Green Lake Bible Camp
Craft Cabin Manager
During the summer of 2017, I spent my summer at Green Lake Bible Camp in Spicer, MN, where I had been a camper in middle school. My position was as support staff in the craft cabin. I had the opportunity to collaborate with other like-minded college students and get to know many new people, as well as work with middle and high schoolers, ages I will work with when I am a teacher.
At the beginning of the summer, we had two weeks of staff training. In these weeks, I met some amazing people and created bonds with people who became my support system over the summer. I could not have faced the challenges I did without them! During staff training, we focused on building relationships through playing silly games, planning worships in small groups, each personal leading a devotional and bible study, etc. I was terrified to do some of these things...I had never lead a worship before! However, it felt amazing to be a small part in a group accomplishing something amazing that I didn't think I could do. During staff training, we barely had time to ourselves, and this was a reflection of how busy each day at camp would be. Pushing myself in these two weeks prepared me for the summer ahead.
This position taught me the importance of communication and being upfront with the needs of your position in order to carry out an action for the larger community at camp. As part of my position on support staff, I helped to plan and lead a weekly worship (included below), carry out Power Hour games to give counselors an hour off each day, and fulfilled my duties in the craft cabin by encouraging campers to flex their creative muscles. Each day, I had a small group meeting with two Assistant Program Directors, as well as three other support staff members. Occasionally our Program Director, Travis, also joined in on the meetings. In these meetings, we all shared our opinions and ideas for activities for the campers that day. We also had opportunities to share about the struggles we were facing or what we needed from other staff members at camp to keep our positions running smoothly. I, for example, needed Power Hour not to run straight up to CRASBOC (free time, otherwise known for me as craft cabin time!) on the days when we tie-dyed, as I needed time to prepare the materials for campers. In the past, I have struggled with sharing the needs I have, especially if they make someone else's day more difficult or asking someone for help. However, asking for help was a common recurrence at camp, as everyone needs to work as a team to keep things running smoothly for campers.
In addition to these responsibilities, I was also paired with a different counselor's cabin each week. I enjoyed this opportunity to get to know a diverse group of campers on a more personal level. I would eat meals with this cabin, sit with them at worship, occasionally attend their devotionals, and be another familiar face in the crowd for the girls. Each week, I found that this pairing also strengthened my relationship with the counselor, not just her campers. Specifically one week, I was paired with one of my best friend counselors, and I got to see first hand the effective balance of being the camper's friend as well as an authoritative figure. She created a safe, loving environment where her campers felt comfortable around her as well as each other. This cabin had so much mutual respect for everyone, and the counselor held her campers to high standards. Each person was morally accountable to others in the group, as well as to everyone else at camp. I hope to mimic a similar environment in my future classroom.
One of the challenges that I faced at camp was the last week of the summer. That week, I had two positions: one as a day-camp leader for pre-schoolers, and the other my normal position in the craft cabin. I would spend all day at day camp and rush off to the craft cabin for more campers to come. The week was challenging because I did not have many connections to older campers since I did not see them during the day, and I wasn't paired with a cabin that week. Another challenge was that a counselor was also in the craft cabin to share my position with me, which I wasn't aware of until it happened. In the past, I have struggled with giving up control in a position where I have been the leader. However, I realize that leaders have to be able to share their power with others, and the people in the team around them must be willing to step up and gain more responsibility. The last week I was pushed to change my mindset and work with another counselor to share responsibility so that our campers could get the most out of their camp experience. A healthy group dynamic calls for everyone being involved in the process, not just a leader dictating every move the group makes.
In the team-based setting of camp, I was shown that connections with others, not just what one person is capable of accomplishing, is key to effective leading and creating a fun, safe environment at camp. Working together is vital. "Leadership is always dependent on the context, but the context is established by the relationships we value" (Komives, Lucas & McMahon). Without relationships, our goals could not be accomplished in as successful or meaningful of a way.
At the beginning of the summer, we had two weeks of staff training. In these weeks, I met some amazing people and created bonds with people who became my support system over the summer. I could not have faced the challenges I did without them! During staff training, we focused on building relationships through playing silly games, planning worships in small groups, each personal leading a devotional and bible study, etc. I was terrified to do some of these things...I had never lead a worship before! However, it felt amazing to be a small part in a group accomplishing something amazing that I didn't think I could do. During staff training, we barely had time to ourselves, and this was a reflection of how busy each day at camp would be. Pushing myself in these two weeks prepared me for the summer ahead.
This position taught me the importance of communication and being upfront with the needs of your position in order to carry out an action for the larger community at camp. As part of my position on support staff, I helped to plan and lead a weekly worship (included below), carry out Power Hour games to give counselors an hour off each day, and fulfilled my duties in the craft cabin by encouraging campers to flex their creative muscles. Each day, I had a small group meeting with two Assistant Program Directors, as well as three other support staff members. Occasionally our Program Director, Travis, also joined in on the meetings. In these meetings, we all shared our opinions and ideas for activities for the campers that day. We also had opportunities to share about the struggles we were facing or what we needed from other staff members at camp to keep our positions running smoothly. I, for example, needed Power Hour not to run straight up to CRASBOC (free time, otherwise known for me as craft cabin time!) on the days when we tie-dyed, as I needed time to prepare the materials for campers. In the past, I have struggled with sharing the needs I have, especially if they make someone else's day more difficult or asking someone for help. However, asking for help was a common recurrence at camp, as everyone needs to work as a team to keep things running smoothly for campers.
In addition to these responsibilities, I was also paired with a different counselor's cabin each week. I enjoyed this opportunity to get to know a diverse group of campers on a more personal level. I would eat meals with this cabin, sit with them at worship, occasionally attend their devotionals, and be another familiar face in the crowd for the girls. Each week, I found that this pairing also strengthened my relationship with the counselor, not just her campers. Specifically one week, I was paired with one of my best friend counselors, and I got to see first hand the effective balance of being the camper's friend as well as an authoritative figure. She created a safe, loving environment where her campers felt comfortable around her as well as each other. This cabin had so much mutual respect for everyone, and the counselor held her campers to high standards. Each person was morally accountable to others in the group, as well as to everyone else at camp. I hope to mimic a similar environment in my future classroom.
One of the challenges that I faced at camp was the last week of the summer. That week, I had two positions: one as a day-camp leader for pre-schoolers, and the other my normal position in the craft cabin. I would spend all day at day camp and rush off to the craft cabin for more campers to come. The week was challenging because I did not have many connections to older campers since I did not see them during the day, and I wasn't paired with a cabin that week. Another challenge was that a counselor was also in the craft cabin to share my position with me, which I wasn't aware of until it happened. In the past, I have struggled with giving up control in a position where I have been the leader. However, I realize that leaders have to be able to share their power with others, and the people in the team around them must be willing to step up and gain more responsibility. The last week I was pushed to change my mindset and work with another counselor to share responsibility so that our campers could get the most out of their camp experience. A healthy group dynamic calls for everyone being involved in the process, not just a leader dictating every move the group makes.
In the team-based setting of camp, I was shown that connections with others, not just what one person is capable of accomplishing, is key to effective leading and creating a fun, safe environment at camp. Working together is vital. "Leadership is always dependent on the context, but the context is established by the relationships we value" (Komives, Lucas & McMahon). Without relationships, our goals could not be accomplished in as successful or meaningful of a way.
Water Worship Outline
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