Evolving Traditions: The Growth of LT Sunday Devotionals

One of the magical aspects of summer camp is the emphasis on traditions and culture, and Lake Valley Camp continues to grow one of their oldest practices. "When I think of LVC as a camper, I think of the traditions. I think of capture the flag, I think of the slip and slide, I think of the opening and closing campfire, and I think of the rock ceremony. Sunday Devotionals fall right into that as well,” said Mariah Johnson, a Lake Valley Camp alumni and current Teen and Community Manager. Sunday Devotionals are almost as old as our Leaders in Training program, and it takes place every Sunday morning and is fully led and programmed by current LTs. While the idea has evolved to look and feel different over the years, the goal of it has stayed the same: to give LTs an opportunity to practice leadership skills and give back to the Lake Valley Camp community.

In 2024, the structure of LT Sunday Devotionals changed. Previously, both Phase Two (P2) and Phase One (P1) interns would co-lead the Sunday programming. Phase Two LT interns are those who join Lake Valley Camp for a whole summer and usually have more dedicated or specific roles, while Phase One interns join for only a single session and provide more general support. To keep things novel for staff and challenging for LTs, the focus on leading was shifted to the P1 Interns. “[The change] was to give P1 LTs a little more responsibility and ownership over the programs,” explained Lucero Serna, Assistant Director of Camp Programs.

Both Lucero and Mariah saw this as a shift towards the original concept of LT Sunday Devotionals. It is meant to be a test of your creativity, teamwork, and leadership. "[Sunday Devotionals] really made us tap into our creative side. I feel like that is still 100% embodied in Sunday Devotionals now,” Mariah said while recalling her experiences being an LT. This year, our P1 LTs did an amazing job. The themes chosen for the summer were community, mindfulness, and love. With support from their P2 peers and Liz Sandmire, our Teen and Community Program Coordinator, the LTs were able to come up with a plethora of programs for the campers.

While Sunday Devotionals are meant for the LTs, it also serves as a break for camp staff, a learning opportunity for camp counselors, and a near-peer experience for the campers. "One thing I find really important about the LT led devotionals is that campers get to see LTs running the show... I think it's really big for them to see what could be their next step,” said Lucero. For Liz, who focuses on the LT’s experience, the impact is similar on our High Schoolers, "I think it speaks to the strength of the LT program... These are freshmen doing the same thing that adults are doing. They are learning how to put the steps together, they are learning how to do [programming], they are learning that they can be counselors."

This camp tradition continues to be a huge part of camp culture and produces amazing results. Not only does it continue to improve year to year, but our pipeline of campers to LTs to camp staff continues to grow. It’s indicative of the strength of PEAK’s programs and the number of opportunities we offer. More importantly, it’s a demonstration of our core belief, ‘The Community is Better When Everyone Contributes,’ in action.