RETURNING STAFF

NOTE FROM MR. MOOSE ---Feb. 2024

Hellooooo Summer Staffers,

As my second year in the position at Camp Good News, I am looking forward to having a much better go at it this year and I am hoping to have many of you join us again this Summer. I wanted to let you know of some of the changes to look forward to that are in the works. The goal of these changes is to make camp better for the staff and the ministry for campers.

Camp Theme: This year our theme will be ONE WAY: Exploring Jesus’ statement “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6
June 5-14 Summer Training: the training this year will be longer, but we will have a few days for just our staff before including the CYIA training into the schedule.
More Leadership Staff: I plan to have in place some more people to help provide assistance and support for counselors during the summer. Our hope would be to have enough staff for 3 boys’ cabins and 3 girls’ cabins each week (Sr. & Jr. Counselors in each cabin), plus 3-4 support lead staff, plus 6 kitchen/program staff, and 3-4 lifeguards/program staff.
Teen Week is making a comeback. Many of the SALTs are encouraged to participate and receive extra training on how to evangelize and interact with peers and campers. Some teen specific activities (like glow zipping & trivia night) will be added to the schedule as well.
5-Day Camps: this is something new as a way to reach more campers. We will offer overnight camp for only a few cabins but will expand during the days with day campers. This would allow those who are afraid to experience camp overnights to still be part of a majority of the program but go home at night. It just means that our main chapel time will be during the day instead of during the evening. The idea is that more staff will also be able to take more time off in the evenings with less campers staying the night. It also means that camp will start on Monday mornings (not Sunday afternoons). Staff would be asked to be on-site by 8pm on Sunday those weeks to meet and pray over the upcoming week, then be ready for the next morning. However, it will also mean later dismissals on Fridays but have plans to help make it so that we can wrap up with dinner on Friday.
8.5 Weeks of Work/Ministry: (with training and 7 camp weeks); operating from June 5th-August 2nd this year. I am looking at options to increase payment with specific conditions (including allowing Jr. Counselors to get paid).. This would be conditional on doing support letters to ask family, friends, and your church to help support the work you are doing at Camp Good News.
Program Changes: we plan to offer some different tracks for campers to try this summer; there will be more of a closing program to include parents on the last day of camp; we will no longer have the picnic lunch on the last day (pick up will be done by noon those days); more staff fellowship hang out times during the week; a more put-together schedule plans and materials

If any of you would like to make any other considerations for changes from last summer, I will hear you out and see if they would work within the framework of the summer. I hope to hear from you. If you apply for camp online, there is just a simple form for returnees to share what position and weeks you would like to work. Let me know if you have any questions.

~Mark (Mr. Moose)

SALT

Counselor

Program

Kitchen