Camping Information
Summer Camp
2008 Summer Camp Schedule:
Session 1: June 9-14 Session 5: July 7-12
Session 2: June 16-21 Session 6: July 14-19
Session 3: June 23-28 Session 7: July 21-26
Session 4: June 30-July 5
Each week during the summer approximately 128 kids ages 7-15 are given (at an average minimal cost of $30) a week-long camping experience. Many of these kids have never heard the gospel message of Jesus. Many of campers come from broken homes and just want a break from the hardships of daily living. Our campers long for the attention of a caring adult. Living with their counselors 24 hours a day, (one counselor for every four children) they experience all of these in abundance during their week at camp. They also experience fun activities that they normally wouldn’t experience such as canoeing, archery, hiking, biking, swimming, go-carts and evening campfires featuring singing, storytelling and a spiritual lesson. This camping experience is designed to show the kids by example what life can be like living the abundant life that Jesus promised. Many kids attend for several years, each year gaining more wisdom and hope. It is our hope that their time at Camp Ray Bird will be a turning point for them spiritually. And we know that faith in Jesus will produce "good fruit" in all areas of their lives.
Follow Up
When the summer ends, our work at Camp Ray Bird does not. We believe it to be in the best interest of a child to be connected to a church or para-church ministry in their neighborhood if they are not already. This is a tough job but we are doing our best. As we strategize and experiment the best way to do this, we are also doing the following...
Visitations: Each fall most campers are visited (all those living in St. Joseph County). When we visit campers, they are given a bag of treats, asked how they are doing and how we can pray from them and their families. Interested in helping pray for our campers? Email our office manager for more details.
Snail Mail Club: Snail Mail is a correspondence Bible course through Ray Bird Ministries to help children as they grow up in their faith. If campers complete their Snail Mail Club Bible lessons, they earn the privilege of attending our fall, winter and spring Snail Mail Club mini camp weekends. Email our office manager for more details. Snail Mail lessons, as implied by the name, cannot be received electronically.
Church Linking: One of our goals is to encourage our campers participate in local churches. We have successfully planted some of our campers in a few area churches. If your church would like to reach out to a few of our campers living in your neighborhood, please email our director for more details.