How to Send your Kids To Camp: Part 3
Going to camp may be one of the best trips you can take in your ministry. I love Mark Batterson's quote: a change of place plus a change of pace equals a change in perspective.
Taking your kids to camp, away from screens, distractions, and the indoors, changes how they see their lives and, hopefully, their relationship with God. It's one of the essential events on the kidmin calendar.
But as I've said throughout this series, you can't decide on Sunday to go to camp and show up Monday with a group of kids. There's a lot of work to do before anyone gets on a bus.
In Part 1, I covered getting parents on board and fundraising. In Part 2, I talked about recruiting volunteers, because you can't and shouldn't do this alone.
Now it's finally time to get to camp. But how exactly do you get there? Will you caravan? Rent a bus? And once you're on the road, when do you leave, where do you stop, and how do you keep parents informed about your return? What do you do with all the medicine and spending money kids bring with them?
Those are the questions we're answering today.
1. The Final Parent Meeting
At least a week before you leave, hold one last meeting with the families who are going to camp. Use this time to walk through the packing list, explain how parents can communicate with you and their kids while you're away, and confirm departure and return times. It's also your chance to field any last-minute questions.
Every church and camp situation is different, so I can't give you a script. But there are two policies you absolutely need to address: medicine and money.
Medicine
Some of your kids will need to take medication during camp, and you need a clear plan for handling it. Most camps have a nurse on staff whose sole job is making sure every camper gets their meds on schedule. These angels are a gift. They have medical training and experience, and they'll handle the heavy lifting for you. Many camps don't allow anyone except the nurse to administer any kind of treatment, and you should follow those guidelines.
At your parent meeting, explain exactly how parents should bring you their child's medication and any forms that need to be completed. At the camps I've attended, there was a separate medical form in addition to the standard camper application.
My practice was to ask parents to place all medications in a labeled Ziploc bag with the completed form attached and hand everything to me before we boarded the bus. Then at camp check-in, I turned it all in together.
Also ask parents when their child is supposed to take each medication. Even if you're not the one handing out the pills, you are responsible for making sure it happens.
I learned this the hard way. One of my kids never told me he had medication and by Day 3 he was really sick. It turned out he had an entire bag of daily meds he'd never mentioned. Thankfully he was fine within a few hours, but it was a scary time. Don't leave this to chance. Check with every family and confirm what your kids are taking and when.
Money
There's no single right answer for how to handle spending money, and I've seen churches do it several different ways. Some leaders collect everything in labeled envelopes and distribute funds when the camp store or snack shack is open. Others pull from the church budget and hand out money as kids ask. Others let kids manage their own cash entirely.
Personally, I prefer letting the kids handle it. If a child spends everything on Sour Patch Kids the first night and has nothing left for the rest of the week, that's a valuable lesson. I made sure they had proper meals and hydration. The spending money was for extras.
When I started bringing moms and grandmothers along, they naturally managed the money for the younger campers while the older kids were on their own. Do whatever works best for your group.
The most important thing is to be upfront about your policy at the Parent Meeting. Also give parents a realistic spending estimate. For the camps I attended, $20 was plenty for the week. But if you're stopping for a meal, letting kids buy shirts, or collecting for a missions offering, they'll need more. The clearer you are, the better parents can prepare.
2. Transportation
Well before you leave, you need to know how you're getting there. Some churches have a van. Others caravan in personal vehicles. Others rent something. Whatever you decide, make sure transportation costs are built into your camp pricing. Even if people are driving their own vehicles, someone is paying for gas. Don't assume your drivers will donate it. Have that conversation early.
Once you know how many people are going, you can figure out the right setup. Caravanning is flexible, but will you be stranded at camp all week? Renting vehicles gives you more control, but are you renting just for drop-off and pickup or the entire week? If you're taking a church van, is there enough room? Is it reliable enough to make the trip?
Work through these questions at least a month out. You want a solid plan in place before you head into the wilderness where even StarLink can’t find you.
At the largest church I served, we had no church transportation at all. The youth pastor and I had to get creative every year, renting vans, cars, and charter buses depending on the group size. Don't let this be something you're scrambling to figure out the week before you leave.
3. Travel and Return
You've met with parents, loaded the bags, sorted the medicine, prayed, and taken the group photo. You're almost ready to go.
But a few more logistics need to be nailed down before you pull out of the parking lot.
First, do you need to stop for food? Many of the camps I attended were three or more hours away, which meant a meal stop along the way. Let parents know about this stop in advance and clarify whether kids are paying for themselves or if it's covered. For kids' camp, I always picked one restaurant, usually McDonald's, and we all ate together. I stationed myself near the register in case anyone needed help.
If you're stopping for food or gas, build it into your timeline. A food stop will always take longer than you expect. Budget at least an hour and plan to arrive early rather than pulling into camp on two wheels.
Second, plan your return. Check the camp schedule and find out exactly when everything wraps up. Some camps serve only breakfast on the final day while others close with a full service. Factor that into your estimated return time and communicate it clearly to parents. You don't want you and your kids standing around a church parking lot for two hours waiting for rides, and neither do the parents.
Keep emergency contact information for every child on you at all times. Don't rely on the camp to have it when you need it. You can also use those contacts to set up a group text for sharing photos, updates, and your ETA home. If cell service at camp is unreliable, let parents know ahead of time so they're not worried when they don't hear from you. Reach out whenever you can.
Camp can be one of the richest, most meaningful weeks of your entire summer. God has spoken to me at camp just as much as he's spoken to the kids. I've grown closer to my group during those days than almost any other time of year. It really is the best week ever.
But in order for it to feel that way, you need a solid plan in place before you go. I hope this series has helped you build yours. Once the logistics are handled, you can put your energy where it belongs: building relationships with your kids and watching God move.
Happy camping!
