The Seven Elements of the Zone
#3 The Zone Challenge
The United Church of God from its inception has endeavored to provide camp opportunities to the teens of the Church. Our camp program is not, however, simply an activity to help fill in time off from school. Our camps are Church camps, designed to create a safe environment in which teens can be taught, challenged and supported in God’s way of life. We call this environment “the Zone.”
Without being part of the camp environment, it can be hard to appreciate or understand what the Zone is in practice. So what is the Zone like? The Zone is based on the laws of God in action—love toward God and love toward fellow man—which have been broken down into seven categories: fun; challenge; success; support; inclusiveness; structure; and positive relationships. At camp, teens are busy from the time they get up until the time they go to bed. But it is not made to be busy just for the sake of staying busy. One of the primary goals of the UYC program is to challenge campers. This could be in the form of a new activity, a new circumstance or interacting with people they just met when they checked in, in order to put into practice the spiritual principles being taught at camp.
What this means in practice is that while much of what we do at our camps is similar, each camp has unique environs or activities to challenge the campers. Not every camp has rock-climbing, or canoeing, or broomball to name a few. The camp directors work hard to create an environment where the camper feels comfortable enough to take on a new challenge. This environment is enhanced all the more by the dedicated volunteer staff who are there to serve the campers and to help them establish life-long relationships with God.
Let me give you an example. A couple of years ago I was helping at a camp that had kayaking. One of the skills the instructors seek to teach in kayaking is the underwater exit: getting out of the kayak while upside-down in water. One young lady was not only new to kayaking, she was a bit afraid of the water. After much coaxing and encouragement from staff and fellow campers, she tried the maneuver—and succeeded! Now that she knows she can succeed at something like this—something that truly scared her previously—what else can she tackle in her life?
The UYC program also challenges the campers to think about how to work as a team, how to solve a problem, or how God’s Word can be real in their life now. Campers are encouraged to work through a problem rather than just giving up. Right choices are taught and encouraged throughout the day in activities and personal interaction. We seek to challenge campers in a controlled environment where the risk is low so that they see what success looks like, and then they can practice this success in their life once they are home from camp.
Challenging campers is just one of the aspects of the Zone in the UYC program. The Zone creates an environment for the teens in God’s Church to gather with other teens of like mind to have fun, to be challenged, to have success and support, and to be included in a structure that promotes positive relationships. Then those same campers are encouraged to go home and practice what they learned at camp.
Our teens face enough negative challenges in the world around us. For at least one week a year, the UYC program seeks to challenge them in a positive way, so they too can know the value of living God’s way of life now.
Challenge…
• helps people discover their abilities
• creates a “can do” attitude
• teaches how to think and analyze
• teaches how to persevere
• helps teach how to make right choices
• develops closer relationships with others who share the challenge
• pushes to continue learning and trying
• makes rewards more valuable
To learn more about the elements of the Zone please click on the following links:
The Seven Elements of the Zone: #1 Positive Relationships
