Camp Staff Devotional Only 99 Cents
John Comes To Camp, Camp Staff Devotional
by Karen S. Roberts
In 2008 I wrote a devotional to be used to help Christian summer camp staff members grow spiritually as they ministered to campers throughout the summer. Camp staff work long hard hours and sometimes face daunting problems and responsibilities. Without creating a means for them to grow spiritually, camp directors see staff burn out and lose the excitement and motivation that they had when they arrived at camp.
Providing staff with a brief daily devotion relating to their camp experiences and creating opportunities for them to share what they are learning, along with their experiences, with one another throughout the summer are ways to keep spiritual growth of the staff a top priority at camp. Also providing a way for staff members to pray together is a key to seeing God work at camp.
When I was a summer day camp director, I had daily meetings with staff. Each one was responsible to personally read from a summer staff devotional, and we talked together about what God showed us through the reading. We also prayed for each other and for our campers. It was so exciting to see young adults growing in their faith as they shared the love of Jesus with campers each day! Our devotional times brought unity, trust, and honest sharing with each other.
One problem was the expense of purchasing devotionals for each of the staff members. And sometimes the booklets would get lost or left behind. So I decided to write a devotional based on camp experiences and find a way to keep the price down. For several years I have sold “John Comes to Camp” as a printable manual. Camp leaders could order one copy and print whatever number they needed for their staff members. Even though this saved them some money, printing and making copies is another expense, and unless the copies were put into notebooks or binders, pages could get rumpled or lost. So this wasn’t the ideal situation.
Then a couple years ago I also put the book on Kindle. That way it could be downloaded to a Kindle device, or free Kindle software could be downloaded so the book could be read on a computer. (See http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311) This provided a way for camp leaders to preview the book or for an individual who would be working in a camp situation to download the book for himself or herself to use for personal devotions. This still did not accomplish my desire to provide the book in a format that would be inexpensive and convenient for camps.
But a wonderful change in technology has now made it possible for camp staff members to have a free Kindle reader on their smart phones and tablets. The free Kindle app is now available on Google Play, the Apple App Store, and the Windows Store! So now I have lowered the price of my Kindle camp staff devotional book to an affordable 99 cents, at least through the summer of 2014. Anyone can download a free Kindle reader app and then go to this page on Amazon to purchase and download the book: http://www.amazon.com/John-Comes-Camp-Karen-Roberts-ebook/dp/B004KABCDU
Camp staff can now pull out their phones or other device, read the devotion for the day, and think about the discussion questions. When they get to a staff meeting or devotional time, they can pull up whichever devotion is being discussed, see the questions, and share their answers. It’s easy, and it’s inexpensive. Staff members probably won’t object to spending 99 cents for a devotional that they can keep and use long after camp is over. But camp directors could offer them a 99 cent credit at the camp store as an incentive!
For now, I am leaving the option open for those who still wish to purchase and print the Group Version of “John Comes to Camp.” However I’m not sure that it will be available after this camp season.
So take a look at the Kindle version of this 8-week camp staff devotional. Just click the image below.
This devotional is a study of 1st John, with relating passages from the gospel of John. It is all tied in with camp experiences and situations that camp staff can relate to. The first chapter is for use during staff training week, and the last one is for the final week of camp. If your staff are not with you for eight weeks, you’ll have to pick and choose which chapters to use. But they can go on using the devotional when they leave camp. Or you can use chapters you didn’t use during the following summer or for staff training retreats.
You are not only going to save a lot of money on staff devotions, but you’ll also be making sure that your camp staff members have the opportunity to grow spiritually all summer long!