Camping Ministries

God is using camp ministries to change lives all around the world. This rapidly emerging field of ministry creates numerous opportunities to reach people for Christ. As a camp ministry leader, you’ll be part of an exciting hands-on ministry environment that uses experience-based tools to impact people for eternity. BBC’s Camping Ministries program will equip you to serve as a leader with vision, passion, and a purposeful plan for effective camp ministry. As one of the largest camp ministries programs among evangelical colleges in the U.S., our program is proven to develop highly successful camp ministry leaders. During your junior or senior year, you will intern at a leading camp organization where you will have the opportunity to learn in a hands-on laboratory setting. This allows you to learn critical concepts and skills in an active learning environment in which you can be mentored by camp ministry experts. The internship component of the program is especially unique because you can personalize your experience by choosing from several camps in the U.S. or overseas. Additionally, many of the internships provide stipends making the program quite cost effective. In partnership with BBC, Pilgrimage Educational Resources (PER) will facilitate your internship. PER’s course offerings provide you with a study of the practical side of running a camp and a critical foundation in personal ministry development. You’ll study things like program planning, risk management, ropes course skills, paddling, climbing, and outdoor skills, but you’ll also study how to integrate the Word of God in all of those areas. You may also earn credit through PER’s Wilderness Institute for Leadership Development (WILD). In this course, the classroom becomes an incredible experience in areas like Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario or the Appalachian Trail in the U.S. In these beautiful environments, you will further develop the ministry leadership and outdoor skills necessary for success in camp ministry.

Core Courses in the Camping Ministries Program

BBC gives you a strong foundation to understand and apply biblical truth through 42 hours of Bible and theology courses. A required set of General Studies courses supplement that foundation by enabling you to consider the world in which you will minister. You will then build upon this foundation as you complete over 40 hours of credit, studying the specific disciplines of your field and how you can best apply your unique strengths, gifts, and abilities. The core courses of this program include the following:

• Foundations of Camping Outdoor Education
• Introduction to Impact Ministry Leadership
• Counseling in Active Learning Environments
• Foundations of Experience Based Learning
• Planning for Integrative Learning
• Recreation Program: Vision, Access, Design
• Recreation Program: Implementation and Evaluation
• Risk Management in Recreational Organizations
• Governance and Administration of a Non-Profit Organization
• Management of Support Systems
  

What Happens After Graduation?

Upon completion of the program, graduates will have completed the coursework equivalent to a double major in Bible and Camping Ministries and will be awarded a Bachelor of Science in Bible.

Our graduates are in high demand due to their high level of classroom instruction and hands-on experience. More camps are expanding to work with larger year-round staff, so the need for well-qualified camp ministry leaders is growing.

International camp ministries are expanding, so the need for camp ministry leaders to serve in a missions capacity is also growing.

In addition, graduates are qualified to pursue certification in therapeutic recreation.

Numerous programs exist around the country for graduate school work in the camping and recreation disciplines. The internship program means that BBC graduates often enter post-graduate programs with a higher level of experience than their peers, giving them an academic advantage.

	Real People “One of the things that has prepared me the most for ministry is the way my classes have emphasized my spiritual walk and personal growth in the Word of God. The faculty constantly encouraged me to finish strong, continue in the work, and be faithful—not to a ministry but to the Ministry. What I’ve enjoyed most is that the curriculum requires a hands-on, experience-based program. You can sit in a class room every day of your life, but until you put it into practice, it is useless." –Robby Fischer, BBC student
	“Before coming to BBC, I was a Program Director at a camp and retreat center in southern Ohio for almost three years. During that time, God was revealing to me that I needed to receive some formal Bible training. The great thing about the camp ministries program is that it combines necessary classroom time with invaluable hands-on experience. From top to bottom, BBC is dedicated to graduating students that are capable and confident to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, it goes without saying that you will receive a Christ-centered education and will certainly be equipped and prepared for full-time ministry.” –Brian Solomon, BBC graduate, Admissions representative, Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, PA

For more information about the Camping Ministries program, contact Professor Dennis Wilhite.