Growing Closer

We've been feeling our way through volunteer youth ministry for a few years now... I can't says as though we have a ton of amazing stories, but lately the genuine connection with the few kids we have has been good.

Praying that the relationships and biblical teaching can help point kids to Jesus.

Running into past staff

Last week I ran into a former staff member that I thought had moved out of state.  As we had a 30-second conversation between our open car windows he sounded interested in meeting.

I don't know where he's at spiritually but I'm glad for the connection of camp and hope to meet up with him soon!

Building Use

Last week our Pekin building was used for:

YFC Campus life
Staff Breakfast
Cadre Ministries Leadership workshop
Girls' Night

4 events, 2 ours, 2 others..

We built this thing to be used.. glad it could happen and hope it can continue to happen

Christians are cool

Former camper parent:

Camp of Champions was the first place my son ever went where he realized that Christians could be cool.

Disciple-making

So encouraging to see a Site Director meet with two JCs from the summer.

Looking forward to hearing how God uses it!

Why staff raise for bowl a thon

I recently sent a few questions to some of our summer staff who made a jump in what they raised for bowl-a-thon from 2011 to 2012.  I loved their answers to the question "Why did you do a better job this year than last year?"

I tried harder because I knew from the previous year how much of a positive effect COCUSA had on the kids' lives. After working one summer, I cared so much more for the kids and wanted more to be able to come to camp and hear the Bible stories and the gospel so that they could know Christ.

Because after having more experience at camp and getting to know the kids even better I realized how much each one needs to be there for different reasons and how important bowlathon is.

I got to see God do so many awesome things last summer and it made me want to raise more money. I also came into contact with a camper's parent at my other job during the summer and she told me how thankful she is of camp giving her a scholarship for her child to come every week. 

After spending more time with the kids the rest of last summer I realized I wanted to do a better job raising money to send them to camp. -Tori Going into camp this summer I already knew a lot more about camp than I did last year. I had built relationships with campers last summer (2011). I had stories to share and I had more of a passion for the ministry of camp, having seen over last summer (2011) the great effects of camp on the campers.

My desire to raise more came from two things. The first being the changed lives I saw in the precious summer I worked at cocusa and the second being my general love of cocusa's ministry and a desire to see growth by multiplying the number of children attending.

Mentoring

A former site director and counselor contacted me about meeting with a camper she had when she worked at camp.

This camper reached out to her and wanted to start meeting regularly.

It's pretty cool that they had such a good relationship that over a full year from regular interaction the camper still felt comfortable contacting a staff member.

September Newsletter

Hebrews 4:12 says that "the Word of God is living and active."  At Camp of Champions we really believe this and for that reason we desire that campers and staff get into God's word as much as possible.  It's His Word that changes lives, more than any creative teaching, fun activity, or character building program ever could.  Here are some snippets of God's Word from this past summer:

Throughout the summer, our staff noticed an increasing number of campers bringing Bibles to our morning assemblies.  Each day we told them story from the life of Jesus and the campers wanted to know the Scripture reference so they could follow along and read more on their ownlater.

We always make it clear that if a camper needs a Bible, we have one to give away to them.  During a one week period at the beginning of the summer we handed out over 10 Bibles!    One older boy at the East Peoria camp accepted Christ and received a new Bible from us.  The next morning he had already read 20 chapters of Matthew!

A younger boy at our Morton camp was determined to read the entire Bible.  In order to make sure he didn't miss anything, his plan was to underline every word that he read.  Our staff observed that he already had underlined entire books in his Bible.  Tedious yes, but his heart for God's word is exciting to see.

We also try to get the Word out to parents.  We challenged our Pekin campers to re-tell the story of Jesus temptation and first miracle to adults they knew outside of camp.  Twenty-two kids took our challenge and as a result at least 119 adults heard these stories from God's word.

Finally, each morning our staff participate in a morning meeting which includes a devotional thought from God's word.  Here is what some of them said about that time:
"I learned new things from Bible stories I've known my whole life, which was cool. Also, in the morning devotions, studying specific people in the Bible really helped me to grow into the person God wants me to be."
"I have definitely learned, been encouraged and been challenged in the staff devotion times in the mornings."
"Having staff devos in the mornings was awesome. I loved reading a Bible passage, then digging into it with other staff."

Please pray that God's word, which has been sown in the lives of campers, staff and parents this summer, will bring about a great harvest for his glory.

Awarding Gratefulness

A camper who hasn't attended camp in 2 summers recently broke his "Gratefulness" wristband.  It meant so much to him that his parents contacted me to find another one.  Awards and good character are a big deal.

Note found at Pekin camp

This is a note from a Pekin camp Tyro I just found.

"Dear Staff of COCUSA:
You staff members are like my family and if God didn't bring me here I would not know where I'd be.  So you guys and girls are awesome.
Yours Truly..."

Pekin Story Telling 2012 Part 2

Later in the summer we asked our campers to retell the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19 to adults outside of camp.  Pekin camp recorded these numbers:

14 campers participated
63 adults outside of camp heard the story

East Peoria Storytelling

When we asked EP campers to share the story of the Blind Man from John 9, these were the results:

12 campers participated
38 adults outside of camp heard the story

Bowl-a-thon!

It was crazy how God used our staff for this year's bowl-a-thon.

Our goal before the summer was $30000

We currently have awarded about $80000 in scholarships...

Our staff combine together to raise nearly $38000!

Way to go staff and way to go God!

Just a fun story

This week I had the opportunity to tell a Bible story at Morton camp.  It was the story of Jesus feeding the 4000.  Just the day before the kids had heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5000.

When we got to the part where the disciples ask "Where are we going to get enough food to feed all of these people?",  I turned that question around to the kids and asked them to give me a response.  How would they answer the disciples' question?

(I was hoping they would see the obvious connection that Jesus was with the disciples and had just fed 5000 people in the previous story.)

Most of them didn't get the connection... I got answers like "Buy some bread" or "Bake some bread"  or "Harvest some wheat"

But one little boy said:  "Well, if one of them was God, then he could just make bread for them."

Bingo!  Jesus is God... so he made bread (taking 7 loaves and feeding 4000 men, plus women's and children.)

Story Re-Telling Success

Last week at Camp we challenged the kids to retell the story of Jesus' temptation and first miracle.

At Pekin camp... 22 kids took the challenge and told adults away from camp the story.

Totaled up that means that 119 adults heard these Bible stories!  What an awesome reach!

Giving away Bibles

This week we were giving away Bibles like they were hotcakes!  (I'm not sure where that saying came from, but I'm pretty sure it applies here.)

Between Morton and Pekin camps we gave almost 10 children a Bible of their own.  At our Morton camp, a counselor had nearly every child in her group ask for a Bible.

Good News

At least 5 children responded to the Good News this week.  Booyah

Ministry Intern Feedback

Some great feedback from our first year of ministry interns:


What was the best part/most helpful part of your internship?
 I loved having the chance to research something and put it into practice. I’m really excited to present all the leadership workshops at staff training. I also have a better sense of what it takes to run a ministry like camp since I was able to see all the behind the scenes, off season stuff.

Through this internship I was able to observe the full time staff and the ministry though out the year. I enjoyed getting a feel of what full time ministry is like. After leading a Bible Study and raising funds I feel like I have a better idea. I loved the opportunity to be challenged to have a project and take responsibility for it. I am amazed at how the Lord has done the work. I am just so thankful to of had this opportunity and to be challenged to grow in this environment.

 How have you grown through this internship? (spiritually, leadership skills, etc.)
 I have learned how to synthesize a large topic into manageable terms so that I can teach it to others. I’ve also had to rely on God for financial provision and have already seen him come

Through this opportunity and by God’s grace I see how He gave me the opportunity to lead my Bible Study and speak boldly. I enjoyed the responsibility of the projects I was assigned and it grew in discipline and time management.

 What did not go as you expected?
 I did not expect to sit at a desk this much, but I think I’ve developed more self-discipline and time management skills because of it. I’ve also learned how to work for longer periods of time than I am used to.

Talk to future potential ministry interns at Camp of Champions. Why should they participate in this internship?
 COCUSA has played a huge part in shaping my character, friendships, and relationship with God. I jumped at the chance to further the impact of camp because I know what a difference it makes in the lives of campers, parents, and staff. If you have experienced this like I have, participating in this internship is a no brainer. Not only will you be helping Camp to better minister to this community, but you will also grow and mature in great ways.

It is a great opportunity to see the workings of a full time ministry and learn from some awesome staff! It is also a great way to be challenged to grow spiritually and in your time management.

Say Anything:
 Seriously, thank you for the opportunity to work here this semester. I’ve loved the work. I’ve loved the meetings. I’ve loved getting to know the full time staff better. I’ve loved worshiping God through study and preparation. I’m humbled and grateful that I was able to be a part of Camp in this way.

25 more staff

Crazy story of God providing...

This year we have 25 more staff hired than we did at the same point last year.  25!  When you hired 130... that's a huge jump... praise God.

Intern Feedback

What was the best part of being a PNO intern?
 the best part was probably being able to work with a small group of staff, an getting to know each other, and being able to see the kids every month
Being able to take a more active, planning role at camp. And seeing the kids.

What was one thing you learned or improved on through your time as a PNO intern?
 I improved a lot on planning and leadership My skills in planning and leadership are developing.

help from staff members

In our latest newsletter we asked our supporters to help with some of our programming needs.

Here's a response that was great to see from one of our summer staff members:

Hey Pheaney! I just got the spring newsletter from camp. I saw under the "wish list" that you guys were looking for sports equipment, board games, card games, movies, books, paper towels, paper plates, napkins, etc. The outreach group that I'm part of called Reach would love to help with that if that's cool with you. We could do it at school and have a big box for people to bring stuff and put it in, kind of like a food drive but for camp stuff. Let me know what you think of this idea! Thanks.

Spring Newsletter Piece

One thing we've witnessed over the last several years is the blessing of more and more former campers applying to work on summer staff.  This hiring season we had an additional step in the camper to staff progression:  A former camper turned Tyro (Jr High volunteer) turned Junior Counselor turned Counselor interviewed for one of our Site Director positions.  To my knowledge, this is the first time this has happened.

The Site Director position is one of twelve leadership positions we reserve for college-age students who have the abilities and character to lead the campers and staff members at one of our camp locations. The very fact that he interviewed for the position is evidence of God working in his life over the long-haul.  I'm grateful that Camp of Champions has been able to play a part in his journey, and I'm excited we can continue to help him develop his leadership abilities and spiritual gifts as he leads as a site director this summer.



Whenever we interview a potential staff member we ask the applicant to tell us about an adult whom they admire and respect.  Earlier this spring we interviewed a junior counselor applicant (who is a former camper and Tyro); his answer to this question was a COCUSA male staff member who has served as the applicants counselor when he was a camper, and Site Director when the applicant was a Tyro.  Even more exciting than the general admiration the applicant had for our staff member was the fact  that he specifically mentioned being challenged in his spiritual life by this staff member.  God was using a COCUSA staff member to disciple a junior high student... and now this student will have opportunity to invest in the lives of children at camp this summer.

Discipleship

We always ask applicants to tell us an adult they admire, respect and generally look up to.

It was really cool to hear a JC applicant (who is a former camper and former Tyro) talk about a guy he had as a counselor and Site Director.  This staff member was discipling this young man... maybe even without knowing it.

To God be the glory.

From Camper to Site Director?

This week was a first (I think)...

A former camper turned Tyro turned Junior Counselor turned Counselor interviewed for one of our Site Director positions.

The Site Director position is one of twelve leadership positions we reserve for college-age students who have the abilities and character to lead the campers and staff members at one of our camp locations.

I don't yet know if we'll hire this person, but the very fact that he interviewed and we're considering him is evidence of God working in his life.

Responses to a Spontaneous Staff Survey

One of our summer staff was doing a speech for a college class and surveyed some other staff with this question:


"Would you say that working at camp and changing kids lives is more than worth the long hours and giving up part of your summer?"

And here were the responses verbatim:

• oh yeah. Definitely 
•  most definitely 
•  seeing the smile on those kids faces are more than enough worth to work at COCUSA 
•  Yes x1000 
•  yes yes yes!!!
•  yes! 
•  Yes absolutely!! 
•  Yes! 
•  I believe that camp is the best thing since sliced bread, and if you don't quote me on that, I will be disappointed. As far as your specific question, I believe that there is nothing more rewarding than giving back. There are a lot of jobs that could pay you a lot more, but there's something much more important than money that you can get from working at camp. I don't see the fruits of my labor every day; sometimes it even feels like we're going backwards. But at the end of an 11-hour day, I feel fulfilled going home every time without exception. There are hard days, but those are the ones where I learned to rely on God the most, and therefore those are the days that were the best for me. In short, the long hours are beyond worth it. I look forward to going to work, and I cannot imagine finding a more fulfilling summer job. 
•  ya 
•  for sure! 
• No. Definitely not. That's why I did it for 8 summers. (please discard intended sarcasm) 
•  Yes mam! Even though I don't work there anymore I def agree:) 
•  FOR SURE!!!:) 
•  i completely agree 
• Absolutely! 
•  O my goodness, yes! I'm so glad you are doing a speech on camp! Share His name any way you can!! 
•  Absolutely, it is way more than worth it! (: 
•  YES 
•  OH YES!!! 
•  Sure thing! 
•  Yes 
•  Yup 
•  si si si

Well... I've got my encouragement for the day.  :)

Believing in God working through Camp

It's so encouraging to see people BELIEVE that God is working through COCUSA.

Yesterday I spent over an hour with a couple summer staff who have a desire to see a Bloomington site start this summer... even if it's just a two-week trial.

The prospect of a new site both excites and scares me.

But seeing two summer staff believing that God works at camp... so much so that they want to be the main people who pull off a new site... that's just plain awesome.

The Importance of Meetings

Yesterday I had 3 separate meetings planned, one with a mentor of sorts, one with a friend, and one with a summer staff member.  I was slightly feeling guilty for so many meetings in one day, but it was neat to see what God brought out of them.

In my first meeting, I got a great idea for morning staff meetings.  I was also challenged with some ideas to help get people into God's word.

In my second meeting, my friend offered to lead a workshop at staff training for me.

And the summer staff member I met with wanted/needed 20 hours of volunteer work this school semester.

Feedback from Night Out Interns

A couple feedback notes from my Night Out Interns:

It gives me a better understanding on managing time with the kids


I think guys Night has helped me develop some leadership abilities

Paid Interns

This school year COCUSA started a new position: Part Time paid interns.  (I already wrote a little about it here.)

I just want to restate that this program/position/thing has been and is going to be great for Camp and all involved with it.

We've already expanded our reach to families and parents in the school year through a Bible Study program.  We've helped the interns in their ability to raise support and work on projects.  We're increasing the quality of Tyro curriculum tenfold (no offense to last year's Tyro curriculum team... which I was 1/3 of...)

I can't wait to see where God uses Talissa and Kyle throughout the spring and into the summer, and I'm equally excited about continuing these positions with new interns next fall.

What are you working on now?

Even though summer camp is still four months away, COCUSA is already working hard on every aspect of our summer program.

One part of the summer that I take the lead on is planning Staff Training.  The image above is representative of one day's schedule during training.  We'll have our summer staff members attending as many as 20 workshops over the four days of training.

Ultimately our goal and prayer is that these counselors, junior counselors and site directors will be fully prepared for a summer of ministry.  We want to give them the practical tools and instructions so they can care for children and do so with excellence.  But we also want to encourage and equip them to share the gospel, make disciples, and serve the Lord in every area of their life (both now and into the future.)

Training our staff is a daunting task considering we only have four half-days with JCs, four full-days with counselors and six full-days with site directors.  If you think of it, can you pray that 2012 Staff Training will be effective and glorifying to God?

Encouraging Staff

Yesterday I met with a staff member.

This dude is awesome for several reasons.  But the one that always jumps out is that even though he hasn't worked a full summer at COCUSA in several years, he is still all about the ministry that we do.  He encourages, supports, and otherwise cheers us on.  It's pretty great.

When we met I was able to encourage him in his efforts to disciple a small group of guys (he co-leads a freshmen Bible study).  God's using him in really cool ways, both to encourage some of our current summer staff members and to point guys at the University of Illinois to Christ as well.