Each summer, thousands of God's servants gather at Christian camps across the country to take up the challenge of becoming counselors to tens of thousands of young campers. Now they have some new help in preparing for their demanding and important role. The Christian Camp Counselor , released in December 1998 by Qwanoes Publishing, is written specifically for the spiritual environment found in a Christian summer camp. This book fills a ten-year gap in new and comprehensive resources available to train camp counselors. The Christian Camp Counselor has a fresh approach and a spiritual focus, challenging camp staff to become counselors after Gods own heart. It is full of practical ideas for applying biblical principles to the specific context of the Christian camp. You will appreciate the authors focus on Jesus Christ as the prime model of what a camp counselor should be, and the comprehensive and readable style of his writing. Everyone in the field of Christian camping will be delighted with this comprehensive resource. It is well-written, insightful, practical and covers the issues all of us face in camping today. I would highly recommend that every Christian camp require this for anyone seeking to become a camp counselor. -- H. Norman Wright, Marriage & Family Counselor, Author: Help! I'm a Camp Counselor Give them a summer that lasts forever! Become a counselor after God's own heart... and prepare for a summer - or a career - of life-changing ministry. This comprehensive guide will encourage, challenge and equip you to counsel and lead children and youth at a Christian camp. Learn the secrets of successful discipline. Explore Jesus' example of servant leadership. Gain "tricks of the trade" from veteran counselors. Discover strategies for disciple-making. Prepare to share your faith with campers. Turn camper problems into opportunities. Develop dynamic Bible discussions. Acquire skills for building relationships. Create a spiritual environment. Know what will be expected of you. Plus: a practical Resource Section with great ideas that will make a difference and create life-long memories! Jim Badke, M.Div., is the counselor trainer at Camp Qwanoes on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. He writes from 10 years experience as a youth pastor and 11 years in Christian camp ministry. I remember arriving at camp with big expectations and all the enthusiasm of being ten years old. At the registration table they told me that I would be with all my friends, and that my counselor's name was Bob. Bob who? I didn't know any Bob - he wasn't here last summer. I was not impressed. I dragged my bag over to the cabin, determined not to like this new guy. My determination was short lived. Bob was cool. I guess he was in his late teens or early twenties, short, strong, full of energy. I very soon came to realize that this was not just another guy who was there to make sure we went to sleep on time, and who would get mad at us if we didn't. Bob genuinely cared about us. He did stuff with us that no other cabin did - like the night we went on a secret mission and had chips, pop and devotions out on the dock. He made every one of us feel worth his while and important. When we talked he paid attention and listened, and he looked right at us. If we were sitting around telling dumb jokes, he laughed with us until we were all rolling off our bunks. When he talked about Jesus, it was as if he was talking about a real guy he knew personally and who mattered to him in everyday life. I decided that when I got old enough I wanted to be just like Bob. Probably one of the reasons you want to be a camp counselor is that you want to be like someone in your past - maybe a counselor, or some other Christian worker whose example made you sit up and take notice. That's a good reason. But there is another counselor - The Counselor - whose example is the one your favorite counselor or Sunday school teacher or youth worker followed. If you want to become like the Counselor Bob of your past, you will need to become like this other Counselor. They called him Jesus. The term "counselor" is used most often in our society to describe a professional - often a doctor - to whom people come with their emotional and psychological needs for professional help. This is not what is meant by a "camp counselor" in this book, nor should a camp counselor think that this will be their role at camp. Traditionally, the leaders of a small group of children or teens at a camp have been called "counselors." Some camps have moved away from that term because they don't want anyone to assume that the students who lead their cabin groups are professionals; however, "counselor" is still a good word to describe the position of the small group camp leader. The word "counselor" is found several times in the Bible. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be called, "The Wonderful Counselor." Jesus described the Holy Spirit as "another Counselor" like himself wh