As a parent, I wonder who my child is becoming when I’m not watching.

Who is shaping them? Will they be given space to struggle, to have courage, to belong?

Parents are always wondering what the next right thing is — the right snack, the right amount of screen time, the right activity, the right summer plan. We analyze, second-guess, and carry the weight of wanting to get it right—while forgetting that our kids only have so much capacity before everything becomes too much.

And now we are being told to choose the BEST summer camp for our kid’s….

Here is what I know:

A faith-based summer camp creates space for your child to walk through real-life experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Yes — sometimes summer staff won’t react perfectly or someone in their cabin will say something mean. But the truth is, adults don’t always react perfectly in everyday life either. Our world is deeply polarized, and children are learning early what it feels like to be excluded if they don’t believe, act, or look like those around them.

Camp can be different.

As a youth, summer camp taught me that I belong — not because of the opinions I held, not because of what I wore, not because of how many likes I had on Instagram — but because I am a child of God.

Camp taught me that I was created to mess up, to apologize, and to try again. I was created to walk in a messy world without giving up on my neighbor — and to love them anyway.

I learned that my parents wouldn’t always be there to solve my problems, and that the words I choose matter.

Camp gave me space to learn resilience, to practice community, and to have hard conversations. And for that, I will always be grateful to my parents for sending me to summer camp.

This year, I attended a conference with a keynote led by AskDoctorG, where Dr. Deborah Gilboa spoke about resilience. One idea has stayed with me: “children don’t become resilient by avoiding discomfort; they become resilient by learning how to move through it with support.”

As parents, our instinct is to protect — and that instinct comes from love. But resilience grows when kids face manageable challenges: sleeping somewhere new, navigating conflict with a cabinmate, trying an activity they’re not sure they’ll be good at — and discovering they can handle it. Camp creates exactly this kind of environment: safe, supportive, and intentionally challenging in small, healthy ways.

Camp isn’t about perfection. It’s about growth.

It’s a sacred, messy, joyful space where kids discover who they are, who God is calling them to be, and how deeply they are loved.

So when people ask me, “Why camp?” This is why: Because camp matters. And most importantly, camp creates space for your child to know — deeply and truly — that they are a beloved child of God.

Below: Various photos showing Katie’s time at Camp Metigoshe as both a camper and a summer staff member.