ACADEMICS » DEGREES & MAJORS » Camping Ministries

God is using camp ministries to change lives around the world. This rapidly emerging field of ministry creates numerous opportunities to reach people for Christ. As a camp leader, you’ll minister in an exciting hands-on environment that uses experience-based tools to impact people for eternity.

Our Camping Ministries program will equip you to serve as a leader with vision, passion, and a purposeful plan for effective camp ministries. As one of the largest camp ministries programs among evangelical colleges in the U.S., our program has consistently produced highly successful Christian leaders.

Download a printable Camping Ministries PDF here.

Core courses
We give 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 supplements that foundation and enables you to consider the world in which you will minister.

You will then build on this foundation with 40 credit hours studying the specific disciplines of your field and determining how you can best apply your unique strengths, gifts, and abilities. The core courses of this program include the following:

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

Making the program your own
During your junior or senior year, you will intern at a leading camp organization. This lets you learn in a hands-on laboratory setting, enabling you to master critical concepts and skills in an active learning environment with mentoring from camp ministry experts. It also personalizes your experience by allowing you to choose from several camps both in the U.S. and overseas. Many internships are paid.

In partnership with BBC, Pilgrimage Educational Resources will facilitate your internship. PER’s course offerings aid your study of the practical side of running a camp and provide you with a critical foundation in personal ministry development. You’ll learn to integrate the Word of God into areas such as program planning, risk management, ropes course skills, paddling, climbing, and outdoor skills..

You may also earn credit through PER’s Wilderness Institute for Leadership Development. This offers you an incredible wilderness 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.

Many options after graduation
You will earn a Bachelor of Science with a major in Camping Ministries. You will graduate having completed coursework equivalent to a double major in Bible and Camping Ministries . You may elect to receive a B.S. in Bible instead.

Our graduates are in high demand due to the excellence of their classroom instruction and their extensive hands-on experience. As more camps expand to work with larger year-round staff, the need for well-qualified camp ministry leaders is growing. International camp ministries are expanding as well, so the need for camp ministry leaders in a missions capacity is also rising.

As a graduate of our Camping Ministries program, you will also be qualified to pursue certification in therapeutic recreation.

What they say
“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

Learn more
For details about the Camping Ministries program, contact Dr. Dennis Wilhite.