Yes, that is an incredibly exciting headline to write! We are 4 weeks away from opening registration for the Best Week of the Summer. Here are updates you need to know:
Registration is going to open at 7:00 am EST on Sunday, March 1!
You’ve asked, and we’ve listened! With March 1 (our traditional registration start date) falling on a Sunday this year, we’ve bumped up the start time to 7:00 am Eastern. That way you can get your group in (and very likely fill up our Early Bird spots) over coffee before you head to church.
Combined Release Form
We are working with Woodland to combine their release form and our release form onto one page. All participants (kids and adults) will have to sign twice: once in the Camp Vineyard section and once in the Woodland Camp section. Then, for any participants under 18, their parent or legal guardian will need to sign the bottom section.
Group leaders, this will mean A LOT LESS PAPERWORK! One sheet per person, signed and dated in the right spots. That’s 400+ fewer pieces of paper. You’re excited about this, we’re excited about this, the Lorax is excited about this. Everybody wins.
Neat! Group Updates
The award-winning Amber is coming back for Mad Science, Heather is returning for Art Track (!!!!!), and Michael’s Pastor’s Kid Pro Tips group is open to the kids of anyone in any kind of church leadership (pastor, associate pastor, worship leader, etc.). As always, we’re looking for a Pinterest expert to lead Duct Tape and a scout master for Survival.
Woodland Camp Facility Updates
As of this writing, construction is underway on Woodland Camp’s new office. As you may recall, their old office was destroyed in a fire in 2019. They’re planning to have it completed by April, which is great news!
Even better news: THE NEW CABIN IS HAPPENING THIS YEAR! That’s right, the long-awaited Heritage-style cabin with 28 beds across 2 separated rooms is on the books. Woodland is optimistic that it will be completed in time for Camp Vineyard. Be praying! That would allow us to host everyone on site, and not have any groups off-site this year!
Junior Camper/Senior Camper Split
When I was at Sub-Zero last week, several youth pastors asked me about potentially moving the split point for Junior and Senior Campers. As it stands, Campers who just completed 8th grade would be Junior Campers. They reported that their youth groups were trending a lot younger, and that it might make sense to move that line down a year so that Campers who had just completed 8th grade would be Senior Campers.
I, being a nerd, decided to look at some numbers from the last 5 years. The basic gist is that the prime age for attending Camp Vineyard is 8th-9th grade, and that bumping those 8th graders up to Senior Campers would add a HUGE amount of Senior Campers. So much so that Senior Camper Neat! Groups would be overfull.
So, for 2020, the Junior Camper/Senior Camper split point is staying the same.
Now, overall the attendance is trending younger in the last 3 years. Still, there is an almost-perfect bell curve every year, with the peak being 8th and 9th grade. I’ll take a look after 2020 and see what the data says. Camp has become a unique event in many ways – not least of which is its dual role as the first event for kids coming into youth groups as rising 6th graders and also the last event for young adults who have just graduated high school. That’s a special thing, something I intend to preserve. It gives us challenges like the above, but it’s worth the work.
That’s it! Registration opens in March, go grab the Parent & Volunteer Pack and the announcement slide off of the homepage!