Here I am
About this blog
Brian Frick is the Associate for Camp and Conferences Ministries with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He has been involved in camp and conference ministry since high school. For the past ten years, Brian has served as program director of Johnsonburg Center in New Jersey, Westminster Woods in California, and Heartland Center in Missouri.
Camp and conference ministry compliments and partners with other ministry aspects of our church to foster faith development and reflection. As our communities and our church changes, our ministries need to grow and adapt with creative and emergent programming and leadership to meet new realities.
These blogs entries, though varied, are intended to spur thought and conversation around the opportunities and challenges before us.
Recent posts
- A Faith of Their Own
- Healthcare Reform Act
- Eco-Stewards Program 2012
- Hire Heros - Tax Incentive Bill
- Quality Alternative to Internships
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A Faith of Their Own
What we all know....but what do we do about it?
An excerpt from an article by Lovett H. Weems, Jr. appearing on the webpage for:
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Helping Youth Have a Faith of Their Own
The fact that youth participate in church less as they get older and often are not present in church as young adults can lead church leaders to assume they lack religious interest. A new book growing out of the National Study of Youth and Religion challenges that assumption. Sociologists Lisa Pearce and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that older teens and young adults see great significance in religion though not always in institutional forms of religious life.
In their book A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents(Oxford University Press, 2011), the authors follow up with 2,530 young people, age 16 to 21, surveyed about their faith and religious practices at two points in time. The authors identified five types of religious identity among these young persons.
Abiders (20 percent). These are the adolescents with the highest levels of religious interest and practice. They not only believe in God; they pray regularly, attend services, volunteer, and are most likely to say their religion is the only true faith.
Adapters (20 percent). This group shows high levels of personal religiosity. But compared to the Abiders, they are more accepting of other people’s faiths and attend religious services more sporadically. The Adapters are most likely of all the groups to help others in need.
Assenters (31 percent). These teens say they believe in God, but they are minimally engaged with their faith. Religion is tangential to other aspects of their lives.
Avoiders (24 percent). They believe in God but do not engage in any religious practice. Their God is a distant one, and they often do not name a religious affiliation.
Atheists (5 percent). They do not believe in God and do not attend services.
(Ok...now what to do with it...)
January 3, 2012
Healthcare Reform Act
Be sure to read this information from the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. There are several changes coming up that will impact your bottom line and help you provide or benefit from providing healthcare coverage.
December 21, 2011
Eco-Stewards Program 2012
Don't miss out! Sign up or encourage others to sign up today!
December 5, 2011
Hire Heros - Tax Incentive Bill
The VOW to Hire Heroes Act (included in H.R. 674) was signed into law on November 21, 2011.
November 21, 2011
Quality Alternative to Internships
I have discovered the perfect summer job. In this job, I am part of an organization that gives me duties that are critical to its long- and short-term success. Supervisors give me responsibilities such as interacting directly with customers on a daily basis, and they fully integrate me into the professional hierarchy. To top it all off, I am learning legitimate skills that will help me develop professionally when I move into the workforce. This mystery job I speak of: camp counselor. These are only a few of the many potential benefits of being a camp counselor, and I offer them not only to praise the occupation, but also to offer a propositional alternative to the profession’s biggest competitor: internships.
November 17, 2011
ROI
A return participant is worth its weight in gold. It is far harder to find replacements for your program than to keep people coming. What’s your “rewards program?” How are you doing “friends development” as well as “funds development?”
November 14, 2011
Do you know who you are?
Are you here for teaching/sharing peace and justice? Evangelism? Care of Creation? Mission practices? Youth leadership? Or??
If you don’t know they don’t know.
November 11, 2011
Job announcement! Anti-Hunger Empowerment Corps VISTA positions
Presbyterian Hunger Program (PCUSA) will host 3-4 full-time Anti-Hunger Empowerment Corps AmeriCorps*VISTA members for 12 months. They will be based in the national denominational offices in Louisville, Kentucky. Deadline for cover letter and applications is November 18. (See full post for details)
November 2, 2011
Featuring our Staff
Our kitchen staff is often seen as behind the scenes but when we really look at it, they are some of our frontline greeters and ambassadors for our program. When respected and given the support they need, they go along way in delivering the welcoming Christian hospitality we are known for in camp and conference ministries.
October 25, 2011
New Eco-Stewards Post
Eco-Steward Kathi Pogorelov studies public health and sociology, with a concentration in health and environment, at The College of New Jersey. She took a break from her coursework to reflect on her participation in the June 2011 Montana Eco-Stewards Program.