Four Reasons to Counsel at a Teen Camp

1. You’ll Build Positive Relationships 

Serving as a counselor at a teen camp puts you in an environment conducive to building positive relationships. You’ll get to work alongside your counselor (whether assistant or head) and learn to communicate in a way that works best for you as a team and for the dorm. You will interact with the other staff and solve issues together as they come up. The meals and free time at camp give you lots of time to have meaningful conversations with others and to grow closer to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 

One of my favorite things about counseling, however, is the relationships I get to build with my campers. Throughout the week, there are many opportunities for you to fill a sort of mentoring role for your campers: answering their questions, directing their actions, and helping them navigate difficult situations are just a few of the things you’ll help your campers with. Walking alongside your campers for a week and helping them have a great camp is a powerful way to get to know your campers and build positive relationships that last a long time. 

Even after camp, you can keep that connection going and talk to your campers at the Feasts and church activities throughout the year. A great joy of mine has been seeing my campers through the years and watching them grow in the faith—sometimes I even get to counsel with them! Camp is the launching pad for many wonderful and impactful relationships. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). 

2. You’ll Develop More Compassion 

As a counselor, you’ll interact with lots of campers who come from different backgrounds. Like anyone else, each camper is struggling with their own personal battles. You might be tempted to be harder on the campers whose struggles are more external and combative, but I urge you instead to use these difficult moments as an opportunity to examine yourself and identify ways that you can show compassion toward the camper. 

As you keep counseling, you’ll discover that there’s no such thing as “problem campers”—just campers struggling with problems. With this mindset, you’ll develop compassion and learn to approach problems productively and in a Christ-like manner: “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:8). 

Counseling is an effective way to develop many essential character traits we should have as Christians. 

3. You’ll Make Mistakes 

You read that correctly—I think you should be a counselor because you’ll make mistakes. Making mistakes is one of the most effective ways to learn and move away from previous habits. Camp is a good place to make mistakes because you have a support system of staff around you who want you to succeed and will help you improve if you mess up. 

Making mistakes can hurt, but they lead to personal growth: “Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart” (Proverbs 20:30). I’ve made countless mistakes while counseling, but I’ve learned from each of them and I like to believe that I leave camp a better person than I was at the beginning of the week. 

4. You’ll Grow Spiritually 

What I value the most about counseling at camp is the spiritual growth that comes from the experience. Camp is founded on God’s way of life—from the environment of “The Zone” to the daily Christian living themes, camp is spiritually focused. 

An important part of being an effective counselor is to be spiritually focused, as well. That means being diligent in Bible study before camp, as well as familiarizing yourself with the daily Christian living themes so you’re ready to teach them to your campers. 

Being a counselor will also teach you a lot about relying on God. Be sure to keep up your personal Bible study through the week of camp and ask God to help guide you each day. When you’re lying on your bunk at night trying to sleep, meditate on His ways: “My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word” (Psalm 119:148). Camp is tiring, but you’ll discover that it’s a lot easier to get through the week and navigate tough situations when you’re keeping God at the front of your mind. 

On top of this, you’ll get to spend a week surrounded by other people in the faith! Take advantage of conversations you can have with others about the Bible, and don’t be shy about talking to your campers about God. You’ll get the most fulfillment out of being a counselor at camp if you rely on God and focus on spiritual areas for growth. 

Conclusion 

Counseling might not be for everyone, but if you feel like you’re up for the challenge, I encourage you to apply to be a counselor at the next camp you go to. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience that gives you opportunities to build positive relationships, develop more compassion, make mistakes, and finally, grow spiritually. Yes, you’ll feel more tired than you’ve ever felt in your life, but you’ll leave camp a little better than you were before, and hopefully your campers will, too.