This is a guest post by Sydney Boral, a senior in high school who has attended numerous youth camps at Mount Hermon.
Mount Hermon will always be near and dear to my heart because it is where Christ pursued me to be His disciple. This past summer, I experienced Ponderosa Lodge from an entirely new perspective; I was a CILT. CILT, or Campers in Leadership Training, is a two week program in which high school students are trained to share the love of God with junior highers. As amazing as being a leader for younger girls was for me, CILT also provided me with the opportunity to dive deeper into my own faith, and to create bonds with other Christians in high school who truly love Jesus. When you’re a CILT, the entire Ponderosa staff pours their love into you constantly. Then, you are blessed with the chance to pour your own love into campers. CILT taught me a lot about what it looks like to not just be a follower, but a disciple. Serving God and others is so fulfilling, and at the same time you’re having so much FUN!
One of the most noticeable characteristics about being in a leadership role is the challenges you face. I’ve been a camper for seven summers now, and have always been terrified of the leap of faith. One day when I was with my campers at the ropes course, one asked me to be her partner for the jump, and without hesitation I accepted. I’m not sure why her request was so easy to answer, but I know that God was working through me. God really gave me countless ways to be a leader during CILT, and every boundary I grew past brought me closer to being a true disciple.
Another challenge brought on by CILT was knocking down your walls. The entire first week of CILT is spent training to be a leader, and bonding with your fellow CILTs because they are your family. We all had to open up about the tough stuff, but being able to admit your struggles brings you so much closer to God and shows you how much your “family” cares about you.
CILT was undoubtedly the best adventure I’ve ever experienced.
This is a guest post by Angela Mannino, a student who has attended numerous children and youth camps at Mount Hermon.
Christianity has been defined as many things. Some say hypocrites. Some say extremists. Some say goodie-two shoes. For me, Christianity has been defined as a relationship with the Creator of the universe and the God that “the waves and wind obey,” not a religion with a list of rules and regulations that I have to follow in order to please a deity that may or may not punish me.
It is because of Mount Hermon programs, mostly Ponderosa Lodge, that I have developed this definition. I have learned in my eleven years attending Mount Hermon camps that God is not about making us do things or punishing us when we are wrong—which is quite often. God is loving while powerful. God is compassionate while jealous. God is giving while just.
I wasn’t living a godly life. I didn’t really accept all the things that God commanded and said. I didn’t understand that the Bible is the Truth and that is final. There’s nothing I can do about that. Before last summer, I was much more liberal and less in tune with the Holy Spirit. I didn’t read the Bible very often (in fact, I resented the Bible), nor did I pray (at all, almost). I watched things I shouldn’t have watched and read things I shouldn’t have. I indulged in the devil’s delights more than I care to remember.
All the while, I was attending church, leading worship for elementary and high school-aged kids on Sundays and Wednesdays. I participated in church functions and invited people to youth group. I guess you could say I was a stereotypical Christian for a while; my hypocrisy and defiance was so insane, it’s scary just thinking about it.
This place is life-changing. I came to camp last year expecting to be let down by people and not be included, which is exactly what happened. I had thoughts that people didn’t want me around and were annoyed by me. I let that get the better of me and it showed. People avoided me because I was completely shut off and unwilling to be moved. It wasn’t until Wednesday night, D.O.S. night (discipline of silence) that things turned around. After ten years of lying and crying, complaining and hating, God washed over me in one small motion, but a huge movement occurred within me.
This place is safe. My heart is secure in the Lord because of the people He surrounded me with there. Those people have helped me keep my camp high moving and getting better. Through them, I see God’s grace and God’s love. Thank you, Ponderosa Lodge.
We have received a number of calls from parents asking “How safe is my student at Ponderosa?” Safety is one of our number one concerns at Mount Hermon. Here is a look at some of the basic safety precautions we take at Ponderosa Lodge:
Counselors
We get hundreds of applicants each year at Mount Hermon. Applicants go through a rigorous application and screening process that includes interviewing, reference checks and background checks. Counselors then go through 11 days of training at the beginning of the summer. Additionally, each counselor is monitored throughout the summer by our leadership to ensure they are doing their jobs correctly and keeping students safe. Each counselor also takes part in official evaluations with their supervisor two times during the summer. Our number 1 concern is camper safety and we go to great lengths to protect the campers parents entrust to us.
Camp Activities
We have so many great activities at Ponderosa–surfing, skating, kayaking, climbing tower, mountain biking, mountain scootering, zipline and swimming are just a few examples. Our staff are trained extensively to oversee each of these activities. Additionally, Ponderosa is staffed with 5 lifeguard/health aids and a nurse who are available to help out when needed. We want students to have fun and be safe while doing it!
Bullying
Ponderosa has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying. We make this very clear to both staff and campers. Counselors are specifically trained in how to watch for and respond to students who are bullying other students. In the event that a student is being bullied, he or she can tell their counselor or a leadership team member and it will be addressed immediately.
Camp Schedule
Every time block that we schedule has a purpose behind it. We realize that 4 hours of free time a day for junior high school students is both overwhelming and can open the door to unnecessary trouble. At Ponderosa, junior high school students spend the majority of the afternoons with their cabin groups and their counselors. The goal of this is to provide structured “free” time. During this time, students get to choose many of their activities but they are with a small group of students (6-8) and their counselor. This provides more oversight and therefore more safety. It also gives our counselors intentional time with students to talk about issues of life and faith. High school camps have an hour or two more of free time each day but even then it is intentional time where counselors are connecting with students at a deeper level. During any and all free time, we have staff that are patrolling camp to ensure the safety of all students.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
We are so thankful for what God did in 2010 in our Youth Programs at Mount Hermon. We witnessed students’ lives change as they encountered Jesus. We were blessed with new church partnerships. We continue to hear stories of God moving in students lives and families. We were blessed with resources to raise our programming to the next level. We were encouraged by students who committed to read their Bibles after camp in “the 21 Day Challenge.” It was a great year.
We are hoping and praying that 2011 will be even greater! We just finished setting our 2011 goals and we are excited to both share them with you and get your insights, thoughts, wisdom and advice as we move forward into the future God is calling us to. Here is a quick overview of our 2 primary goals for 2011:
1. We will increase the number of students we impact :: we have so many great youth programs at Mount Hermon (Ponderosa, Conference Center youth, Amata, Echo, CILT) that we don’t want to be content with our past successes. This isn’t just about having more students come to quality and effective programs. That’s only a portion of it. We also want to set students up to have “more than just a mountain top experience” by helping them plug into the Word of God and the people of God when they leave camp.
2. We will increase the number of churches we serve while improving our level of service to current churches :: I truly believe that the church is the vehicle through which God is going to bring about His Kingdom. This means that Mount Hermon youth programs exist to serve the church. This isn’t just about expecting churches to come to our programs. This is about us conversing with churches, seeing what the needs are and working to serve them in those needs if it is at all possible.
This is just a quick overview. If you have a moment, we would love to hear your thoughts and we would value your prayers.
Here’s to a God-glorifying, Kingdom-advancing, life-changing 2011!
In an effort to continue to increase the quality of our programming at our youth camps, the Mount Hermon Youth Team took a trip to Disneyland to learn more about excellent programming. Many critics poked fun at our “field trip” but it ended up being an amazing experience. After our day at Disneyland, we spent some time debriefing and we came up with the top 10 lessons we learned from our visit to Disneyland. This is the second installment of those lessons.
6. Darkness (and purposeful lighting) allows you to control where people look We noticed that almost every ride was inside so that the lighting was under full control. Disney determines where you look with lighting. It could be colored lights, spot lights or even black lights but they had full control over the focus of each ride. The only inside ride we noticed that wasn’t dark was It’s a Small World which is so visually overwhelming that you don’t have time to look at anything else.
7. Waiting in line is an opportunity to build anticipation In many amusement parks, waiting in line is a necessary evil that has to be tolerated. At Disneyland, waiting in line is part of the experience. Disney goes to great lengths to build anticipation for the experience to come as you wait in line. They do this by capitalizing on all 5 human senses. They are drawing you in and preparing you for the experience as you wait in line.
8. Getting into the park is 1 transaction Disney makes it easy to get into the park. You may have to wait in line but it only takes 1 main transaction to get into the park. And once you are in, you are welcomed by bright colors, sounds (in our case it was a marching band) and smells. You really do feel like you have walked into a different world when you walk through the gates.
9. Transitions are important There are so many transitions at Disneyland and I never really noticed this until I was intentionally looking. When you transition between lands/regions, you are very aware of it. You walk through something (like a castle) and enter into a region that is themed differently. This very clearly communicates that you are leaving one land and entering another. On rides, movable walls were often used to transition from one section to another.
10. If you can fool the senses, you can fool the mind I didn’t realize the extent to which Disney capitalizes on the 5 human senses. There were recorded sounds such as jungle noises, fake radio broadcasts and thunder that added to the experience. Music tone and volume were also used to control the mood. The textures of the walls waiting in line for Indiana Jones made you feel like you were in a cave. Lighting, or lack there of it, was used to control mood. These are just a few of the numerous examples of this. Disney drew us into each experience by capitalizing on the 5 senses.
As a former youth pastor, one of my biggest issues with camp ministry was the “mountaintop” experience that many students have at camp. Students would go away for a week at camp and then come back on a camp high having made decisions to change their lives for Jesus. However these same students returned home to the same problems, the same families and the same friends that they had before camp. Ultimately many students would return from the amazing mountaintop high of camp to the difficult valley of their lives. Camp decisions could be quickly forgotten and lives could easily fall back into old habits. For some students, camp didn’t contribute to change that lasted.
What I am most excited about at Mount Hermon is the opportunity we have to create a camp experience that is much more than a mountaintop experience. Our vision and our prayer at Mount Hermon is to see lives transformed. Transformed lives don’t go back to old ways of living. Transformed lives become more and more like Jesus and fall more and more in love with Jesus. I see our role at Mount Hermon as that of being servants to the churches who are doing the hard work of consistent, daily ministry to students. We want to partner with churches and serve churches so that students are set up to succeed in the decisions they make at camp after they return home. We have some ideas of what this may look like but we are just starting this journey. I am excited in these next few years to continue the dialogue with students, youthworkers, pastors and parents to figure out how we can better create camp experiences that are much more than a mountaintop experience.
Lord help us to love you and love students and not be satisfied with camp highs and change that doesn’t last. Give us a heart for students that desperately want to see transformed lives for your glory and your Kingdom.
It’s finally here! For all of you who have stayed awake at night tossing and turning and wondering about our summer theme at Ponderosa Lodge, all of your questions will be answered after you watch this sneak peak. OK…maybe not all of your questions. Ah, who are we kidding? You will probably have more questions after you watch this video! That was kind of our goal!! Either way-sit back, relax and enjoy your sneak peak. If you have yet to register for this summer you can call us or register online.
We look forward to seeing you in a few months. It is going to be absolutely life-changing!
Dear Youth Pastors and Youth Directors of the churches affiliated with Mount Hermon,
I am the new Director of Youth and Young Adults at Mount Hermon and I am looking forward to serving you! I can’t tell you how much I marvel at all that you do for the students in your youth group. Having been a youth pastor, I know how difficult that job can be.
We have an amazing opportunity coming up on Friday April 16th designed specifically for you. Mount Hermon wants to give you and one of your associates some time away in the Santa Cruz mountains experiencing our Redwood Canopy Tour. There is no experience in the world like it! On this tour you will adventure through the forest high above the forest floor on a network of zip cables and sky bridges. To sign up, just click here to email me. Please let me know your church, your contact information and the best way to reach you. I will call you to confirm your arrival time and get you the details. There are no strings attached to join us for this adventure. We simply want to meet you and give you some time away from what I believe is the most stressful job in the church. We have limited spaces so sign up as soon as you can.
To learn more about Mount Hermon’s Canopy Tour, click here.
I look forward to seeing you on Friday, April 16th!
