Guiding Principles for Staff 2017 Introduction to The Water of Life Dear Staff: The following materials been developed for your work in outdoor ministries, especially to prepare for GROW Time for this summer. Use this as a reference book and during training, treat it like one of your campers this summer. Please keep it with you at all times and know where it is! This can be an object lesson during training to remember CAMPERS FIRST!!!! As we orient you to available materials and resources, pay attention. Watch what we do, where we go, and listen to what is being said. It’s important, even if you’ve been part of Mount Luther a thousand times, to keep watch. We’re always improving our program and we’ve changed things for this summer once again. You never know when something is a bit different as each summer here is unique! To help with faith growth each summer, we use a themed curriculum. You should possess a basic understanding of the Biblical texts and the materials presented here so that you can adequately teach our campers. The materials in this packet are condensed and taken from various resources, including The Water of Life Outdoor Ministries Curriculum, © 2016 Lutheran Outdoor Ministries. By looking over this material, you undoubtedly will have questions. Please ask! Once you have a general understanding of our Bible passages, you can think of other activities, devotions, songs, and games which may relate to each day’s theme. We will review this material during our staff training, discussing how to apply it to your work this summer. Campers and counselors alike typically spend a great deal of time close to a body of water at camp, whether it’s a bubbling stream or a lake with gentle waves lapping the shore. While campers’ eyes, ears, and swimming bodies are being refreshed by outdoor water experiences, with The Water of Life material they also will be bathed in the waters of learning about God’s blessings of water and life. H2O is literally the physical life source of our bodies and our world, making up about 60 percent of adult human beings and 70 percent of the planet Earth. As campers will discover throughout the week, water is also the source of Christian spiritual life. The Bible is filled with stories involving water as a powerful means by which God sustains, heals, revives, and saves us. The key verse for the week says it all: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). God surrounds us and fills us with literal waters and spiritual waters that remind us how we are part of God’s life. Three outdoor Christian education basics—God’s creation, Christian community, and faith formation—come together in The Water of Life. Campers will dive into five Bible stories and daily themes that shower them with new awareness of how water and life are gifts from God. From the Deep—Goodness and Gift (Genesis 1:1—2:2): The Creation Story In the River—Birth and Belonging (Mark 1:4-11): Baptism of Jesus At the Well—Enough for Everyone (John 4:3-15, 27-29): Woman at the Well In the Pool—Seeing and Being the Light (John 9:1-11): Jesus and the Blind Man By Still Waters—Resting in God (Psalm 23): Psalm 23 2 The Water of Life curriculum will help us explore how God is with us through any rough waters that we may encounter in life. We know God is with us because Jesus is the life-giving water that we need. In Florida, underneath the ground, there are rocks that were deposited millions of years ago, as there are in other places in North America and around the world. These rock formations include caverns of water that supply drinking water to nearly all the people who live and visit the state. This aquifer provides a continual supply of water. If Floridians only relied on surface water, without the underlying aquifer at their disposal, they would experience severe droughts. God is an aquifer, too, providing a continual supply of love. We can rely on God who is our creator, redeemer, and sustainer. Our lives can feel like a severe drought if we do not rely on our “aquifer of love” to help us in our everyday existence. And we are conduits of God’s love, too. God’s love can flow through us to others. The theme of the water of life also dovetails with the Christian theology of baptism. This summer’s study offers campers and staff a chance to reflect on the sacrament that overflows with meaning about being cleansed, invited into a faith community, and led to do God’s mission in the world. As campers will discover, God is there in the forming of creation, in the baptismal waters of the Jordan, at the well of living water, in the healing Pool of Siloam, and beside still waters. At each location, physical and spiritual transformations occur for the people of God. Men, women, and children are healed; thirsts are quenched; sacraments are enacted; and cups overflow. Each act of extravagant grace leads changed people to invite others to join them at God’s waters of life, where we are all welcomed, blessed, and transformed. May it be so. 3 4 5 GROW Time Adapted from material by Betsy Debertin, Metigoshe Ministries, from her classroom students, ELCA Curriculums and the books The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and 4Mat Level 1 from About Learning. Introductory paragraph from How to Use Camping Experience in Religious Education by Stephen F. Venable and Donald M. Joy Camp Bible study is not an academic endeavor in an outdoor setting. It is an intentional and relational wrestling with the written account of humanity’s quest for God. Finding God is one of church camp’s overall goals. Scripture serves as a door through which we seek. Through the study of scripture, as well as through the natural setting of camp, people seek to experience God. Mount Luther is in the “business” of making disciples for Christ, by forming the faith of those who come to this place set apart by God. Therefore, we Gather and Reflect On the Word each day. Reading and responding to God’s Word is the backbone of all that we do at Mount Luther. Giving campers opportunities to verbalize their faith and to see how their faith plays into all they do in daily life is the most important venture of our outdoor ministry experience. CONCEPT: Each day will have a singular concept that you want the campers to learn about and walk away with knowledge of how it affects their lives. Reinforce the daily theme/concept all day long in all you do! LEARNING STYLES: To understand the flow of a typical day of GROW Time, you need to understand that there are a variety of gifts and abilities each of us are given (Read Corinthian 12: 4-11). Because of that, we each have a different way to learn and there are steps to the natural learning cycle. You should be creative and use your imagination when planning for these four different types, which honor and engage the gifts of our campers. The sequence of the activities is critical to how we naturally learn, too. Type 1 learners are primarily interested in personal meaning. Type 1 (NF) Activities They are imaginative learners. They are like MONICA, who likes Ropes course activity to talk with her friends about what is going on in her life. For Silly game designed to create type 1 learners, a teacher must create a reason to learn. They laughter or self-revelation must gain personal value from instruction. They enjoy small (get-to-know you game) group discussions that nurture conversation. They demonstrate “Have you ever?” or “Would concern for people. They are interested in people and culture. you rather?” or “If you could... They are idea people. what would you do?” Human continuum When picking activities, you want to link the camper’s life Campers tell their story (silly experiences to the concept. The learner must be motivated to or serious) want to learn. You are entrusted with the responsibility of Journaling—write a letter engaging campers in such a way that they stay tuned to find out Game Shows what the lesson is all about. To do this, they must have Word association meaningful answers to questions like, “Why do I need to know Affirmation anything’s this?” and “What does this have to do with my life?” The point of Word Cluster Quiz Initiative Activities (here’s the initial activity is to help campers discover the stake they have what I already know) in the lesson, understand why they should give you their time to Preview before the session (a learn something new, and recognize you value their participation. menu or an invitation) to hook participants. The human brain can only hold 5-9 pieces of insignificant information at a time. When people are asked to remember something that is perceived as useless, they will not! 6 Type 2 learners are primarily interested in the facts. They are Type 2 (SJ) Activities: like CRAIG, who wants to know the facts and details as he words Type two learner activities do NOT through Bible Study. They are analytic learners. For type 2 need to be BORING! learners, a teacher must teach, must impart information. Type 2 learners are the keepers of the truth.