Christian Camping Leaders Conference

Your Word Will Not Return Empty

January 29 – February 2, 2012
Moscow, Russia

• Conference Purpose • Program and Syllabus • Dates • Venue • Registration •

Who Is Our Conference For

Our Conference Program is designed for ministry leaders who need spiritual renewal, emotional recharging, physical relaxation and fresh food for inquisitive mind. Those needs occur in lives of Christian camp directors, program leaders, spiritual counselors, preachers, church pastors and youth leaders, don’t they?

Arrival and Departure Dates

Arrival Day: Sunday, January, 29, 2012. Participants registration starts at 15:00. All participants are requested to arrive to the Conference site before 17:00. Supper will be provided.

Departure Day: Thursday, February 2, 2012. After breakfast final classes are scheduled; following the classes is the Conference Closing and lunch, which will finish at 15:00. Plan your departure from Moscow after 20:00.

Conference Site

CCI/Russia Conference 2012 will be held at Green Island Christian Camp located in Istra district of Moscow area (camp website in Russian).

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Conference Program and Syllabus

• Daily Bible study
• 3 full teaching days
• 6 tracks, 18 class hours each
• Camp Videos Show
• Workshops and Round Table sessions
• New ideas from founders of CCI/Russia Adventure Challenge School
• Modern Parables of God's Kingdom for children and youth
• Camping resources, audio, video and printed materials
• Prayer pathway
• Games and Activities
• CCI/Russia CafГ© Club

Training Tracks

Track 1 – Camp Director

1. Cornerstones of Camp Director’s Ministry (12 hours) – Mikhail & Evgenia Pimenov (Moscow, Russia).
2. Tent Camping (6 hours) – Mikhail Pimenov (Moscow, Russia).

Track 2 – Program Director

3. Alpha and Omega of Program Director’s Success (12 hours) – Viktoria Bortko (Riga, Latvia), Marina Shapina (Moscow, Russia).
4. Looking into the children's world with the eyes of adults (6 hours) – Marina Shapina (Moscow, Russia).

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Track 3 – Sports in Camp

5. Sports in Camp (12 hours) – Viktor Medalin (Krasnodar, Russia).
6. Adventure Challenge in Camp (10,5 hours) – David Sperry and Rick Masters (USA). Rick Masters and Dave Sperry from HoneyRock together have over 40 years leading adventure challenge ministries. They will provide a hands on workshop that is designed for both new people to this form of experiential ministry and for those with a lot of experience. This program is designed to teach the principles of active, group oriented adventure ministry whether you have a wilderness tripping program, an on site ropes course or not. You can be an adventure educator with very little equipment. It is an approach to ministry and education that involves all of who a person is (mind, spirit, emotions) within a relational, team oriented context. The experienced folks will be taken deeper, given new information and will be able to wrestle with challenges they have faced in their ministries. New people to this form of ministry will learn the process from the HoneyRock staff as well as their comrades at home.

Track 4 – Spiritual Foundations of Camping Ministry

7. Transformational Ministry (12 hours) – Rob Ribbe (USA). This will be an interactive workshop in which participants will work in groups to build a biblical theology for holistic ministry based on "the image of God" and the greatest commandment "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself". Then participants will be given several program models that help us to provide redemptive, healing, life changing experiences through camp ministry. They will work in groups to apply these models to their camp settings. This portion of the workshop will be very applicable to staff training as well as the programs we provide for campers. Finally, we will teach participants how to effectively evaluate their programs: is your ministry having the impact you desire?

The hoped for outcomes of this seminar:

1. A deeper Biblical understanding of who we are as fallen people created in the image of God.
2. How people grow, develop and are transformed in all aspects of their being (mind, spirit, emotions, body, relationships).
3. Specific program models that can be used to develop staff training and camper programs in a variety of settings.
4. Tools on how to evaluate the effectiveness of your ministry.

8. Re-visioning your Ministry (6 hours) – Rob Ribbe (USA). This seminar is designed for those whose ministries are struggling either financially or programmatically or both. We will provide tools for helping to discover/learn why things are not working. After learning to diagnose/identify the problem we will teach participants a step by step process they can use in there setting to address the problems and revision the program/ministry or organization for a new fresh impact.

Track 5 – Experience Economy

9. Experience Economy (12 hours) – Tim Duffield (Ontario, Canada). Stories are powerful because they have the ability to touch human beings at the most personal level. They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit and the will. The individual's imagination is unlocked to dream what was previously unimaginable. This is very similar to how the camp setting works. How do we make each camper's experience a consistent story, from arrival through departure, involving stage and off stage, meals and private times, and multiple role models in first place?
   Building on the work of Pine and Gilmore, authors of “The Experience Economy”, we will look at the “Progression of Strategic Value” and it’s application to the relevance of our camps today.
10. Conflict Resolution (6 hours) – Tim Duffield (Ontario, Canada). Conflict is a part of life. The Bible reminds us that “We are born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward”, but also that “as far as it depends on us, we are to live at peace with everyone”. How can we deal with these competing truths? During our time together we will consider a process that is useful for effectively managing conflict. We will consider 8 useful strategies that reduce the impacts of stress, fears and "surprise" factors involved in dealing with conflict.

Track 6 – Life Rhythms

11. Run hard. Rest well. (12 hours) – Brenda Jank (Indiana, USA). We know how to run hard, but do we know how to rest well? Designed by God, there are rhythms of rest that are restorative and life-giving, yet completely neglected by believers today. Running on the fumes of an empty tank, most believers serve with a self-imposed limp. Personal Retreat, Sabbath Keeping and Stillness are rhythms of rest that reacquaint us to the peace and quiet our souls have tried to live without. Making a commitment to veer off the freeway long enough to explore the road less traveled, a pathway Jesus frequented, repositions us for power, purpose and the presence of God. Choosing to realign our lives to the motto "Run hard. Rest well." is a sacred act of defiance, devotion and deliverance.
12. Launching Personal Retreat Ministries (6 hours) – Brenda Jank (Indiana, USA). Camp and retreat centers are uniquely positioned to extend an invitation to believers that few other ministries can offer. “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31) This workshop will prepare camp leaders to creatively introduce children, teens and adults to the power and purpose of personal retreat, of quiet in the midst of God's creation. God whispers. Vibrant growth follows those who learn to rest and listen.

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Workshops

• Developing Role Plays for Camp – Irina Durnova (Moscow, Russia).
• Reflections of Jesus' Parables in Books for Children and Youth – Anna Godiner (Moscow, Russia).
• Reading before going to bed – Anna Godiner (Moscow, Russia).
• Bringing up a Modern Knight – Dan DeGroat (Texas, USA). What does it mean to be man and when does a boy achieve it? We will look at the four pillars of authentic manhood, and discover how to guide boys on this crucial journey. Sisters are welcome to attend.
• Sound Orchestras – Roman & Serafima Kanatova (Lipetsk, Russia).
• Bible Games – Viktoria Bortko (Riga, Latvia).
• Ideas for Cabin Group Time – Viktoria Bortko (Riga, Latvia).
• Food Service as a Part of Camp Program – Viktoria Bortko (Riga, Latvia).

Round Tables

• Your Life in the Word in the Midst of Busy Camping Season – Dan DeGroat (Texas, USA). Come help us talk about how to stay spiritually sharp and not "grow weary in doing good." We'll discover some clues from the life of Joseph.
• Who We Are In Christ – Dan DeGroat (Texas, USA). Scripture says that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Exatly what does that mean? Come help us discuss: "The Great Exchange," "The Great Address Change," and "The Great Power Change" that God has provided for us His children. We will talk about the exchange of our sin for Christ's righteousness (2 Cor: 15:21). Then the Address Change is that we as Believers are "seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" right now (Eph. 2: 6). And third, the power change (Acts 1:8). Believers have a new source of power over sin's ability to dominate our lives; that power is the Holy Spirit. We will talk about "walking in the Spirit" and the practical application (Gal. 5:16).
• Congregational Camps – Alexander Kharitonov (St.Petersburg, Russia), Oksana Shindler (Tumen, Russia).
• Regional CCI/Russia Training – Alexander Kharitonov, Tatiana Bursianina (St.Petersburg, Russia).

Conference Participation Price

Please contact us here for more information.

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Preliminary registration

Please contact us here for more information or visit Russian CCLC website here.

What to Bring

• Notebook;
• Pen;
• Bible;
• Participant and Membership application forms originals;
• Funds to purchase resources for your camp;
• Warm clothes;
• Medications you usually take.

If you have any questions, please, e-mail us to engoffice@ccirussia.org.