Off to camp to touch some young lives for Jesus
As I write this, I am spending my first full day doing music and worship at an Associational Girls’ Camp. I do one or two camps every year, and I absolutely love it. I composed a top-ten list after last year’s boys’ camp. Let me share it with you:
10. Rain happens.
9. Electricity is not a right, it’s a privilege.
8. A tug-of-war rope is never long enough, and to merely yell “stop” at the end of a match is an exercise in futility.
7. Great cooks = great camp!
6. Two phrases the staff never wants to hear: “Depart from me, I never knew you” and “The swimming pool is closed for repair.”
5. If you need instant results in whining abatement, compare them to Girls’ Camp (or vice versa).
4. Calisthenics for punishment is not necessarily a morale builder, but does make for a more docile camper.
3. Raccoons are punks.
2. Pre-pubescent boys, inexplicably, pack shaving cream.
1. The only thing harder than watching them check in, is watching them check out.
These 10 things are for humor, and though there is truth in them – the real truths that we all went back with are that Jesus is Lord, Jesus loves children, and God is merciful … especially to associational camps.
The material that I like to use in doing music for these kinds of camps range from Vacation Bible School material to music that I find and create. I also use homemade instruments like bull-roarers, and a trumpet made from a rubber hose, plastic buckets and more. I have found also, that 20 minutes of straight singing is usually too much; think of kinetic activities, and even a fun video clip to break up the music.
I’m also introducing some new things this year, “The Jabber Mat” from Group Publishing – looks kind of like the old “Twister” mat – only with a Biblical twist. I’ve also built a cajón, which is a Peruvian wood drum – I have build plans on the web at http://www.mobaptist.org/worship. I’ve also had success with having a “drum circle.”
When you have the chance to serve at camps such as these – take it. You have the opportunity to teach young worshippers – and touch their lives for Jesus.
Let’s go camping! (John Francis is the worship specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention and produces MoWorship, a monthly worship podcast available at www.mobaptist.org/worship.)