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Director Role

The duties of the Children’s Camp director shall be to:

  1. Coordinate the camping ministry with other district functions. This may require the director to be a member of the camp board.
  2. Coordinate the camping ministry with other ministries to children. This will require the camp director to be a member of the children’s council.
  3. Plan and secure the following items essential for the camp:
a. Schedule use of the campground.
b. Establish a camp activity schedule.
c. Select a camp theme.
d. Purchase camp instructional materials.
e. Taking into consideration the staff your camp facility provides, proceed to recruit needed camp workers, including the kitchen crew, counselors, teachers, athletic directors, craft directors, camp nurse, lifeguards, security personnel, office staff, pianist, camp evangelist, song leader, maintenance personnel, camp secretary, and other support personnel.
f. Arrange for adequate insurance.
g. Train workers.
4. Promote camp attendance through publicity and pre–registration.
5. Supervise the daily operation of the camp.
a. Discipline campers as necessary.
b. Ensure adequate provisions of food, craft, medical, and other supplies.
c. Protect the welfare of all persons on the campground.

Duties of the Camp Activities Director
The duties of the camp activities director are to:

• Plan, with the camp director, a variety of activities suited to the abilities and interests of the campers.
• Recruit activity leaders and assistants subject to the approval of the camp director.
• Prepare a budget for the activities to be approved by the camp director.
• Purchase materials for camp activities, within the budgeted amounts.
• Organize and supervise the activities during the camp.
• Train activity staff and counselors for the activities.
• Evaluate the value of the activities following camp and report to the camp director.
• Attend all camp staff meetings, and conduct activity staff meetings. 

The District Superintendent and the Camp Director
As a Director of Children’s Camp you are responsible to the District Superintendent, the District Camp Board, if any, and the District Board of Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International. It is only natural to wonder what the DS expects from you. The editor of children’s camping surveyed DS’s asking: 1. What do you expect from you camp directors? 2. What can the camp director reasonably expect from you in return? Here are their responses.

What District Superintendents Expect of Camp Directors
  1. Be a spiritual leader.
  2. Support church doctrine & practices.
  3. Be mature.
  4. Be organized, able to plan in advance, and follow through on plans.
  5. Be energetic.
  6. Coordinate plans with the director of Children’s Ministries.
  7. Work in harmony with the philosophical statement of the Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International Board.
  8. Love children and relate well to them.
  9. Understand the characteristics of the children in the camp.
  10. Be sensitive to the needs of children and parents.
  11. Be financially accountable to the district; prepare a detailed budget.
  12. Establish clear camp goals.
  13. Plan the camp schedule.
  14. Develop a camp handbook with guidelines for conduct.
  15. Recruit and organize camp workers.
  16. Encourage every pastor to be involved in at least one camp a year.
  17. Submit a list of workers for approval by District Children’s Council, Camp Board, or DS.
  18. Develop job descriptions for workers.
  19. Train workers.
  20. Communicate priorities to workers.
  21. Secure a speaker; the director acts as the evangelist’s host.
  22. Supervise the camp food service.
  23. Advertise the camp.
  24. Promote attendance.
  25. Properly manage the camp.
  26. Provide discipline as needed.
  27. Foster a spiritual atmosphere.
  28. Encourage Bible study and prayer.
  29. Conduct daily staff meetings.
  30. Evaluate the camp experience.
  31. File a report on the camp.

What Camp Directors Can Expect from their District Superintendent
Of course, no two district superintendents are exactly alike in their work with the camp director. However, here is a list of the items DS’s indicated camp directors could expect from them.

District Superintendents say they will:
  1. Be present at the camp as much as possible.
  2. Promote the camp through personal contacts and publicity in district papers.
  3. Meet with the director to discuss problems.
  4. Help the director find counselors and other workers, usually by encouraging pastors on the district to be involved in at least one camp a year.
  5. Give the camp director freedom to manage the camp as he or she sees fit.
  6. Help raise funds for camp.
  7. Support the camp in prayer.
  8. Give appropriate recognition to those who worked in camp.
  9. Establish broad policy guidelines with the Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International Board.
  10. Review program and personnel.
  11. Encourage camp director.
  12. Encourage pastors to support the camp and involve persons in their church in camp ministry.
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