Better Together: Grow Your Community this summer!

By Megan “Rory” Morgan

Over the years of working for camp, visiting schools and churches, the number one question I get asked is, “What’s the best part of camp?” And I ALWAYS answer, “The community! A little piece of what heaven will be like!” Truly my best friends are all from camp. Even 17 years after my last summer as a camper, I can still count my camp friends as my most loyal companions. 

Now more than ever, kids need quality community in their lives. After a year of being locked indoors and prevented from seeing friends and family in person, the camp experience is an open invitation to make new friends and belong!

You might be wondering, why is Camp Cedarbrook so special and so important for community-building, when my kids can go to church, school, sports and a million other options? Ahh, see camp has something unique and different than all of those things: living together 24/7. 

Yes, it’s only a week (or maybe a few), and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t seem like a lot of time. But we have seen the impact that living together can have on girls even after just a few days. Take, for example, the change we see in campers after our Tuesday night cookouts. Cookouts are a great bonding experience for girls: they have to come together and complete a task, and then get to enjoy the fruits of their labor in a fantastic, yummy, fire-grilled dinner. The amazing bonding we see after cookouts is astonishing! Even more so, our Two-Week Experience was added specifically because by the end of that the first week, girls needed and wanted more time together.

Let me break down just a few of the key reasons why kids need community:

God says we are better together
Being in church is so important, but ministry happens daily within our communities. The nitty-gritty world is where our faith is matured and refined because that is where we are most challenged. In community, the interactions between people are what help us grow closer to each other and ultimately, closer to God. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is present whenever believers gather together (Matthew 18:20). (source: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/personal-growth/bible-verses-about-community)

Community builds grit...

...or what we at Camp Cedarbrook like to call Beastly Cedarbrook Women! Facing challenges that come from living, eating, having fun, learning, studying, discussing, even arguing and resolving conflict -- are what strengthen our ability to face anything that life can throw at us. Romans 12:4–5 says we are better together than we are alone! Yes, alone time is important, but together time is key to being a better human being.

Spending time with friends is FUN!

Let’s not ignore the obvious here. Community is fun! Enjoying new and exciting things or just hanging out with old and new friends is powerful. Psalm 133:1 tells us, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” My best moments, the ones I tell stories about year after year after year, are frequently stories from camp. 

So, moral of the story - get out and have some fun with friends this summer! Camp is a great place to find community, a community that will last a lifetime!