Good News Camp in Waynesboro, PA, is an evangelical day camp that began in 1957 at a small campground in the rural area of northern Franklin County, PA. That first year, there were several dozen children who attended the camp. In 1965, the camp moved to its current location on property belonging to the Dr. James Teeter family. Dr. Teeter was a prominent surgeon in Waynesboro who lived on the edge of town with his wife and four sons. In 1964, his youngest son, Mark, rode his bike into the road and was struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle. Dr. Teeter offered his land, including a pond, a stream, and large fields to the camp in memory of Mark. This permanent location allowed the camp to expand and improve.
During the summer of 2022, there were 1,290 campers and 328 volunteers who participated in camp over 10 weeks. The volunteers ranged in age from 13 to 80. Just over 86% of the volunteers at Good News Camp were campers themselves when they were children (Child Evangelism Fellowship of Franklin/Fulton PA, n.d.). The current camp director, known to all as âDr. Dan,â has an explanation for the retention of participants from campers to volunteer staff. He says that this process did not happen by mistake or co-incidence; he believes it is because of intentional preparation and execution in preparing future leaders.
Use of Teens in Volunteer Leadership Positions
Good News Camp is not a pioneer in using teens to help run childrenâs programs. Churches and para-church organizations alike have been using this model for many generations. However, in the past few decades, youth groups have become a place of participationânot of ministry. McKee and Smith (2011) suggest that âour âentertain meâ programming mindset has lowered the bar for many teensâ (p. 12). Burns (2001) asks the question, âAre we creating spectators of the kingdom or participators and servants for the kingdom?â (p. 136). The church and its ministries must decide if their purpose is simply to minister to children and youth or to supplement this ministry with opportunities for them to serve themselves (McKee & Smith, 2011). This process of preparing and encouraging teens to serve will not happen without intentionality from the leaders and the organization.
Goals for Engaging Teens in Leadership
Generation Z has been described as a generation who wants to make a difference in the world. They want to feel needed, to help, and to serve. They need to be given opportunities to do what they feel called to do. Krasi Staykov, a student advisor with #TurnThePageProject, expresses well the desire of his generation.
Thereâs the clichĂ© that young people are the future, but I think that dismisses just how involved young people are now in the moment. Weâre on the ground. We witness systems from a fundamentally different perspective than people who are older than us. We have different world views and different life experiences. Young people are often seen as not having enough agency or awareness to engage in those conversations, which isnât true. (2022, n.p.)
Like Staykov, teens in churches or religious organizations want to have a place to serve where they feel valued and sense that they are making a difference. McKee and Smith (2011) challenge,
What do you think would happen if in the next few years, you poured into a handful of teenagers who will, in turn, pour into others? What would happen to your ministry? More importantly, how would it help forge the faith of these kids and prepare them for life after high school? (pp. 12â13)
Examination of the Good News Camp Leadership Strategy
The camper-to-staff pipeline implemented by Good News Camp has seen great success. This model was initially started to provide a place for students who were too old to be campers, but not old enough to be volunteer staff. These young people were anxious to be at camp, but there was no longer a place for them. The organization surmised that without a way to fill this gap, they were losing contact with the potential volunteers and were not able to recruit them as staff after the gap had passed. The camp director at the time, âMiss Dottie,â implemented a gap year program where those who had done well as campers, at the recommendation of their teachers, could return the following summer as helpers. The helper role was a behind-the-scenes way to be at camp but also be preparing for future service as staff.
In addition, the role of junior counselor was formed. A teen could become a junior counselor after serving as a helper for at least one summer (Child Evangelism Fellowship of Franklin/Fulton Counties, PA, n.d.). A junior counselor serves under an adult teacher and assists in any way needed. The process was intentional and built around an ethos of serving.
Intentionality
Northouse (2019) believes leadership is a process. Although leaders often possess similar traits or personality distinctions, ultimately leadership is acquired either through assignment or emergence. Northouse (2019) says, âLeadership, as a process, applies to individuals in both assigned roles and emergent rolesâ (p. 15).
Good News Camp sees leadership as a process that begins the moment a child enters camp as a camper. For some, that will be just after completing kindergarten. For others, it may be a bit later in elementary school. As campers arrive, they are greeted by teachers, junior counselors, and helpers who have, by a large majority, been campers themselves. They share this with the campers and encourage them to think about how they will serve one day in the future. Campers in the oldest group are told of the opportunity to return the next year as a helper and the following year as a junior counselor. Since the campers often idolize the junior counselors, it is exciting for them to hear that they can be a part of the process!
Crucial to the intentionality of the Good News Camp model is the concept of what the director calls ârecess versus practice.â Anyone who has been around an elementary school knows the importance of recess for the children. They need this time to get fresh air, let out energy, socialize, rest their brains, and have fun with their friends. The Center for Disease Control (2017) says that the purpose of recess is for students to be âphysically active and engaged with their peers in activities of their choice, at all grade levelsâ (n.p.). When the children return from recess, no one asks them what they learned during that time. There are no tests or quizzes for recess. There is no homework; there are no grades. There is no expectation of learning or enrichment of any kind during recess.
Practice may look similar to recess. The children are outside, running around, getting exercise with their friends, and having fun. Unlike recess, however, the children are expected to demonstrate some learning at the completion of practice. They may have learned a new skill, a new play, a new drill, or a new method for executing their sport. There are expectations that the child in practice is learning and improving each time they attend. The difference between recess and practice is intentionality. Recess, although intentional in its goals to give the children a break, does not contain the same intentionality as practice. Parents who constantly take their children to practice will become frustrated if the child never improves and may remove them from the program. Parents are not removing children from recess because there are less goals and expectations.
Good News Camp uses the recess versus practice metaphor in its intentional training of pre-teens and young teens. A child could come to camp for up to seven years and still not be eligible to become staff if they were just having recess and not being intentionally taught that they can grow and develop leadership skills and use their time at camp to develop themselves as servants.
During their helper year, helpers are given specific training on how the camp works and the philosophy behind the camp ministry, as well as practical advice for leading a group of children. They receive this training during the morning hours of camp and then serve in various capacities for the rest of the day. The teaching is intentional, standardized, and practical. On Mondays, the first day of camp each week, each person in helper training shares about their experience as a camper. They tell who their favorite junior counselor was and why. This introductory exercise reminds them what campers are looking for in a leader and reassures them that the expectations are simple and attainable for them.
On Tuesdays, helpers receive a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in a camp day. This is a great lesson to help them realize that things do not just happen automatically. Each event requires training and preparation in order to run smoothly. Each helper chooses the events they would like to help with that day. At the end of the day, there is a debriefing as they give feedback on how well things were executed.
On Wednesdays, the helpers join into small teams and watch the junior counselors in action. This shows them what will be expected of them when they reach that role. On Thursday, the helpers learn a phrase that every camp volunteer knows well: âFlip the switch.â The helpers are challenged to view themselves no longer as receivers but as givers. Most helpers are between the age of 12â14, so for many of them, this is a new idea; they have been receivers up to this point in their lives. Observing camp from this new perspective is enlightening, and they look forward to returning as volunteer staff and making camp as fun for others as it was for them.
On Fridays, the helpers learn how to share the gospel with a child. The camp is sponsored by the local Child Evangelism FellowshipÂź chapter, so its goal is evangelism and discipleship. Each staff member is trained to share the simple gospel if asked. This training is done using Child Evangelism Fellowshipâs signature Gospel tool called The Wordless Book. As training ends, the helpers have been prepared for the next step in the process of leadership, which is to become a junior counselor. They are usually excited to return and take on the next level. This excitement to volunteer is attributed to the ethos of the camp.
Ethos
The Cambridge English Dictionary (n.d.) defines ethos as âthe set of moral beliefs, attitudes, habits, etc., that are characteristic of a person or groupâ (n.p.). Like every other organization, religious or secular, Good News Camp has an ethos. Bates (2021) asserts that âOrganizational culture and ethos are driven, for better or worse, by leadershipâ (p. 5). At Good News Camp, the leadership ethos that is intentionally practiced and encouraged is that of serving others. This starts with a staff of nearly 350 people each year, 95% of which are volunteers. These volunteers donate a week of their lives to serve at a rustic, outdoor camp in the heat of summer because they want to serve God and serve others. They serve because they see the value in reaching children and providing a positive experience for campersâas many of them had when they were young.
The ethos of serving can be seen in every level of the camp program. The camp director is also the one who drives the bus, unclogs the toilets, and cleans seaweed from the pond. The senior staff are just as likely to been seen picking up trash as leading up front. A missionary family is invited to the camp each week to share their ministry with the campers. The campers are then encouraged to give finances to help that missionary in their ministry. Campers are also given opportunities to serve the missionaries by doing service projects during the camp week. Some former campers are now serving in the mission field as a result of this exposure and the ethos of serving and giving. The ethos of service lays the foundation for the skills that will be needed to succeed as a staff member. This foundation is built upon over time.
Scaffolding
Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) were some of the first researchers to suggest using scaffolding as an educational tool. They define this technique as a process âthat enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted effortsâ (p. 90). Scaffolding requires just-in-time adult help (Liontas, 2018) and requires the subjects to be interested in the job, know the goals put before them, and think critically (Wood et al., 1976). Scaffolding also requires a leader who models to the learner how the task can be accomplished.
Good News Camp relies on the scaffolding approach to prepare current campers to be future leaders. From the very beginning, the junior counselors are encouraged to share their story with the campers as a challenge to them. For the campers, hearing the story of someone who was in their position just a few short years ago is inspiring and gives them something to which they can aspire. As campers return year after year, they move up the scale of teams until they arrive at the oldest group. As members of the oldest teams, they are paired with the younger teams at certain times throughout the day to help and encourage younger campers. For example, the oldest and youngest teams do craft time together. The older campers help the younger ones with glue, stickers, or other areas that might be difficult for them. During swim time, the older campers power the paddleboats while the younger campers ride on the back. This is the older campersâ first taste of serving and being a role model to those coming behind them. This lets them see how they can be used to serve others, even at their young age.
Lessons
This model used by Good News Camp is the result of lessons learned throughout the years. The first lesson was that if you lose the kids for one year, it is nearly impossible to get them back. There must be transition phases as they go from one level to another. If the next level is not advertised and encouraged as something worthwhile, it is easy to walk away. For example, a nearby church allows high school graduates to serve as small group helpers in the youth group but requires them to be out of high school for at least one year before assuming this role. Although this is understandable, there must be a way to prepare and serve in the interim or the kids may have abandoned the church habit by the time they are eligible. This requires intentional programming to prepare them for this service.
A second lesson was that teens want to serve with others who are serving. Teens who would not even consider embarrassing themselves in front of their church peers are happy to stand in front of 175 children at Good News Camp doing silly motions. This is because there are 25 other teens doing the same thing. Itâs not embarrassing when everyone around you is also participating. Taking advantage of this desire to serve as part of a team has benefited Good News Camp greatly. So great is the team atmosphere established at camp, there have been camp proms, homecomings, campouts, beach trips, and parties year-round. All of these activities have been self-planned by the teens. The ethos of service continues even when summer camp is over.
A third lesson is to have high expectations. Good News Camp has a modest dress code, a no cellphone policy, and other rules that one might worry would be a turn-off to teens. That has not been the case. The idea presented to them is that they are examples to the children. They remember how they idolized their counselors and want the campers to do the same. Because of this, they adhere to high expectations. Lowering expectations is not an effective way to recruit or retain young people. High standards show the teens that they have value and are worth the investment.
Application
Churches and youth groups often lament the fact that they are losing their young people in their teens, college, or early career years. Churches have tried to establish young adult programs to entice those in this age group to stick around and continue to let church be a part of their lives. Yet, nearly two-thirds of U.S. 18â29-year-olds who grew up in church tell Barna that they have withdrawn from church involvement as an adult after having been active as a child or teen (Barna, 2019). The churchâs approach of âfinding a group where they fit inâ might be better replaced with âfinding a way for them to serve.â Providing meaningful service is a way for those in this group to feel needed, important, and a part of what is going on in their church. This invitation to serve cannot be used as a desperate attempt to hold onto them. It must be cultivated in them from an early age in Sunday School, childrenâs church, and other activities that were a part of their early church experience. The training and skills they received during these practice activities can be now put to use.
Following the example set by Good News Camp, churches can be intentional in providing training and opportunities for older children and teens to serve those around them. The church can create an ethos of serving by inviting the younger generations to be a part of service activities and events the church is already doing. When given duties and real responsibilities, children and youth often rise to the occasion. They see themselves as not just consumers, but orchestrators of ministry, which leads to feelings of importance. When a person feels that what they do is important or vital, they will strive to do it faithfully and to the best of their ability. They will not have to be enticed to be a part of a church because they will know that their presence is vital. The relationships they form with those whom they are serving, as well as those with whom they serve, will be all the motivation they need to continue in meaningful church involvement.
Conclusion
Historically, great movements of revival have been led by teens. The Great Awakening, the revival of 1857, and the Jesus Movement are several examples of workings of God done through the efforts of young people (Reid, 1991). In the Bible, God used children and teens to accomplish great things. Samuel (1 Samuel 3), David (1 Samuel 17), and the servant girl of Naaman (2 Kings 5) are several examples of this phenomenon. The most prominent is Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was said to be a young woman at the time that Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:27). These biblical and historical examples show Godâs willingness to work through young people. The success of Good News Camp using teens to lead shows that the model is one that can still be used today. Leadership will not happen automatically. It must be intentional, and both the leaders and the learners must be willing to sacrifice and be a part of the ethos and training to do what is needed.
Michelle Russell, MATS, is a student in the PhD program at Liberty University seeking a degree in ministry leadership who currently serves with Child Evangelism Fellowship.
References
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