“As a whole, the church supports camp and says it’s a wonderful thing, and talks about how it played such a big role in the lives of those who went into full-time ministry,” said Jen Bell, director of Camp Christopher, Sask. “But sometimes when it comes to funding it’s a different story.”
Camps are among the most expensive ministries backed by presbyteries and synods, with annual budgets ranging from $100,000 to $600,000. Fractions of the required funds are provided through presbytery or synod grants, and are supplemented by donations, facility rentals and camper registrations.
“Camping is a little bit of an orphan at the national level, not because no one cares about it, but because it was deemed wise to give the synods and presbyteries oversight of the camps,” said Dorothy Henderson, then-associate secretary of the Vine. National funding has occasionally been provided, but it has always been designated for specific purposes.
Although Bell notes that camps tend to have strong support from congregations and former campers, those outside the administrative side of camping are often unfamiliar with regulations that have changed dramatically in the past two decades. New provincial water standards following the Walkerton crisis meant an unexpected $40,000 to $60,000 upgrade to water filtration systems at Ontario camps.
“Finances are always a struggle,” said Audrey Cameron, executive director of Camp Geddie, N.S., and a regional staff person with the Synod of the Atlantic Provinces.
Camp Geddie runs year-round on about $230,000 and without dedicated full-time staff. As a regional staff person, Cameron splits her time between the camp and other youth ministry projects.
Of the 10 camps represented at a conference in November, only one had more than a single dedicated full-time staff person. Four had a single staff person whose time was split among several youth ministries, and one had no full-time staff at all. Seasonal staff hired for the summer ranged from 12 to 65.
“I think the challenges camping ministries are facing in some ways mirror the challenges the denomination is facing,” said Rev. Gwen Brown, who worked at Camp Kintail, Ont., for 15 years before moving into ministry in British Columbia. “There are fewer people to volunteer, resources are limited, and camping ministry depends on volunteers. But for the denomination right now, it’s a visible sign of life.”
“Sometimes it’s a struggle to get the wider church to understand what camping ministry is,” said Cameron. “Once it was church kids who came, but now it’s outreach. It’s evangelism. Most kids have no church background. This is their God place.”
