FAQs Mission El Reno 2012 – Life is a Byway

What Kind of Projects?
Who Participates?
Where do we stay?
Where do we eat?
Will our group work together?
What do we do in the evening?
What do registration fees cover?
What steps are taken to ensure safety?
How do we register?

What Kind of Projects?
Projects will include serving with Mobile Meals, Salvation Army, Youth & Family Services, CARE Ministry, Senior Center, as well as many other service opportunities.

Who Participates
Mission Camp is for youth 8th-12th grade. Any youth who have completed 8th grade to seniors who will be graduating spring 2013 are eligible. All students come with a youth group or sponsors. We will require at least one sponsor per every five students attending. If you have both males and females, you will need at minimum one sponsor of each gender.
If there are youth from your church interested in attending camp and you are not able to provide adult sponsors please contact us and we will include them with an attending group.

Where do we stay?
We will be staying in apartment style dorms on the campus of Redlands Community College. We will have fully furnished apartments as well as a community center at Cougar Crossing. You will need to provide your own linens (towels and bedding).

What do we eat?

Will our group work together?
Mission teams will be combined groups. Your group will not work as a mission team but will be grouped with other youth based on mission site preference and experience. We will make every effort to pair at least two people from each group into the same mission team. We will also do our very best to accommodate your requests and preferences. We also ask that you remember our goal is service – it is our #1 priority to meet the needs of those we are serving – please explain to your groups that meeting needs is the focus and priority, while we will make every attempt to place participants where they want to serve we do ask that everyone be flexible in their mission group placement and trust that God will ultimately be in charge of placing everyone in the right place at the right time.

What will we do each evening?
Each night, Monday-Thursday, groups will gather at First Christian Church for worship. This is a time for the church to come together to celebrate what God is doing during their week of Mission Camp. There will also be time for reflection through interactive elements and a message which connects God’s Word with what students are experiencing on the worksite. The music and preaching will be done by qualified youth leaders who understand the hearts and minds of students and have experienced what mission work can do in the life of a student.

Immediately following worship is group time. During youth group time you have a chance to share, reflect on the day and apply the lessons learned in the lives of your students.

Besides all of this there will be special events and activities planned to allow even more time for our groups of young people to interact and bond with each other.

What do registration fees cover?
11 meals: Monday lunch-Friday breakfast
*Participants will be responsible for the cost of their meals Weds. evening.
4 nights lodging
Worship: theme development, band, speaker, devotions, interactive elements and production
Project: preparation, equipment, paint, building materials, including delivery.
Night activities
* You are responsible for enough transportation for the number of people you bring to camp to and from project worksites.
*Each group may also be asked to bring general supplies needed for your specific project including ice chests, water coolers and small hand tools.

What Steps are taken to Ensure Safety?
We take the statement “safety first” very serious. We count on the leaders at each worksite to care about this as much as we do but we have also taken the following steps:

Every adult attending camp must complete a national criminal background check.
Churches are required to provide adequate and qualified drivers
All details of the work site are inspected and evaluated prior to the week. All tools, ladders and materials are inspected for safety as well.
Groups are required to bring at least 1 adult for every 5-7 students if you have both males and females you will need at minimum one sponsor of each gender.
Local medical facilities are identified ahead of time with directions and phone number provided to participants.

How Do We Register?

Non-refundable deposit fee of $75 is due Feb. 1, 2012. This reserves your spot or spots for your group. May 1st $200 plus completed forms are due. Refunds will not be given after the May 1st date.

Send all payments to and completed forms to:
First Christian Church
400 South Barker
El Reno, OK 73036
Attn: Mission Camp 2012 – Tara Dew
(Attention Disciples churches – DO NOT SEND PAYMENTS TO THE REGIONAL OFFICE – ALL PAYMENTS AND FORMS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS)

*No organization or individual will receive profit from fees, grants or donations given to Mission Camp other than participants and service recipients. Every attempt will be made to use 100% of camp funding for these purpose. Any remaining funding will be donated to a community service organization.