We know camp is best when students “unplug” from the world and its distractions to focus on what matters most. At camp, there will be 9 opportunities to hear the Word of God taught, explained, and applied. What’s more, it is a week filled with one-on-one discipleship, small groups, team games, consistent fellowship, and deepening friendships.
To best facilitate this, we will be collecting and storing phones upon students’ arrival in Glorieta. Students will have access to their phones for use on bus rides to and from camp. When we arrive at camp, phones will be stored and kept under the supervision of our security team in a way that is easily accessible in the case of an emergency. We will encourage students to charge their phones on the bus ride to camp, power off during camp, and in this way allow them to have a fully functioning phone for the ride home from camp. If we need to get in touch with you from camp, our leaders and I will be ready to make that happen.
To be clear, this policy is not a punishment or indictment on phones. It is simply the best way to maximize our time together at camp as we look to hear from God’s Word, focus on His truth, and enjoy the blessing of uninterrupted and undistracted fellowship. Our students are constantly immersed in media, videos, reels, texts, gifs, memes, etc. Our desire is that we not only focus better by limiting these distractions, but also prove that life does not necessitate these things for it to be rich and meaningful. In fact, if you find it to be the best thing for your student, you can also have him or her not come to camp with a phone at all. But at the very least, we want you to know what our policy will be and ask you to pray for us as we shepherd our group through an incredible time enjoying God and one another.