Parents! Before You Send Your Child to Church Camp, Read This!

When I was twelve years old, I had a close friend whose family was very active in their church. They'd attend a couple or few times a week. Another neighboring family belonged to the same church and for them I did odd jobs - babysitting, housecleaning, and so forth. With my friend, I visited her church a time or two; I would go, for instance, Sunday morning if I had stayed over Saturday night.

I was raised Catholic, though my parents did not attend church on a regular basis. They weren't outwardly religious but they were (are) believers. But they have always been uncomfortable with those "preachy" types. The family I used to work for would answer their phone, "Praise the Lord!" and if I happened to answer "Hello," when I was babysitting, the little kids would try to correct me.

Anyway, that summer when I was twelve, my friend invited me to attend summer camp with her. I'd never been to camp before, and the idea thrilled me! I begged and begged until my mother consented, and ponied up the couple hundred bucks for the week. I was to be gone roughly about five days.

The brochure promised that I'd have the time of my life! There were cabins to sleep in, horseback riding, hiking trails, lakes, and a huge pool with an amusement park like water slide! The food was going to be great and there would be non-stop games and activities!

Well, when we got there, indeed there were non-stop activities. We stood in line to register, and when it came to be our turn, we were asked what church we belonged to. I didn't know what to say, I'd come with my friend. As she was next to me, I nudged her and asked her to remind me the name of her church so I could answer, though I was not a member. I was immediately embarrassed and felt out of place.

With very little time to settle into our little rooms in the cabins, we were called to a meeting. A little welcome pep rally, if you will. We were told all about the wonderful experiences we would have this week, having come to this camp and to the Lord. It didn't feel much like the brochure.