If you are an adult and remember attending Falls Creek, the memories that most likely fill your mind are ones of friends, afternoon activities, Icees and the extraordinary movement of God in the services. As a matter of fact, there are probably times in the summer when certain scents and scenery take you back to those wonderful days at camp. If you are a youth pastor or group leader, you probably have more than memories of camp, you have experience with all the information and tools required to take a group for a week. Whether you are a group leader or a reminiscent, long ago camper, everything you need to prepare for Falls Creek or just remind you of that great place is just a click away on your computer.
With the first week of Falls Creek just a little more than a month away, preparations are in full swing for those churches that will be attending. It takes loads of resources to accommodate camp needs, not to mention what is required for churches in regard to promotion, teaching, release forms and parental information. The production of these resources can be expensive. Thankfully, our day and age have afforded us the ability to place almost all of these resources online. Printed pieces such as the Sponsor Book, 60 day prayer guide, release forms, church contact sheet, student book and promotional materials are also available for download at the Student Ministry website, skopos.org. Making these resources available online helps us to be better stewards of Cooperative Program dollars and still effectively communicate with and meet the needs of our churches. This year, we have added an online flipbook of the Sponsor book. It is a virtual copy of the book that reads just like the printed version. It is complete with a hyperlinked table of contents and index. This makes finding information extremely fast and easy. It is also equipped with a feature that makes downloading a copy of the entire book in .pdf form as easy as clicking on an icon. Churches can then print only the pages it desires to make available to students, parents or sponsors.
In addition to the downloadables at skopos.org, student pastors and churches can keep tabs on all the latest information regarding Falls Creek and Oklahoma Youth Ministry on our Facebook pages.
At facebook.com/fallscreekyouthcamps, youth ministers and leaders can discuss new ideas, ask questions and get vital info for camp prep. At facebook.com/skopos.org, youth leaders can get up-to- date information on all youth ministry events and strategies employed by the BGCO, and even helpful information about area events posted by local youth pastors.
Skopos also hosts a twitter account, twitter.com/okskopos. On this twitter account, we post new details about camp, YEC, OKYMA, etc. through tweets. This is great way to never miss an update on our events and other notifications.
If you are more visual and enjoy video, you can tune in to our YouTube channel, YouTube.com/skoposok. It offers a variety of videos that individuals or groups can view. Having these videos on YouTube also makes sharing the videos with students on social networking sites a breeze.
Finally, throughout the summer, we will stream our evening services live each night at skopos.org/fclive. Parents, friends and church members can watch online to see what students are participating in each night at Falls Creek. The evening services begin at 7:30 each night, Monday through Friday, each week that Falls Creek is in session.
Andy Harrison is Falls Creek program director and student ministry specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
