connecting with parents...at camp

I know I have been stuck on a camp theme this month but that is where my mind has been. Since we were doing our own camp for middle school students we looked for every way possible to connect and include families in the process. For the families we are reaching through Relevant Student Ministry dropping kids off at camp can be a struggle. Parents worry. Parents want to make sure their child is having a good experience. Parents want to make sure the experience is worth their money. With that in mind our team started looking for simple ways we could involve parents in the camp process. Here are some simple ways we tried to connect with families during camp this year...

• Parent / Teen Dinner >> The picture above is just one shot of our parents at teens eating dinner on the first night of camp. Our camp location is about an hour away from where we live so we simply asked parents to drop their kids off for camp and have dinner with us. Parents got to meet their teen's group leader, got to see the facility, had the chance to eat dinner as a family, and got to tell their kids goodbye. I have to say, it was hard to pull off but it was a highlight of camp!
• Email Segment every morning >> We had an email segment every morning of camp where we gave out email that parents sent to the kids. We set up next@gcomchurch.com and had them email away. I was so blown away by how much email we got and the teens loved it. Email let kids and parents stay connected.
• Update videos >> The main reason to do an update video every day of camp is for parents. Parents love seeing what is going on with their teens. The video every day allows a parents to follow along the journey during the week.