Sacred Playgrounds Podcast

"The most effective way to get campers this summer is to get last summer's campers to come back."On this episode, Travis Allison from Go Camp Pro joins us to talk through what's actually effective in recruiting and retaining campers and their families. Built from a sense of frustration that so many camp leaders spend so much time, energy, and money on things that don't work, the Camper Recruitment & Retention Playbook by Travis Allison and Joanna Warren Smith lays out why, and most import...

A meaningful camp experience can be a powerful catalyst for family faith formation. That truth is at the heart of the Rhythms of Faith Project, the Lilly Endowment, Inc. funded project that Wheaton College/HoneyRock and Sacred Playgrounds are partnering on. We've spent the last year taking in current and past writing, qualitative and quantitative data, and powerful stories about the impacts of camping ministries on families and the faith formation rooted in home and church life.On this episod...

Ministry is about impact. It's what we hope for, plan for, program for, recruit for, market for, evaluate for, and pray for. It's maybe the one thing that aligns the entire outdoor ministry industry. We may not even define impact in the same way (fyi, we don't!). Yet, we're aligned in that our deepest foundational mission is to impact lives for the sake of the Gospel.So how do we measure impact? We assess outcomes, and that's what we're breaking down on this episode. We've taken multiple data...

Season 4 of the Sacred Playgrounds Podcast is here! We're back behind the mic and behind the research for another season of camp-centric content focused on leaders like you.On this episode, we'll share a quick what-to-expect from this season, and then dive into what we learned through the Post-Summer Pulse Check survey we launched a few weeks ago. Plus, we've got a quick qamp question about "bugs."This episode is chock-full of stats, so be sure to share and/or download the Pulse Check Results...

finale {n.} the last and often climactic event or item in a sequenceIt's the last episode of season 3 of the Sacred Playgrounds Podcast! Whether it's your first time or you've been along for the ride since our first episode, thanks for listening! It's an honor, and a lot of fun, to talk camp with you and for you.On this episode, we'll run through our season 3 episodes with a quick recap and call to listen back to one or more if there's an idea you're focusing on for the summer ahead. We'll al...

On this episode, we're sharing the mic with a good friend and camp research colleague! We're deeply honored to chat with the Senior Director of Research and Education for the American Camp Association (ACA), Laurie Browne, PhD.Laurie joins us to unpack some key camp research learnings from the big picture at the ACA including important projects like the ACA Youth Impact Study, the Character at Camp Initiative, and the National Economic Impact Study. Not only does she have incredible insight i...

Every now and then, I get a little bit restlessAnd I dream of something wild- Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse of the Heart"Eclipse week! Epic, singular experiences are our specialty at camp, and yet, how we prepare campers and families for integration of faith in the totality of life is the real heart of our ministry.On this episode, we'll hear the story of Jake and his family's adventure into the path of totality for the April 2024 solar eclipse and draw some interesting, actionable connections ...

It's launch week for Holy Ground 2024!It's no secret, so says the research, that summer staff are the heart of camping ministry. We know they need support, agency, and faithful community to thrive. That's why we constructed the Holy Ground summer staff guidebook for the third year.On this episode, we'll quickly share the what, how, and why of Holy Ground. Then, the heart of this episode is two conversations we had with special guests Renzi Ricketts, Director of Summer Camp at St. Christopher ...

Check!We're gearing up, camp family! For many, it's time to begin forming our plans for staff training, even as we continue to recruit and hire staff. We're bringing you 8(+1) items on a summer staff training checklist to help you frame up a successful, impactful staff training experience that gets your summer staff well-equipped and wisely-prepared.Have an idea to add to this list? Have an idea for a resource for summer staff members? Drop it in the comments wherever you're listening. ...

We're constantly learning. Every season, we take care of each individual and/or group of camps we work with - creating reports, digging in with consults about the findings, and creating ways to help those insights tell stories. And, we take that data and compile it, looking at it from a higher level with richer numbers of responses. We do this to learn and identify trends across our broad outdoor ministry community.So, we've got 3 interesting, and more importantly, actionable, findings from t...

We're making a new friend in this episode as we talk with author Maria Warner who wrote a book all about her family's transformational experiences at family camp, a specialized kind of camp that can, as Maria passionately shares, help families thrive. Listen as we hear stories from the book and capture some of the secrets that make family camp work so well, and wonder what might be possible with this kind of experience as a vital part of your outdoor ministry.Embark on a heartwarming journey ...

We're hitting rewind on an episode from last season where we broke down some of what we know about emerging adults today. Knowing who they are, what they care about, and what motivates them makes a big difference in how we connect and communicate with them, especially during the recruiting process.Rev. Anna Sorenson and I will bring some fresh context to this episode, answer a #QuickQampQuestion from the perspective of a camp-enthusiast-and-board-member/pastor/mom of emerging adults, and shar...

Camp staff outcomes align remarkably well with the top skills employers identify as most important for the 21st-century workforce, including teamwork, communication skills, leadership, and problem-solving. Being a member of a Christian summer camp staff builds vital skills needed for impactful careers and faithful lives.On this episode, we're breaking down 4 things camp builds in summer staff members that can make a significant difference in their vocations and careers. This is part of the ki...

Happy New Year! We're back with our third annual New Year's Resolutions episode! We're sharing 5 fresh resolutions for sacred playgrounds like yours for 2024. Here's what you'll find:Build resumesComplete the circleLook to the starsTransition wellKeep learningWe'll also share a bit about what you can expect from our sacred playground in the year ahead, as we work hard to help camps like yours thrive.We've got a #QuickQampQuestion about the role of intentionality and attitude in the summer cam...

Merry Christmas from Sacred Playgrounds!Green beans and great songs and cookies and memories, these are a few of our favorite things! (Sing it or it doesn't count)On this episode, we share some favorite fun in an extended, Christmas-themed #QuickQampQuestion. AND, we'd like to hear yours. Here's the list:Favorite Christmas songFavorite Christmas foodFavorite Christmas traditionFavorite Christmas memoryWe'll also wonder together about 3 sets of voices from The Story, and how we journey, w...