Hey parents, thanks for caring about your kids and making sure they are safe and healthy, these feelings are totally normal and good. 

Here's the next step, find the upside, talk with God and search your heart on what this experience could do for your child's faith, self-confidence, friendships, and to have a trusted adult in their life.

Anything new and unknown can be scary at first, we all deal with that. Luckily, your child has a few things going for them, they have you, a loving God, and leaders who care about them. All these people are encouraging them, guiding them, and cheering them on through new things since they know they will be stronger because of it. 

You know them best and they trust you, that's why your words will have more power than you may realize. This is your chance as the parents to build them up with words of encouragement and excitement, helping them to realize that they are strong and with their Heavenly Father by their side they won't be alone. Talk about how excited you are for them to have this experience and how many amazing memories and friends they're going to make.

Another great way to help encourage them is to let them know that this will feel like a really cool sleepover and reference some of the fun times they have had camping or at sleepovers before. If they haven't had sleepovers before, then this is the perfect time to have some! Start with a family member or a really close friend and give your kid a chance to get out of the house and experience some fun in a new way. The more sleepovers they have the more comfortable they will be going to camp.

Another great way to help your child feel comfortable is to invite a friend or cousin to join them at camp. This is great way to invite someone who hasn't been to church before, but it's also a great way to have an instant camp best-friend already built in.

Talk about camp often and bring stories in as much as possible. This will build the best anticipation in them. Think about your favorite movie or vacation and how your anticipation built every time you talked about it with someone or thought through what it would be like. Your kids are the same and the more they hear and talk about it the more they will lead with anticipation!

Absolutely yes, that is one of our goals! Even those that are more reserved or shy will get to be with other kids their age and the time they spend together will bond them together. I love seeing kids on Sundays throughout the year talking with the friends they made at camp and staying connected. God didn't create us to do life alone and that's why we need opportunities that get us around others with the same heart for community.

Safety is our top priority at camp and that's why we work with trusted and dedicated members of Real Life and give them the training they need to create a safe environment. All CIT (counselors in training) and counselors go through background checks and child safety courses. We also get together before camp and train on how to lead effectively at camp and go over time-tested methods of camp awesomeness. Many of them have served at previous camps or on Sunday mornings and put into practice what we train on. We train for all the ups and downs of emotions, testing boundaries, anxiety, even night terrors and bed wetting.

We also build up our leaders to help your child see and connect with the love of Jesus. It brings me and many other counselors to tears just thinking about the amazing moments we've been able to facilitate with kids truly seeing themselves the way God sees them. The moments we can model how to deal with a stressful situation through prayer and faith. The habits that are shown to them at camp and start a foundation that will last a lifetime.

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

We have partnered with Black Diamond Camps for many years and absolutely love their heart for kids and the staff's love, dedication and proficiency for creating a fun and safe campsite. They have great staff, training, lifeguards, first-aid, and emergency plans.

Black Diamond Camps has a great pool that the kids love to play in each day. Their lifeguards are fantastically trained and their policy requires a swim test for kids to be able to enter the deep end without a life vest. But there's plenty of space on the shallower end and the kids love that side just as well!

Yes, they will be very active. From walking around the campsite to dancing during worship, playing with friends, swimming, rock climbing, and especially the team color wars, your child will be very tired (this is how they sleep so well at camp, haha). We give them lots of breaks, reflection times, free time, and especially water! In fact, you can do them a huge favor by helping them drink lots of water the week leading up to camp. We require them to have good shoes on at all times so make sure to pack lots of active-wear and shoes that hold onto heals and cover toes.

We love our camp nurses as they make things go so smoothly! These nurses are trained and ready for anything camp-life throws at the campers.

The nurses handle all the medication distribution as well. Bring the original bottle of meds to check-in at camp and fill out the medication form at the nurse station. They'll take it from there.

Great question. We send out emails both after registration and also the week of camp. These emails have all the information you need to feel fully prepared. Please read through all the information in that email as there are links to help speed up the check-in process at camp and things that are needed before you get to camp.