Programs and Activities

 

 

Robert Snow
Program Director

Why Camp?

Every summer there are a million things for your family to spend your time on. Between sports, vacations, mission trips, and family reunions; summer schedules can become crowded quickly. So why should Big Sandy Camp be part of your child’s summer? The benefits of camp to a child’s overall health are immense.

Camp succeeds first by taking kids out of their routine. This lifts the stress of pleasing others or performing for friends from camper’s shoulders and lets them shine as who they are, not who they are trying to please.

Secondly camp takes kids outside. The average youth in America spends 82 minutes a day on their phone, 80 minutes a day playing video or computer games, 27 minutes a day on their computer, and only 4 minutes per day outside! At BSC we spend most of the day outside! Even when it rains we play outside. Even when it snows we play outside! The benefits of being outside are numerous and include better mental health, better sleep cycles, and getting more exercise.

Camp gives kids new friends, and new mentors. Everyone wants their kid’s friends to be a positive influence on them, and at camp we make sure that campers are safe and feel a sense of belonging. At Big Sandy we train counselors and staff to the highest level to care for camper’s physical safety and emotional/spiritual health. They become friends, they pass on wisdom, and they live life together for 10,000 minutes. Any one of those moments could be the one that your child will remember forever. One of the biggest reasons that kids stay in church after high school is because they had a Christian adult friend who spent time with them.

Most importantly, camp is a place for your child to be real and have real experiences with God. Every year kids make decisions to follow Christ at camp. Kids commit to reading their bibles, loving their families, turning from sin and walking on the straight and narrow path to heaven. Camp is a place where kids aren’t judged for how they’ve been doing, instead they are encouraged about God’s plans for their future. Camp can serve as the spiritual life raft your child might need, or it can be a fresh burst of wind in their sails.

This summer my encouragement to you is to find time in your child’s busy schedule for a week at Big Sandy Camp. One week of safe, structured, encouraging outdoor fun. Crazy field games, sunny beach days, 750 ft zipline rides, powerful worship, and memories that last a lifetime.

See you this summer!

 

 

 

Brian Toth
Program Manager

Program Manager?

I often get asked, “What do you do around here?” Even for me, it’s really hard to put into a concise statement, “I do… (fill in the blank)”. I often find myself having to start making a list for them, “Well, I manage the snack shop, I deal with summer volunteers, I work on IT stuff, find animals for the farm, etc...” The list really gets to be quite laborious, so quite often, I just tell people, “I do a little bit of everything.”

What I see as my gifting is the ability to see a need and meet a need. If I see something broken, I want to fix it. If I see the internet isn’t working, I want to get to the bottom of “why?” If I see that Rob needs help with summer staff recruiting, or contacting references, I’m there. I love being able to be flexible, to be able to “lighten a load” so to speak.

What can be challenging is the ability to prioritize things in my day; trying to accomplish things on my list, while also being able to ignore some pressing needs elsewhere.

I’m so thankful that God has given me abilitities and joy in so many areas at camp. I love working to create a better experience for our guests who come here, and to hopefully be a part of God's master plan for this amazing facility.