General

Parents have much to consider in choosing a camp for their child. What's there to do? What skills will they learn? What will make them "want to go?"

Click here to learn more about Summer Camps

The greatest “difference-maker” in a child’s camp experience is the care and competency of the staff. Warm Beach Camp hires the best college-aged summer staff following a rigorous application and interview process. Hiring decisions are prayerfully made after review of an extensive application, four independent references, and a national background check. We are looking for young adults with a passion for the Lord and for sharing God’s love with kids. 

Camp counselors arrive over a week before camp for intensive training. They are trained in basic child development, conflict management, communication skills, group facilitation, safety management, First Aid, and more. Specific care is given to equipping staff members to successfully handle the wide range of behaviors campers exhibit during a week of camp. Staff also learn to effectively share their faith story and how to share God’s Word with campers in both a small group format and as teachable moments throughout the day.

Horsemanship staff invest an additional week in a certification clinic through the Certified Horsemanship Association, a national leader in horsemanship staff training. Recreation staff undergo extensive training in the standards of the Association for Challenge Course Technologies, a leader in course safety and design. The Camp Nurse position is filled with someone trained as a nurse. Medical doctor’s standing orders create the foundation for the nurse’s practice while at Camp.

Camper safety is of paramount concern. Our goal is that each camper experience care and growth spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Behind all of the “fun & games” of summer camp, a sacred trust is given from parents to the Camp. Trust is a gift we steward with the utmost care. 

Register this month for summer W-Bar-B Ranch, Horsemanship, or Vaulting Camps and receive $75 off when you mention this email. Offer expires March 31, 2012.

Register online at www.warmbeach.com and enter promo code 0475. The discount will be applied when we manually process your credit card purchase. Call with any questions at 1-800-228-6724.

“How can we challenge each other this week?”

It was the first hour of camp and a group of girls sat in a circle listening to their counselor, “Oreo.” After some silence, one girl spoke up. “We can love each other.” Another chimed in, “Yeah, like Jesus loves us!” Seeing a teachable moment, Oreo asked, “What do you mean by that? How is Jesus’ love different?” The girls sat in thought. One of the girls said, “It’s unconditional.”

Later that week, Oreo found one of her girls sitting alone. As she sat down with her, the girl said, “I couldn’t have come to camp this week if God hadn’t made it possible for me. I know now that I’m supposed to be here. I’ve learned so much about Jesus and the way we’re supposed to share His love. Being here has deepened my relationship with Christ.”

Tony sat with his cabin, listening intently. His counselor paced back and forth on the amphitheater stage, preaching salvation. “Becoming a Christian isn’t about saying magic words or getting your act together for Jesus,” he announced. “It’s about asking Him to save you from your sins.”

Something dawned on Tony. Was that really all there was to it? He had tried being good before, but according to his counselor, saintly living wouldn’t save anyone. His counselor spoke again. “Jesus accepts you as you are. If you want to start following him tonight, now is the time.”

Tony’s heart started pounding as it all came together. In the middle of his peers, he shouted out, “Lord save me!”

For a second, the words hung still in the night air. Then he heard the whole amphitheater begin to clap. His counselor smiled from the stage. “Tony, welcome to the family of God!”

Secret plans were being laid in Cabin 1. Counselor “Chip” briefed his boys on the scheme. “Okay boys, remember to be perfectly quiet. And don’t spill anything!” The boys turned out their lights and snuck into the night with bowls full of water.

They stopped at next door at Cabin 2. Chip mouthed “One, two… three!” and everyone rushed inside to surprised shouts and giggles. Chip gathered his boys in the center of the room. “Cabin 2, we’re here to do a foot washing. Jesus showed his friends that love serves others, even if that means washing smelly, sweaty feet!” The boys in Cabin 2 sat in stunned silence. Instead of a prank, they were getting… a footbath?

Cabin 1 got down on hands and knees while Cabin 2 slipped off socks and shoes. As the boys stepped into soapy water, the odor of stinking feet faded into something sacred.

Susan Chin was screaming twenty-five feet off the ground. Below, the ropes course supervisor reminded her, “Sue, don’t worry! You’re safety line will hold you.”

Susan looked at the cable and ropes stretched out into the air in front of her. She stepped out, her weight dancing on the tight cable. Susan wobbled precariously, put out her other foot and slipped off the line! “Oh!” she gasped. She hadn’t moved! Her feet dangled in the air, but her harness held her in place.

Later that afternoon, Susan’s cabin sat in Bible Study. Her counselor asked, “What does it mean to have faith in Christ?” The cabin was quiet until Susan piped up.

“I guess it’s like the ropes course I was afraid of this morning. Jesus holds me safely through my falls, I just have to trust that He can take all of me and not let go.”

Front and center stands a boy with a sign reading, “Bored and Restless.” He pans it slowly across the chapel before flipping it around to reveal a message: “Eagerly pursuing God.” The room erupts into a chorus of applause.

Throughout the chapel, other campers write down their stories. A few stare at blank sheets, silently asking heart questions. Others jump forward quickly, excited to show God’s change in their lives. A hefty teenager steps up. His sign reads, “Insecure about appearance.”  On the other side he declares, “Filled with joy for who God made me.” A young girl walks to the front to present her transformation: “No purpose… He has a plan just for me!”

It’s the last summer night of Junior High camp. The room is filled with the presence of Grace that speaks for itself, no words needed. In this place, young people are being made new.

Warm Beach Camp would like to offer your business or organization the opportunity to give out General Admission gift certificates to The Lights of Christmas to your employees, clients, customers, or vendors. An evening at The Lights is a unique and thoughtful gift, and would give you a chance to say "thank you" to those with whom you work and serve.

With this program, you may request as many gift certificates as you need and pay nothing in advance. You only pay for the gift certificates that are actually redeemed at the event.

• Say "Thank You and Merry Christmas" to customers, employees and vendors
• Use as a promotional incentive
• Create goodwill and build community
• Pay nothing in advance, and pay later only for the certificates redeemed
• Your company will be billed $15 for each redeemed gift certificate after the event closes for the season.

General Admission dates for 2011: Dec. 1-4, 8-11, 15-23, 26-28. For more information or to request gift certificates through the Business Partner Program, call the Camp at 1-800-228-6724, or go to the Business Partner Program page on our website.

The Lights of Christmas is really a year-round event! Oh, most of it goes on unseen, but it is all important to the success of the part that everyone does see during December. Planning happens early in the year, and all year long, strings of lights are being tested and repaired. The light hanging crews start putting up the lights the first week of September, and won’t finish working until the lights are all down, around the end of January.

But, there are two events that are absolutely critical to making The Lights happen — Thanksgiving Working Weekend just before the event opens, and Take Down the three days after it closes.

These events are orchestrated by Velda Millard and Kayla Cost, The Lights of Christmas Program Coordinators. They make sure the volunteers are assigned where their help is needed, and that the supplies, equipment, and instructions are all ready before everyone arrives.

Thanksgiving Working Weekend, November 24-27, is when all the finishing touches are put on the event. With plenty of help, everything gets done and other than some cleaning up, the event is ready to open. Without enough help, the last few days before we open can be a mad scramble!

Take Down is December 29-31. By the end of Take Down, the goal is to have all the major decorations and equipment down and stored away. If we don’t have enough volunteers it can take several months to get everything put away. A good Take Down crew is essential to starting off the next year’s event successfully.

The Thanksgiving Working Weekend and Take-Down volunteers are some of the unseen heroes of The Lights of Christmas! Would you like to join us? While it may not sound like a glamorous job, you get to meet new people and we do have a lot of fun. You can sign up on our website, or call the Registration Department at 1-800-228-6724.

Are you finding it a little difficult to get into the Christmas spirit this year? May I be so bold as to suggest that you need a night at The Lights of Christmas attending the Baylight Theatre? Dazzling lights, a relaxing palate-pleasing six-course dinner or gourmet desserts, and a story that will truly lift your spirits … this may just end up being the highlight that lights up your holiday!

This year’s play, Winds in the Morning by playwright, Richard Carter, is set in the 1890s and tells a tale of fathers, sons, and the call of the sea. Tom yearns to follow in the footsteps of his beloved grandfather and late older brother. But between the sea and Tom stand his embittered father, who has turned his back on the sea and his family following a terrible tragedy. Will Tom be able to answer the call of the sea? Will Tom’s mother and his best friend, Peggy, be able to bring the family together to celebrate the holidays?

The productions delivers a compelling family drama interwoven with traditional folk and holiday music.

Baylight Dinner Theatre is open December 1-3, 8-10, 15-17, 22 and 23, and features an elegant, six-course dinner with choice of Prime Rib, Salmon, or a vegetarian Three-Cheese Ravioli with cream sauce and Portobello mushroom fan, along with the live theatre performance. Prices start at $39 per person. Overnight guests may add Dinner Theatre for $36 per person.
 
Sunday Dessert Matinee is featured on Sunday afternoons, December 4, 11, and 18. Enjoy a variety of delicious, gourmet desserts while being entertained by the live theatre performance. Cost starts at $24 per person which includes General Admission following the play.
 
For more information, please call the Camp at 1-800-228-6724, or go to our website at WarmBeachLights.com. Space is limited and some nights sell out early, so for best selection of dates, make your reservations soon!