Mark your calendar (whether that’s online or on paper), these dates are VERY IMPORTANT to remember for this summer!

Arrival Dates (for out of town staff)
Saturday, May 23 – Sunday, May 24

Orientation
Sunday, May 24 at 5 PM at Solaris
2349 State Hwy Spur 34b, Firth, NE
Please bring what you need for a two night stay at Solaris!

Training Week
Monday, May 25 – Saturday, May 30
You’ll need closed toed shoes, comfy clothes, a water bottle, a backpack, notebook, pen & Bible each day for training!

Tentative Staff Training Schedule
Sunday | 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (staying overnight at Solaris)
Monday | 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (staying overnight at Solaris)
Tuesday | 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday | 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Thursday | 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Friday | 7 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday | 9 a.m. – Noon

Saturday
Morning: Pre-Session Meeting & Team Preparation
Morning: Previous session wraps up with our Session Debrief & Celebration
Evening: Staff Social 🎉

 Sunday
Overnight campers arrive (depending on your program)
Prepare for an incredible week!

Monday–Friday
Camp is in full swing!
Day Camp: Monday–Friday (with Saturday morning wrap-up)
Overnight Camp: Depending on the program, campers attend either:
Sunday–Friday, or Monday–Thursday

Saturday Morning
Session Debrief
Celebrate what God did during the week
Reset and prepare for the next session

Each session runs Saturday through Saturday, with a consistent rhythm each week.

Session 1 –
Session 2 –

End of Summer

Saturday, August 9
🎉 End of Summer Staff Celebration (You won’t want to miss it!)

Sunday, August 10
🏠 Departure Day

• Please read your staff handbook before you arrive to staff training.
• A hard copy will be sent to you before summer. Be sure to bring this one with you
• CLICK HERE TO READ STAFF HANDBOOK! 

Build a Support Team. Invite Others Into Your Mission.

Serving at Camp Sonshine is more than a summer job. It is an opportunity to invest in kids, share the love of Jesus, and grow as a leader. We believe ministry is not something we are meant to do alone!

Throughout Scripture, people who served in ministry were often supported by a team of people who encouraged them, prayed for them, and helped provide for the work God called them to do. Your support team is a group of people who are saying, “We believe in what God is doing through you, and we want to be a part of it!”

By building a support team of 15 people, you can receive your Summer Support Team Bonus(CORE + KEY Staff Only). 

Your support team members will:

• Pray for you throughout the summer

• Receive updates and stories about what God is doing at camp (from camp and from you!)

• Have the opportunity to financially support Camp Sonshine and help make this bonus possible!

Step 1: Think of 15 people who would want to support you.
This could include family members, friends, mentors, pastors, teachers, coaches, small group leaders, or people from your church.

Ask them:

“Would you consider being part of my support team this summer? I’d love to send you updates about what God is doing at Camp Sonshine and invite you to pray for me as I serve.”

Step 2: Gather their names and email addresses.
Keep your list in one place until you have all 15 support team members.

Step 3: Submit your support team list.
Once your list is complete, submit all 15 names and email addresses using the link below.

Step 4: Send your support letter or email.
Send a letter or email to your support team sharing:

• Why you chose to serve at Camp Sonshine
• How you hope God uses you this summer
• How they can pray for you
• How they can give financially if they feel led

Your letter must include the link to Camp Sonshine’s giving page so supporters have the opportunity to give toward the Summer Support Team Bonus.

NOTE: Please CC  Adrianna@CampSonshineMemories.org in your email! If doing old-fashioned letters, please send one to Camp Sonshine c/o Adrianna Tarin 13440 S 25th Street, Roca, NE 68430.

• RECONNECT: You can use your previous support team members! Please reconnect with them and share an updated message about why you are serving again and what God is teaching you.
• We also encourage you to continue growing your team by inviting new people into your journey! This will most likely be your supporters through your whole life!
• SUBMIT: You will still need to submit your support team list and your updated “WHY” for this summer.

Click here to submit your support team!

Sample Support Letter Template

1. In what ways do you want to live out the love of God this summer?
2. Is there one of Camp Sonshine’s core values that you are excited to live out this summer?
3. Is there one of Camp Sonshine’s core values that might be more challenging for you? How can your team support you in this?
4. What are some fears you might have coming into a summer at camp? There is power in naming those fears! Pray for God to meet you in those fears. 
5. What were some of the milestones of you coming to trust and believe in the gospel? How can you share your journey of faith with your campers?

Don’t forget to PRAY! There is power in prayer so here’s a list of things you can pray over before you come to Camp Sonshine!

1. Pray that your heart and mind would be opened to new experiences and challenges.
2. Pray for the team you will be a part of – that everyone would come together and be unified!
3. Pray that the Lord would use you to build his Kingdom!

We’d love to spend some time before summer with you meditating on Camp Sonshine’s core values and what scripture has to say about some of the ideas presented below. We’d love to hear from you as you read and ponder these things!

Buying into and living out the core values of Camp Sonshine is not something that we hope our staff members will just accidently fall into. While certain values may manifest themselves more naturally in different people at different times, we recognize that adhering to these values and allowing them to formulate a grid by which to filter all actions and decisions is a choice that each person has to make on a daily basis. Therefore, at Camp Sonshine, we choose to: Belong, Become, Believe, & Go Beyond!

We strive to create and maintain a community where the love of God is experienced by all.

Although our programs are designed for the children and teens who attend camp, our desire is to minister to the entire family as well as to the various individuals who comprise the greater camp community. Each person has value because they are created and loved by God and as such will always find a place where they are accepted and belong. Everything we do is designed to create or maintain a community where the love of God is experienced by all.

• Romans 15:5-7 – May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
• Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
• Romans 12:4-5 – For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another

We work to see each camper and staff member grow more into who God created them to be.

We want to see each camper and staff member become more of who God created them to be and to promote positive growth in all arenas of life: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual. In order for those who are connected with camp to leave more in line with God’s plan for their life than when they arrived, it is imperative for all to live with a heart of teachability and openness to the lessons and challenges presented to us.

• Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
• Proverbs 27:17 – Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
• Colossians 1:9-10 – And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
• Galatians – 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
• Other passages: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 , Psalm 1:1-3, Philippians 1:6 

We infuse a positive and uplifting perspective into every relationship, circumstance and situation we experience. 

God is always up to something good regardless of the circumstances we face. We believe the best about others and what God is up to all around us. This belief provides the foundation for the positivity that permeates our community through our attitudes and actions.

• John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
• Romans 15:13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
• Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
• Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”

We initiate exceptional customer service and will not settle for the minimum standard or effort.

We seek to offer unbelievably amazing customer service. We believe that through exceeding expectations our ministry to staff and families will be enhanced. We do not settle for the minimum standard but with hearts of selflessness and servant leadership pursue the flourishing of our community and the benefits of its members regardless of the cost.

• 1 Peter 4:10 – Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
• Ephesians 6:7-8 – Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
• Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
• Ephesians 3:20 – 21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

COMING SOON!

• I-9 Identification  – Most people use their passport -OR- their drivers license and social security card.

☀️ Camp Sonshine Summer Packing List

✅ Bring on Training Day

Closed-toe shoes
Shorts & t-shirt (we’ll be outside)
Bible, journal & pen
Backpack
Water bottle
Watch (required—no phones during the camp day)
Great attitude & teachable spirit 

👕 Clothing

Comfortable shorts
T-shirts (that can get dirty)
Closed-toe shoes
Modest swimsuit
Pajamas
Sweatshirt/light jacket
Weekend clothes
Church clothes (casual)
Hat
Costumes/skit clothes (optional)

🧴 Personal Items

Toiletries
Prescription medications
Bath towel & washcloth
Beach towel
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Water bottle
Watch
Bible, journal & pen
Driver’s license & Social Security card (or copy)

Optional
Laptop, tablet, headphones
Camera

🎒 Camp Essentials

Backpack or hip pack
Flashlight
Sleeping bag
Bedding (Twin XL or Twin sheets if possible), blanket & pillow
Snacks (Please do NOT bring peanuts or peanut products.)
Extra spending money
Small games, tricks, or fidgets for campers (“Bag of Tricks”)

🏠 If You’re Living in Camp Housing or a Host Home

Bring:
Bedding & pillow
Towels
Toiletries
Laundry supplies (if desired)
Any personal items that will make your summer feel like home.
Walmart is just down the road if you want to buy it when you get here.

International staff: We usually have extra bedding available if needed.

🚫 Please Don’t Bring

Immodest clothing or swimsuits
Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, fireworks, or weapons
Pets
Anything extremely valuable that you’d be upset to lose or damage
A bad attitude 😉

When you have your travel planned, please email Hannah@CampSonshineMemories.org with your travel itinerary. We recommend arriving in Lincoln on Saturday (anytime – but afternoon/evening is best) or Sunday afternoon before staff training begins.

If you are living in camp-provided housing this summer, please take time to read out guidelines! You will receive site-specific guidelines during training week. CLICK HERE FOR HOUSING GUIDELINES!