recruited by joy

One of our staff applicants from this summer .. when asked why she wanted to work at camp..

Basically she explained that it was because of the joy on the face of the her college roommate who worked at camp the year before.  She was so into camp because of her previous summer that her roommate couldn't help but apply!

Discussing Disciple-making

Was able to chat with a former staff member about his opportunity to disciple people on his college floor as an RC.  We may have delved into similarities between Jesus-like disciple-making and the Jedi order.

maybe.

Talking Church

Over the course of the school year I've had some good conversations with a staff member about church: which ones you go to, how you choose, why you should (or not) move to a different one, the importance of the people church (instead of the service church or building church)

Hope they continue.

Some intern feedback

I am having a great time being on this side of the Camp of Champions team! I am looking forward to this spring!

This opportunity to serve as the Camp of Champions intern has been a huge blessing in my life this school year! With a full school schedule, it is really nice having a very flexible work schedule.

When I first signed up for this internship I thought that an option in construction was going to appear and I would regret taking the intern position.  I have absolutely zero regrets taking the internship. It has been an amazing opportunity!

Staff apps from former campers

"I am a living example of how the seeds God plants through this camp can blossom into a fully developed faith and impact the rest of a child's life in a very positive way, even if they don't appear to be receptive."

"I want to give to those kids the same opportunity I had as a camper - to know God as their one and only savior. I know some of these campers do not come from stable and loving families, and I want them to be able to come every day and feel like someone loves them and truly cares about them."

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!

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.

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..."

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.