The Whole Person

The Five Areas of Human Development 

Physical

We desire that every camper will be challenged physically during the program. For many itwill be new experiences, for others a stretching of their endurance and strength. We don't want to program stress for stress' sake but there should be sufficient challenge so that the campers will leave with a sense of accomplishment. We desire staff to be sensitive to the physical needs of the individual camper. Often, addressing these needs can be turned into a spiritual experience.

Spiritual

Because of our unique location, we are able to develop a sense of God-consciousness through nature. The awareness of God does not necessarily create a sense of "personal need" in the camper. Often, skilful use of the Word of God is required to introduce this concept. Moreover, modelling Christ as a "way of life" tends to be a far more effective witness than the "decision" approach to evangelism. In this fashion, every staff person who comes to camp has a very important role to play. All of our lives are on display for the campers to see. It will depend on you being the channel who both presents Jesus Christ to them and then allows the Spirit to do His work. 1Cor. 3:5-9

Social

The social environment in camp provides wonderful opportunities for demonstrating how to get along with others. Regardless of the position you fill at camp, there will be many opportunities to take full advantage of this to focus in on one of the central themes of the Christian message, that of love and concern for others. We are also concerned about the erosion of standards on a societal level and thus seek to clarify the Biblical point of view for social behaviour.

Intellectual/Mental

Learning to accept another's point of view is mind expanding. Because we are able to introduce new ideas at camp, campers are able to learn why others think and act as they do. Furthermore, mental development also tends to occur as various physical skills are mastered. And let us never belittle the slow learner - to help on this level is going to require patience and care.

Emotional

Although camp provides a good atmosphere for emotional growth among those campers who are "emotionally healthy", many of our young people today are experiencing a multitude of emotional problems. Broken homes or unstable family conditions often lead to substance abuse, sexual behaviour and other behavioural reactions. At camp, aggressive, disruptive behaviour or perhaps withdrawal often marks such emotional struggles. It is not enough to point out to these campers that we have a God who cares - we must actively demonstrate our concern and love for them - a wonderful opportunity to model Jesus Christ and be part of God's glorious plan for changing lives.