The most critical thing we do, and the thing we spend the most time on throughout the year, is hiring our summer staff. Being a counselor and working with children is a massive responsibility. In hiring staff, we look for college-aged guys who love Jesus and love kids. Our staff are more than chaperones; they are role models to your son and their job is to introduce him to Jesus and show him what it looks like to follow him daily. Our staff are not perfect, nor do they have the answers to all of life's questions, but they meet boys where they are and show up in their lives.
It's also their job to ensure your son's safety while at camp. This begins with physical safety, and all of our counselors are trained in first aid and CPR and have a certification in either lifeguarding or wilderness first aid. Additionally, our staff are all trained in sexual abuse prevention. But safety goes beyond physical safety and also deals with things like bullying and creating an environment where campers feel safe to try new things, make new friends, and ask questions about life.
We value diversity in our staff. They come from different parts of the country, have different experiences and each has his or her unique story. Many of our staff are former campers. Some are coming to Ridgecrest for the first time. Some are college athletes and others have grown up on the mission field. What they all have in common though, is a desire to point kids toward the message and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In our experience, hiring quality summer staff is more important than anything else we do. Rather than putting more time into a better program, we invest heavily into our staff because their relationships with campers make the difference. When campers grow up and look back at their days at Ridgecrest, they won't remember all the games or activities or songs they learned. They will remember their counselor: the guy who sat with them after campfire and talked about life.
Learn more about how we screen our staff.
If you are interested in staffing opportunities, check out the Work Here page.
