Camp Dixie is a Christian camp in Fayetteville, NC and I had the chance to speak at their “Beginner’s Camp” this past week (1st-4th graders). I had a blast at this camp. They had a theme called “Secrets of the Realm” and decked out the camp in Medieval decor. So I ran with that theme and played the character of a storytelling jester from Saxony who was sharing the secrets of the Bible with the kids at the risk of beheading by the evil King Jathan. So I enlisted the help of some Thespian-inclined camp counselors. King Jathan was, of course, defeated by the end of the week by the good King Gregory (who served the Lord), who ran in at the last moment to save my head from being chopped off by Jathan when Jathan caught me red-handed with the Book from the High King of Heaven in my hand. Jathan and Gregory ensued in a struggle of swords, then “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” and finally, arm-wrestling. Gregory won the day, and the kids loved it. There were other parts of the plot, including fair maidens (who were kidnapped) and even a pie-in-the-face scene, but I won’t get into all that.
I normally do not have such elaborate themes with which to work (or rather, I have not taken full advantage of themes given to me in the past). I learned a great deal this past week – namely that kids love story. Yes, I juggle a lot. But even juggling can get boring if it is not couched in a story. When the juggling I do is part of a larger story, then I really enjoy the journey – and the kids give me a ton of feedback showing me that they are “with it.” Kids would ask me throughout the week if Gregory was going to make it – or if Jathan was going to show up that night. There was a level of anticipation to see how the plot would unfold – and anticipation is really what keeps the attention of human beings, especially kids. My prayer is that the ultimate story of Jesus, his death, and resurrection would envelop the kids while we do all of our silly skits, dramas, VBS’s, camps, etc. I would love to learn more about the great art of storytelling. Let me know if you have some good references on storytelling as an art form. Have a great day. – Jesse
2 responses to “I Love Camp Dixie”
There’s the seminal book, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell. It covers the basic underlying themes that almost all stories touch upon, and is widely regarded as one of the most important books about storytelling written in the last few centuries.
One of these days I’ll actually get around to reading it myself.
It was wonderful to see you joined the “I love Camp Dixie” crowd. Thank you for using your talents to serve and honor God. I look forward to next year and seeing the creativity unfold again. God always shows up at Camp Dixie and that keeps us all coming back. Lets talk about November. Camp has my number.
Singing Stacey Connor