For generations, summer camp has been a rite of passage for youth.
Whether attending as a camper or working as a counselor, camps provide a wholesome environment where young people can make friends, learn new skills and snap out of the routine of school, work and typical home life.
At Lutheran Bible camps, they receive all that and more because of the evangelical, Gospel-centered nature of the experience.
Unfortunately, according to Dan Antoine, Luther House student and director of programs at Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps, there has been much less emphasis on the camp experience in recent years, particularly when it comes to young adults spending a whole summer working at camp.
Antoine is in the thick of counselor recruitment at this time of year, and he says that the task is much more challenging than it used to be when he started working at camp 20 years ago.
“Back then, you’d visit the camp fairs at Lutheran colleges, and there were thriving campus ministries with hundreds of students,” he said. “The question wasn’t, ‘What are you going to do this summer?’ it was simply, ‘What camp are you going to work at?’”
He posits that college students are facing a lot of pressures today that weren’t as prevalent in previous decades.
“There are a lot of worldly pressures, not necessarily bad things, but pressure to get an internship, take summer classes, or find a high-paying job to offset the rising cost of college or student loans.”
Those pressures don’t just apply to college students considering camp counseling either. Youth who might attend camp have to fit it in around a host of other summer commitments and resume builders, like sports, activities, and even internships or volunteer work.
Though he acknowledges these are valid concerns and activities, Antoine also emphasizes the positive benefits of attending or working at camp that youth might not be considering and pastors or campus ministry leaders may not be promoting.
“For me growing up, camp was a place where I was outside my family circle, church, school, and community. It was a fresh, new group of people, and it really was a place that affirmed my faith and what I believe. It wasn’t just part of a routine or normal activity that I did. It was so refreshing.”
Once Antoine got to college at Augustana University, where he studied education, he was encouraged to volunteer at a retreat at Ingham Okoboji and ended up returning the following summer as a counselor, the next year as a summer leader, and eventually was hired full-time to the program staff. He says those early experiences were essential for his leadership development and ministry skills.
“Those summers working at camp in college helped me grow as a leader. It’s a really great way to develop leadership skills, sort of trial by fire. That’s what camp does really well — it’s a supportive environment to grow in everyday ministry skills, like being able to pray for someone on the spot,” he said.
20 years later, as the camp’s director of programs, Antoine is also pursuing his seminary degree with Luther House of Study.
“My calling came from all the people I connected with at camp,” he said. “I couldn’t get through a week of camp (and I’ve been through a lot of them) without someone asking, ‘Have you ever considered seminary?’ I put it off for a long time because the role I’m in just doesn’t demand that education, but I really have had that drive the whole time I’ve been here.”
At this point, he says he isn’t sure exactly how he’ll use the degree, as he still loves his role, but he adds that much of the work being done at camp is pastoral in nature.
And, he says, with the current shortage of pastors we’re experiencing, encouraging youth to attend or work at camp should be a top priority.
“If I were working in a campus ministry, one of the things I’d be doing all year long is trying to get these kids to work at camp. They’re going to come back the next fall and be your Bible study and worship leaders, your mentors, and your official or unofficial leaders in whatever capacity is needed, because that’s what they’ve been doing all summer long,” he said.
He continues, “If someone has already identified that they feel a call to ministry, camp is a place where you can get so much hands-on experience. You have the opportunity to work with all ages of kids, adults and families, you travel to different churches for various events, you gain exposure to all different kinds of ministry, and it can help you discern if there’s an area of ministry you’re drawn to, whether that’s a pastor, youth leader or worship leader. It’s a great way to fan into flame the gift or calling God has placed on your heart.”
Once again, he emphasizes that a Lutheran camp with a strong mission can be a driving force for helping young people hear a calling to ministry.
“I think about what I’ve learned at Luther House about Luther and his two driving passions of teaching the Bible clearly and pastoral care — that’s what camp does as well as or better than some other settings. Luther House is finding new ways to make seminary happen and equip pastors, and camp can support that by being a place where more and more people hear that call to ministry in the first place.”
If you know a young person who might be a great fit for Ingham Okoboji’s staff this summer, you can submit a staff referral anytime via the camp’s website.
Referrals and applications are accepted on a rolling basis until all needs are met, with staff training at the end of May.
