By Chris Moon
“Normal” looks pretty good these days.
That’s the attitude of a couple of church camp leaders who are looking toward a 2022 camping season that is two years removed from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They saw the outright cancellation of the 2020 camping season, followed by a reduced capacity and precaution-laden 2021 season.
As this summer draws near, however, things are looking a little more normal-ish, they said.
“I really think it’s going to be a good summer,” said Matt Love, executive director of Lake James Christian Camp and Retreat Center in Angola, Ind.
His camp has seen year-to-date registrations for this year’s season jump by 11 percent. A pre-COVID year would have seen 700 to 750 campers. About 650 campers attended in 2021.
“We’re ahead year-to-date where we usually are this time of year. That’s a plus,” Love said.
The story is similar at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp and Retreat Center, just east of the Cincinnati metro.
Normally, 700 campers attend during a summer season. Last year’s attendance was 500, which executive director Andrew Johnson calls a “decent recovery” from the canceled 2020 season.
Already, 450 campers have signed up for the 2022 season, meaning this season is headed toward an increase from last year.
Johnson said this season feels like a recovery year that will enable the camp to start building again toward the future.
CONTINUED FALLOUT FROM COVID-19
“Every time we think we’re past this COVID thing, it seems to come back out,” Johnson said. However, “we feel pretty confident things are going to go back to normal.”
That doesn’t mean the camps aren’t facing new challenges—still related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson said Woodland Lakes has found it harder this year to find enough camp deans for each of its summer sessions. Deans manage the ministry side of each camp, including the lessons and the camp counselors.
Typically, that role is held by pastors and youth pastors. But Johnson said COVID-19 has resulted in a lot of shuffling of ministry positions in churches. Some pastors have retired or moved away. Some churches have reduced the number of ministers on staff or changed the job duties of their existing staff. Now, there’s a shortage of staff available to serve at summer camp.
“It came as a surprise,” Johnson said.
He said the camp has more deans who are laypeople.
The shortage in deans and volunteers means some of Woodland Lakes’ programs already are near capacity. The camp is planning 16 sessions this summer, down from the mid-20s before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, at Lake James Christian Camp in Indiana, Love is gearing up for some new challenges among campers related to the pandemic—namely their mental, emotional, and social health.
“I think that’s going to be one of the bigger concerns of our campers,” Love said.
He noted that students faced increased isolation and anxiety when schools shut down during the pandemic. Love said the camp nurse will be training the staff on how to help campers who exhibit mental health needs.
“Just being aware of that and being proactive,” Love said. “It will be something we address with our staff and faculty and see if there are things we can do.”
He said he wants to make sure students know the camp is a safe place where they can “come and unplug and be a kid.”
Chris Moon is a pastor and writer living in Redstone, Colorado.
Andrew and Matt are both class acts and have made a significant difference in the Kingdom of God. Thank-you, men!
Thank you for the report about camps. My wife and I met at a camp in Colorado in 1958. Her church was from Amarillo, TX, and my church was from Stockton, KS. We corresponded and saw each other six times over the next six years and were then married. We now have been married 58 years. We always encourage young people to go to camp. That year was the only year that either church sent young people to that camp. The Lord does amazing things in camps.