Summary of Counselor Job Description
- Live with a small group of campers 24 hours a day.
- Lead morning cabin devotions.
- Strive to live the Christian lifestyle in all relationships at camp.
- Participate in all group activities.
- Observe time schedules.
- Report on all discipline problems immediately.
- Let no one leave the camp without permission of the camp director.
- Observe and enforce "Quiet Time" with campers.
- Encourage congenial atmosphere, but maintain good manners in the dining
hall.
- Know each member of your group by name. Be friendly, kind, and
understanding.
- Keep a close spiritual relationship with your group.
- Keep in mind these two goals:
- Lead the non-believer to faith in Jesus Christ.
- Lead the believer into a life of discipleship.
- During camp, follow up chapel services and times of decision with personal
devotions and interview with the campers in your cabin. This personal work makes
decisions more meaningful at camp.
- Never discuss one camper with another or with any group other than the
staff. Do no betray campers' trust and respect. In fact, encourage campers to
confide in you, and let them know that any information given will be kept
confidential.
- Write a short letter to your campers when camp is over. This helps them see
that you really are interested in them, and so is God!
Special Notes to Counselors
- You will be expected to remain with your campers at all times unless
otherwise instructed.
- Each camper will take at least one shower a day.
- Refer any severe discipline problem to the Camp Director.
- Our purpose this week is to create an atmosphere that is conducive to the
movement of the Spirit in the life of our campers. Many of these kids will come
from troubled homes. Seek to understand them and encourage them to excel.
- Camp T-shirts will be distributed Friday morning. Each camper is expected to
wear the shirt during the final chapel, all-star games, and home.
- If for any reason you must leave your campers or the campground, please
contact the director before leaving.
- Campers should remain with their groups at all times. If they are unable to
swim, they are still expected to be with their group. Under no circumstance is a
child to be in his or her cabin during group activities unless you have given
permission for the camper to be there.
- Any camper caught with drugs will be sent home. See the camp director.
- Turn prescription drugs over to the camp nurse.
- Under no circumstance should a boy be caught in or near the girls' cabins.
They are off limits.
- Any camper caught vandalizing personal or camp property will be subject to
discipline by the camp director.
- Keep Canteen Cards. Distribute them when the Canteen opens. Collect them at
supper each evening.
- Be prepared to name a Camper of the Day each evening and a Camper of the
week on Friday morning.
- Be a leader and an example for your campers to follow.
- Allow no camper to use a phone without the permission of the director.
- Be on time for all activities.
- Camp goals
- to lead the non-believer to a personal faith in Jesus Christ.
- to lead the believer into holiness.
- to guide the Christian towards a fuller, more complete, and better
disciplined Christian life.
The Counselor's Challenge
The counselor is the most important factor in the success of a child's summer
camp experience. Counselors are closer to the campers, know their needs better,
and have the campers' confidence in a greater measure than anyone else in
camp.
During camp, the counselors spend more time with their campers than Sunday
School teachers spend with their pupils during an entire year.
As a counselor, you will have a group of boys or girls living in the outdoors
with their minds alert and their hearts open to God. Think of this fact often,
and give your campers the very best that you have in mind, heart, and soul.
Camp is designed:
- To give an awareness of God's creative power as revealed in the
out-of-doors;
- To provide opportunities for enriching Christian fellowship;
- To bring children into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord.
Remember
If our children are to learn the reality of HOLINESS in Christian lives, they
will need to see it during this week of campÑin our lives.
As they live with us, watch us, hear us, imitate us, they will either be
convinced of the truth of holiness, or they will be convinced that it is not
possible to live this holy life.
We are living in a teaching mode. We are teaching these children by example
and by precept the great truths of God for their lives.
Our Camp Goals
- To lead the non-believer to a personal faith in Jesus Christ as their
Savior.
- To lead the believer into an experience and life of holiness.
- To guide the Christian toward a fuller, more complete, and better
disciplined Christian lifestyle.
- To challenge Christians to answer God's call to the ministry, missionary, or
teaching fields.
- To introduce children to wholesome activities, hobbies, and fun.
Congratulations, You're a Camp Counselor
Congratulations! You have been accepted as a camp counselor! Here are some
ideas to help you be an effective Christian Camp Counselor:
1. Know your campers
Know your campers by name.
Know you campers' ages.
Know your campers' abilities.
Know your campers' spiritual lives.
Know your campers' medical needs.
Know your campers' feelings.
Know your campers' whereabouts.
2. Stay with your campers
Eat with your campers.
Play with your campers.
Win with your campers.
Lose with your campers.
Laugh with your campers.
Cry with your campers.
Worship with your campers.
The children in your cabin are your responsibility while they are at camp. Become involved in your campers' lives so you can make the most of this ministry opportunity.
Don't worry. Camp directors realize that you need time to rest and replenish your energy. They will have provided times when the children will be properly supervised while you relax. However, promise yourself that you will make ministering to your campers your top priority, and that you will leave them only when the camp director has scheduled time off.
3. Pray With Your Campers
Remember, the Christian camp is not simply entertainment. It is serious ministry. Your campers come to you with different needs. Find out what these needs may be and pray for them specifically. Let your campers know you are praying for them.
Be an example of Christian manhood or womanhood for your campers. You are making strong statements about what it means to be a Christian on the playing field, in the cabin, in the cafeteria, and on the nature trail. These statements will be heard and remembered far more clearly than the ones you say.
If your campers indicate an interest in salvation at any time, be prepared to assist them. Your camp director may provide copies of the Really Living salvation booklet for children. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with it thoroughly. If you are working with the child at an altar, use these suggestions to help you:
- If you do not know the child's name, ask what it is and inquire why he or
she came to pray. This is not a time to "hear a confession." That's God's job.
- Encourage the child to talk to God about his or her need. Instruct the
camper to tell God what he or she wants Him to do. Pray SILENTLY with the camper
as he or she prays.
- If the camper does not know how to pray, explain that prayer is simply
talking to God. Lead in a simple prayer if needed.
- Ask the camper to tell, in his or her own words, what God did for him or
her. If the child is unsure, repeat steps a, b, and c. If the problem involves a
lack of Christian assurance, use an appropriate Bible verse such as 1 John 1:9,
substituting the child's name for the first person pronouns. If the problem is
one which involves others, simply explain that these matters must be left up to
God and the people involved.
In addition to spiritual leadership, you will be leading your campers in a variety of other areas. Remember, they don't expect or want you to be "just one of the gang." They look to you for leadership.
Lead by example
Show the kinds of attitudes you want your campers to exhibit. When something needs to be done, such as grounds clean-up, be one of the first to pitch in and help.
Use proper dining room and chapel manners. Expect the same from your campers. Look for opportunities to lead by example.
Lead with authority
You are the "director of the camp" in your cabin. Don't shirk your authority. You are responsible for ensuring that all camp rules and regulations are observed.
If you must "lay down the law," temper it with the guidelines for leaders in Ephesians 6. You don't have to be a dictator to be an authoritative leader. Lead in Christian love.
Lead by consensus
Camp is not run by children, but it is run for them. Even in the tightest schedule, there are some choices. Whenever there are viable alternatives, lead by consensus. Find out what your campers want. Don't try to live out your own camp fantasies through your campers. This is their week. When they have genuine options, let them choose. Be careful, however, not to give options where none exist. You're responsible to see that your campers are involved in all the regularly-scheduled activities of camp.
Lead by Encouragement
Camp is a time for growing. For some it will be a totally new and perhaps frightening experience.
Be sensitive to the shy child or the one who lacks confidence. Invite children with these problems to participate fully in the camp's activities, but don't force them. Force will only make them more resistant to your efforts to involve them.
Demonstrate that you are confident your campers can do things they may feel inadequate to do. If a first attempt should fail, encourage additional tries until they are successful. Do not allow anyone to ridicule the child who doesn't quite reach his or her goal. Encourage your campers to believe in themselves by believing in them yourself.
Just about every cabin has at least one child who is a "clinger." He or she may not want to do anything on their own and may want to consume all your time. When you are responsible for eight to ten children, you cannot afford to be monopolized. It is very important for you to find some activity in which the clinging camper can be successful and receive recognition. As you help this camper become more independent, you will be helping him or her mature.
It may sound like being a counselor is a lot of responsibility. It is. You will probably be exhausted after your camp. But it is also one of the finest ministry opportunities you will ever have.
Children's Camp Counselor
- Adequately prepare to lead in the following areas:
- cabin Bible study
- camper discipline
- camp activities
- Insure camp is a positive experience for all campers.
- Learn all of your campers by name.
- Encourage full participation in the camp program.
- Find at least one strength in each camper and promote it.
- Involve each camper in at least one new experience if possible.
- Build a sense of cabin unity and camper morale.
- Be responsible for the health and safety of all the children assigned to
your cabin:
- See that all medicines are turned in to the camp nurse.
- Ensure campers take medication as scheduled.
- See that campers bathe and wear clean clothes.
- Monitor the foods your campers eat.
- Be aware of your campers' whereabouts at all times.
- Protect campers from anything harmful.
- Be responsible for camper discipline, including:
- Inform campers of camp rules and enforce them.
- Develop additional cabin rules as necessary.
- Ensure campers arrive at all camp functions on time.
- Monitor camper behavior during mealtimes and chapel.
- Administer non-corporal punishments when needed.
- Alert the camp director to developing problems.
- Help the camp achieve its purpose of evangelizing the non-Christian camper
and strengthening the Christian camper. This includes:
- Model Christian attitudes.
- Pray specifically for your campers' spiritual needs.
- Lead seeking campers to Christ.
- Conduct cabin devotions/Bible studies.
- Pray with your campers.
- Encourage attention in chapel and Bible study time.
- Report to head counselor, assistant director, and director as needed.
- Attend all staff meetings.
- Write a personal letter to each camper in your cabin after camp.