Getting ready for Summer at Black Diamond
Summer feels like it is just around the corner, but fear not, curriculum is well underway! So, how does Black Diamond Camp come up with what to teach campers every summer? Well, it begins with a rhythm of going through the Bible in 7 years. Our hope is that as we serve campers through our programs, kids will experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. We divide the Bible into seven sections:
- Genesis
- Exodus – Joshua
- Judges – 2 Chronicles
- Books of Wisdom and the Prophets
- The Gospels and Acts
- Pauline Epistles
- General Epistles and Revelation
Each year we take a section and ask these questions:
- What stories do campers need to hear?
- What themes do the biblical authors consistently come back to?
- Lord, what are you leading us to share?
With these questions in hand, we hit the commentaries, Bible dictionaries, sermons, podcasts and more! In this study of knowledge and wisdom, we begin to plot out a week of camp. Stories of the Bible are overlaid with shared challenges and questions faced by today’s youth.
Next, we choose daily scriptures paired with Bible studies and a main point for each day. From there, these ideas are spread out over a three-week curriculum for Day Camp, overlaying object lessons for Morning Chaos (aka “Chapel”) and shorter, age-appropriate Bible studies. For Group Camp we craft evening chapel times for campers to experience the Bible in new ways like games, skits, Seder dinners, communion, or even a mock Tabernacle.
Curriculum development is by far one of our favorite things to do! We look forward to diving into the Bible and partnering with the Holy Spirit to help our campers experience God in a way that changes their lives forever.
Come join us this summer as we dive into Exodus through Joshua!
-Ryan Saenz, General Manager
Black Diamond Camp