Camps are an incredible way to reach young people... but we need leaders!

Kids love CRU® Camps, and they turned out in massive numbers in the first half of this year. With record numbers signing up for Holiday Camps, and so many CRU Educational Camps booked, getting enough leaders to run camps was the only thing holding CRU back from reaching more young people than ever before.

In the ten years Emma Pesavento has been working with CRU, she’s seen huge growth in the educational camps division.

CRU Educational Camps offer schools a ‘'wake up till bedtime' camp program, providing schools with a venue, camp leaders, and a program full of exciting activities and Christian Discovery sessions.

One of the distinctive features of CRU Educational Camps—and something schools come back for year after year—is the way CRU leaders interact with and care for students on camp.

The team consists of senior staff plus Summit trainees, who undertake a two-year program training in Outdoor Education and biblical studies, as well as gaining invaluable experience in youth and children’s ministry.

Running over 150 CRU Educational Camps every year, the team has plenty to do. In non-COVID times, the trainees are on a camp approximately 30 weeks of the school year and doing training in the off weeks.

More school camps means the CRU Educational Camps team has had to grow. In 2021, 19 trainees joined the Summit Program, double the number of recent years. “There’s always a need for more people to join our traineeship and lead on CRU Educational Camps,” Emma says.

The best part of being a Summit trainee, according to Emma who started out in the role but is now a Staffing Manager, is not just learning skills, and being paid while you learn, but having the opportunity to connect with campers and share the Christian message several times a week.

Pictured: Emma Pesavento

“It’s awesome when kids come out of a Christian Discovery session affected in some way, or surprised by what they’ve learned about God,” Emma said. “Sometimes there are weeks where we are blown away by how God has worked through campers. Other weeks we might not see the fruits of our labour, but we know God is at work.”

Just like the CRU Educational Camps division, CRU Holiday Camps was extraordinarily busy in early 2021, according to director Phil Rawnsley.

During the COVID lockdowns in 2020, Phil and his team were concerned that parents might be nervous about sending their children on holiday camps, but in fact, the opposite happened, with CRU Holiday Camps seeing record season after record season since resuming operations.

“In autumn we had a wait list of 170 campers,” Phil told us. “But they didn’t get to go. We had the beds to accommodate more campers but we didn’t have the leaders.”

The numbers booked in for winter camps were also incredibly high, with long waiting lists, although many of these camps were not able to go ahead because of Greater Sydney lockdowns. However, judging from the response to camps after the 2020 restrictions, CRU expects that campers will flock back after the current COVID outbreak is over.

“By God’s grace we have an amazing opportunity to reach an audience that’s come quicker than we expected,” Phil said.

CRU Holiday Camps reaches over 4,000 young people a year, at least half of whom have never heard the gospel. It’s well known that 80 percent of Christians make their decision to follow God before the age of 18, and research also shows that nearly 50 percent of Christians who’ve attended a camp or retreat say that it was a catalyst for them in their faith journey.

CRU’s new opportunities also bring a challenge: where will the extra leaders come from?

Leader recruitment is often by word-of-mouth, and CRU is in conversation with Bible colleges and ministry trainee schemes to create partnerships, but there is always a need for more leaders.

“We’d love pastors and youth leaders to encourage their church members to lead on CRU Camps,” Phil says. “It’s awesome to spend a week on a camp where you can share the gospel formally and informally every single day.”

Training camp leaders is something that CRU takes seriously. Phil’s team creates resources and runs events designed to equip leaders not only to run a great, fun, safe camp, but also to confidently and competently answer campers’ questions about the Christian faith.

“Never has there been a greater opportunity than now to reach young people with the gospel,” Phil shares. “God is doing amazing things through CRU Camps. We’re inviting leaders to join what He’s doing and get on board.”

Stats and facts about CRU Holiday Camp leaders and junior leaders

34% are university students. 23% are working professionals. 19% are school students.

Phil says: “There’s a conception that once you finish your studies, you say, ‘well, camp is something I did when I was at uni’. But we love to see people come back. The experience they bring is so valuable, and what they model to younger leaders is absolute gold.”

Average age is 24 years old. Junior leaders start from 15 years old.

Phil says: “We have a volunteer in his 70s who’s an inspiration to the younger leaders. There are all sorts of roles like director, speaker, camp parents, camp family or camp cooks that can keep you in the game and still serving.”

Type of camps: Sports camps, study camps, horse riding camps, activity camps, water-based camps, ski camps… and more.

Phil says: “Leaders pick the camp they naturally gravitate towards. Some people love study camps because they’re academic. Others love riding dirt bikes or water skiing. There’s a camp for everyone.”

93% of leaders said they had grown in their faith because of serving on camp with CRU. 92% said they had grown in their skills and competencies while serving on a CRU Camp.

Phil says: “Our leaders get practical, hand-on skills as well as theological and ministry skills. Plus, there’s the joy of fulfilling the Great Commission—seeing the gospel go out and lives being transformed.”

Help share Jesus with thousands of kids.

If you would like to serve kids and youth on future CRU Camps, we’d love to hear from you. Email cruleaders@cru.edu.au to find out more.

Do you know someone who’d love to be part of the Summit team?

Encourage them to apply at www.summitprogram.com.au