Cross Trails Ministry is a partner with congregations in youth faith development.
To help you send your youth to camp with the knowledge that their church supports them in this mission, we provide a “Ways to Involve Your Congregation & Sending Service” for churches to use just prior to their departure.
While it is not required beyond the Confirmation programs, we welcome pastors, youth and family ministers or adult volunteers at camp in order to help youth to connect their camp experience with their home church and community. These adults are housed in separate adult only housing, but they are able to participate with their youth in daily camp activities. As a licensed youth camp with the state of Texas, it is now required that not only staff, but all adults at camp during a camp week have a sex offender screening and criminal background check and complete state mandated child abuse prevention training. Cross Trails will help to facilitate this training and check. Adults are also required to follow camp rules and complete the Health History & Release Form. Please visit the Important Links & Forms page for this information.
If your church sends an adult, they may choose to have “Congregational Time” if they attend an on-site program. This is a time for all of the youth from a church to gather with their adult leader to talk about the day and about how they will use what they are learning when they get back home. Cross Trails provides group leaders with some activities and questions they can use to facilitate this time.
At the What Does This Mean?! Confirmation camp, congregational time is held for an hour each day from Monday to Thursday and for half an hour on Friday. More information on this time can be found here: Congregational Time Supplement for the WDTM?! Confirmation Camp
Upon returning home, Cross Trails encourages churches to invite youth to share what they have learned at camp with the broader church community.
