PASSPORTmissions Group Leader Information 

DAILY SCHEDULE

CAMP THEME: Come to the Water

THEME VERSE:

All of you who are thirsty, come to the water! Isaiah 55:1a (CEB)

DAILY THEMES:
Day 1—Float
Day 2—Drink
Day 3—Swim 

Youth Camp Parties

Night 1 – Mario Party
Have you ever wanted your Mario Kart or Mario Party games to come to life? Well, this summer, it has! Say hello to Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and more for PASSPORT’s 2024 Mario Party Rec Party. It’s such a party, we had to say it twice! Grab your closed-toe shoes and join your Bible Study group for Mario Kart and Mario Party-inspired games.

Night 2 – Tacky Tourist Beach Party
Hawaiian shirts, fanny packs, bucket hats! Hit your nearest thrift store and join us at PASSPORT’s 2024 Tacky Tourist Beach Party Dance. Catch a sound wave or two as we play beach oldies and all the hits! Don’t want to dance? That’s totally cool! Play beach-inspired yard games like bocce ball, corn hole, frisbee, and more. We hope to see you there! Costume Ideas may include Hawaiian shirts, sunblock on your nose, bucket hats, inflatables, oversized sunglasses, fanny packs, and more. NO bathing suits, please.

Night 3 – PASSPORT Variety Show
Join us and climb aboard for a night out on PASSPORT’s 2024 Variety Show Cruise Ship, where all the campers will share their many wonderful and amazing talents! Campers who wish to participate must perform their act in costume at the Variety Show Screenings on Day Two during Free Time. Group acts will be given top priority.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Youth Bible Study

Every day at PASSPORT, your campers will be sharing in Bible Study Groups. PASSPORT staff will balance groups with campers from other groups; this allows for fresh ideas and perspectives to flourish, as well as for campers to see the larger family of God.

• Please be sure EVERY camper comes to Bible Study with their own Bible, passport, and a writing utensil.
• If you have any special requests, you can let us know in our registration system or at check-in, and we will do our best to accommodate you.
• We welcome an adult from your group to shadow a student who may require extra support or attention.
• Groups will be age-divided into 6-8th grade groups and 9th-12th grade groups. In this way, camp allows for developmentally age-appropriate conversations. While the studies are the same for both groups, some questions will be changed to allow for each age group to engage with the material in a more targeted way.

Mission Offering

Students will learn about global migration by exploring the work of three different ministries in distinct areas of the world. This mission offering is collected on the final night of Worship. Please help your students plan ahead for this as you prepare to come to camp. We will collect the Mission Offering by church groups so that no student will be singled out.

Mission Projects

Mission Projects vary by location and week and may include painting, scraping, cleaning the homes and yards of senior citizens; projects with local service agencies like community food banks or Habitat for Humanity; or providing educational and recreational programs to disadvantaged children. The Bible Study Leader will oversee and direct each mission project. Group Leaders and chaperones will be assigned to a Bible Study Group for missions time and will provide oversight, discipline, and monitor safety in coordination with the Bible Study Leader.

Closed-toe shoes and shirts with sleeves (no tank tops) are required for Mission Sites. Be sure that students bring clothes and shoes that can get dirty on site. Many sites call for paint and cleaning materials that could soil or damage clothing and shoes.

All adults will sign up for a project and be expected to help supervise at their mission site. Adults will go to the same site with a Bible Study group each day so that relationships can be formed. This supervision may be as simple as helping pass out water to campers or as careful as making sure the campers are being safe with the paint, tools, ladders, etc. There will always be a PASSPORTmissions staffer directing the project, but she or he will be counting on the adults to be extra eyes, ears, and examples. Please help your adults know their role before camp. The focus for chaperones will always be maintaining safety and helping the Bible Study Leader manage the site, not on completing hands-on mission work.

PLEASE NOTE: Church vehicles are needed for transporting the youth from campus to their mission projects. If you are flying, taking the train, or chartering a bus, you must have transportation at camp. For those of you chartering a bus, those buses will take groups to mission projects. Be sure to set up those times with your charter service. In addition to transporting youth, you will be carrying supplies in your vehicles, possibly including ladders. You may wish to bring supplies to protect your seats in the case of students getting dirty on mission sites.

Free Time Options

The PASSPORT summer staff will offer Free Time Options each day that your campers may choose to participate in. One option will be active, while another will allow campers to participate in a quieter and less active activity. These activities are optional and conclude early enough for campers to prepare for dinner and worship.

On camp’s third and final afternoon, the PASSPORT summer staff will lead a Volleyball Tournament during Free Time. Churches are invited to gather a church team to compete against other churches. The winning church will challenge the Passport Staff to a final game. Other non-volleyball options will also be offered to campers in the Volleyball Tournament area.

GETTING TO CAMP

Two weeks before camp
Two weeks before camp check-in, each church’s Group Leader will receive an email reminder submit their Rooming & T-Shirt Form.

• Review our Safe Harbor Policy (in the Adults at Camp tab) and plan your rooming before arrival.
• Requests for private rooms may incur an additional fee and can only be fulfilled if space is available.
• Once the Passport National Office receives your group’s form, we will begin making room assignments and further preparations to welcome your group at camp.

Group Leaders can also prepare in other ways:

• Confirm Medical Release forms have been completed for all group members (you will receive an email with a PDF version of each form as it is submitted).
• Ensure you have completed background checks on each adult in the past 3 years (1 year for Texas) and prepare the Chaperone Screening Certificate to submit at check-in (paper form; signatures required)
• Prepare other site-specific paper forms (per location; as needed)
  – Note: Berea College, McMurry University, and Velley Retreat Center require additional forms.

Check-In is from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

As you pull out of the church parking lot, please have an adult call or text (205) 588-6948 to let the camp staff know of any changes to your group’s counts, rooming lists, or shirt sizes.

The Check-In location is indicated on the campus map. Look for Passport flags on campus and staff to welcome you. Make sure you have your check-in forms ready when you arrive.

If you are running late: please call the camp office at (205) 588-6948 during check-in hours and tell them when to expect you. We will be ready for you when you arrive if we have all your final numbers. Late groups may be asked to wait until the end of the Opening Celebration to complete the Check-In process and move in.

At Check-In you will receive:
• Room keys (lost key fees may apply)
• Passports (serves as camp guidebook, meal ticket, & campus ID)
• Printed instructions & resources to get you through the first day (for you and your chaperones)
• Theme t-shirts (based on the sizes you request in the Rooming & T-Shirt Form – wear these to Opening Celebration)

WHO IS THE GROUP LEADER?
The Group Leader is the lead chaperone, responsible for the camp registration and participants. 

GROUP LEADER PACKING LIST – In addition to the camp packing list items (in Resources Section Below), Group Leaders should bring:

DO NOT BRING: Firecrackers; extra shaving cream; water balloons; tobacco products/vapes; illegal drugs; alcohol; weapons, etc.

Please note: Churches will be held responsible for property damage and/or cleanup costs incurred.

Students may not bring clothing, hats, flags, posters, or other room decorations that could be seen as divisive, inflammatory, or offensive by others.

WHO IS A CHAPERONE?
Chaperones must be at least 20 years old at camp and be one year past their high school graduation. All chaperones driving vehicles at camp must be at least 21 years old. The chaperone-to-camper ratio in each group must be at least one chaperone per six campers of the same gender. Please share the chaperone handout (in resources section below) with them prior to coming to camp.

WHAT ALL ADULTS NEED TO KNOW

A CHAPERONE OR GROUP LEADER WILL NEED TO DRIVE CHURCH VEHICLES TO MISSION SITES.
Church vehicles are needed for transporting your youth from campus to their mission projects. If you are flying, taking the train, or chartering a bus, you must have transportation at camp. For those chartering a bus, those buses will take groups to mission projects. Be sure to set up those times with your charter service. In addition to transporting youth, you will be carrying supplies in your vehicles, possibly including ladders. You may wish to bring supplies to protect your seats in the case of students getting dirty on mission sites.

 UNDERSTAND PASSPORT’S SAFE HARBOR POLICY
Passport requires a background check to be completed for every adult attending camp. Any official statewide background check that you have conducted within the past three years is acceptable (a yearly check is required for Texas). A ministerial staff member of your church must sign the certificate to be presented when your group arrives at camp for Check-In.

Passport Inc.’s Rooming Policy regarding Adult/Minor Rooming requires that an adult cannot sleep in the same room alone with a minor unless that adult is the parent or legal guardian of the minor. In lodging where there are multiple beds, we will arrange for at least two adults who are not married or related to stay with multiple minors as space allows. This may occasionally necessitate placing more than one group in an apartment or dorm suite. If there are separate bedrooms, an adult will be given their own room or may share with another adult.

In the event that your group’s policy is stricter than this, Passport, Inc. will follow your policy to the best of our ability. Special rooming requests may require additional payment based on single room costs from our host facilities. Please email your request to us at reg@passportcamps.org.

UNDERSTAND PASSPORT’S DIGITAL SABBATH
FOR CAMPERS
We ask your campers to turn their cell phones and other digital devices over to the Group Leader before the Opening Night of camp. Devices may be returned on the final morning of camp. We believe that your campers will be surprised at how much they benefit from being disconnected. Some Group Leaders choose to allow limited windows of time every few days to “call home.” This is up to you. Though we do not recommend this, we will allow it at long as campers do not have devices at any other time and their phones are only used in their dorm.

FOR CHAPERONES
The Digital Sabbath will be easier on your students if they see all Group Leaders and chaperones restraining their use of devices as well. We understand that there will be moments adults may need to use their phones for purposes other than taking photos. We ask that adults use their phones out of the sight of campers whenever feasible. Adults are permitted to have cell phones and other electronic devices, though wireless availability varies by campus, and we ask that you use them with discretion. Camp events may not be streamed live.

FOR PARENTS
To help us enforce this rule: talk openly about this Digital Sabbath with your parents, as sometimes the parents want that daily connectedness to their students. Assure parents that they will be quickly notified and be able to speak to their students if there is an emergency.

CAMP RULES AND GUIDELINES

Campers and adults should dress appropriately—as defined by the camper’s parent/guardian and church Group Leader—the entire week of camp. Please consider these guidelines, as the Group Leaders are responsible to monitor their own group’s clothing:

• No clothing with inappropriate language or advertising is allowed.
• Clothing should not make fun of, belittle, or demean another person or culture.
• Shirts with sleeves & closed-toe tennis shoes are required for Missions Projects.
• Bring some clothes that can get messy and closed-toe shoes for Rec Party and other various games or activities.
• Both one-piece and two-piece bathing suits are allowed at camp.

CAMP RULES

• Participate fully in the camp schedule.
• Stay in my room after curfew.
• Stay on campus unless I have permission to leave.
• Do not enter someone else’s room or cabin.
• Participate in a Digital Sabbath by not using personal electronic devices.
• Have fun!

CAMP COVENANT
This week at PASSPORT, we will be a community who cares for everyone. We will speak and act with kindness and respect to each person we meet.