a family camps it can more geared toward the adults and not to the youth.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a family camp, but I have been to a teen, and a men's camp. I like the idea of having camps by age. A family camp does not sound appealing to me because of the larger range in age. However I don't think we should lean one way or the other it should be open to preference of who is attending them
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a family camp, but I have been to many age-based camps. Age-based camps are good because instead of trying to reach every age group, they only have to try to reach one and are almost always successful in doing so. Family camp can also be a good thing because it is a time in which your family can go and become closer to each other and to God.
ReplyDeleteI also never went to a family camp, but I have been to teen camp as well as a counselor for kid's camp. The great thing about age specific groups is you are more comfortable and it is easier to relate, but in the same aspect you do not allow yourself as many opportunities for mentor type relationships to form. In contrast you have the capacity to form mentor type relationships at an inter-generational camp, but it may be hard to have activities or other aspects that are able to reach everyone.
ReplyDeleteI think that both are vitally important the journey we all make with Christ because you get the spiritual friends in the age-based camps that you journey with "together" in a sense and you also get the spiritual mentors and role models from the family camps that you can learn from and also journey with. We want kids to be able to be comfortable with both types of camps so that they can not only learn to communicate with their own generation, but also to be able to communicate effectively and get closer to the generations before and after theirs.
DeleteI have been on many camp retreats over the years both in the church and outside of the church. THey helped me to become more independent from my family and also allowed me to hang out and meet new people my age. Yes I have had some bad camp experiences just like everyone has but the good in my opinion outweigh the bad for sure. I also think that teens or even adults can go to whatever kind of camp would best suit there family at the time. I have nothing against any camp I think they are all good even if I have never been to them all I still think that camp is a good thing and all people should try it once at least.
ReplyDeleteI have been to both age based camps and family camps throughout the years and I have had many amazing experiences through both settings. I think they are both extremely important experiences to have and each bring different aspects to one's spiritual journey. Age based camps and family camps are both important and I feel like everyone should experience both as much as they can.
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