The Ministry Behind the Ministry

Mark Olson, our former President, used to say “that our best ministry was not to the campers but to the summer staff who served the campers.” This maybe the best kept secret about our summer camp programs, except if you are a past summer staffer or parent of a summer staffer.

Here is what one parent communicated to us after our summer staff family weekend about her son’s staff experience this summer:

“Thank you for the opportunity to visit Spring Hill as a ‘parent camper’ during Family Camp!  We both totally enjoyed our experience. Especially the zip-line ~ woo – hoo !!!!

What an awesome opportunity our son has had to be a part of this community of young people. He has grown in the Lord this summer….serving Him, searching His word and interacting with the counselors and staff.  During our visit we were able to get a glimpse of his day-to-day routine as well as a better understanding to what goes on during any given day.

We sent you a young believer in Christ and you have given us a young ‘man of God’…thank you and may God continue to bless the efforts of Spring Hill Camps.”

Why does this intense, transforming experience happen for our summer staff?  There are a hand full of reasons that I will cover over the next week or so as I share some of our staff’s stories with you.

But it is safe to say that the foundation of these life transforming experiences are people who have committed themselves to serving a single mission, been trained and prepared to fulfill this mission, work together as a team – a community of people to see the mission achieved and then trust and rely on Christ to do the ultimate mission work.

Ask any former summer staffer and you will most likely hear that their time on staff at SpringHill was the most transformative experience of their lives. It’s the ministry behind the ministry.