Camp Surrounds Students with Caring Community After stressing the importance of camp as a chance to step outside of daily struggles, Kyle turns to another aspect of camp that is uniquely suited to the challenges faced by today’s youth: “You can’t take away the bond that a counselor brings. You can’t take away the bond of a young person around their age who can say, ‘I don’t know exactly what you’re going through, but I understand what you’re going through.’” This makes me think back to my recent talk with Tommy Sewall '09, the Director of Word of Life Youth Camps in New York. Tommy spoke of the loneliness plaguing young people today and how this loneliness affects so many other issues pervading Gen Z culture. “[Gen Z students] have more people they know of, but less people they actually know. They have the highest number of surface-level relationships and the lowest number of deep relationships. If we can help people solve their problems with community, this can solve so many other problems as well.” The program and activities of camp are designed to foster biblical community in a way that many students have never experienced before. I focus in as Kyle gets to the root of the camper- counselor relationship. “Gen Z campers don’t care how much you know; they want to know how much you care… I tell [counselors in training], ‘Your job and your responsibility is to care for and connect with campers.’” For a Gen Z student who would normally feel isolated and alone, this kind of intentional community can be truly life changing. “There is something so refreshing for students to know they’re not alone and to have a Bible Institute student tell them there is hope.”
Gen Z campers
don’t care how much you know; they want to know how much you care.
[Gen Z students] have more people they know of but less people they actually know.
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The Experience
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