Creating a balanced, appropriate and deliverable program
by John Skaggs The Power of B.A.D. Programming
Every program should be B.A.D. — balanced, appropriate and deliverable. Ask yourself if the overall camp schedule, as well as each camp activity, meets the B.A.D. criteria.
Balanced Learn to balance activities in two different areas:
1. Body (hands), soul (head) and spirit (heart): Programming should be varied to meet camper needs for physical activity and rest (hands), mental and social stimulation (head) and spiritual growth and challenge (heart).
Soul Spirit Body
2. Active and passive: Too much high-active mental engagement without any high-active physical activity can leave campers mentally exhausted, frustrated and fidgety. Too many physical games in a row can fatigue campers and increase chances for injury. Incorporate times of passive physical or passive mental experiences to balance camper needs.
Appropriate Consider how to make your program appropri- ate for the age, skill level and size of a group.
1. Age: Understanding the age-group character- istics of your campers will help you choose the best activities. Primary-age children need more rest breaks and can only engage in high physical activity for short amounts of time. Don’t treat adults or older teens like children; provide more opportunities for them to make choices during activities.
John Skaggs is the chair of the camping ministry major at Appalachian Bible College (
www.abc.edu). He has served for 20 years in camp ministry and loves using the outdoors to teach biblical truth and to point people to the Creator.
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www.ccca.org February/March 2020
2. Skill level: Activities should be based upon the skill level of participants. Do they need to pass a skills test to participate in more difficult activities? Base the activity on the actual skill level of the group.
3. Group size: Some activities are conducive for large groups, while others are not. Activ- ities need to be appropriate for the number of people in the group. Break large groups up into smaller teams if the activity runs best that way.
Deliverable Ensure your program is deliverable by having the staff, resources and facilities needed to exe- cuted it well.
1. Staffing: Where will you pull staff from to run the activity? How will you train the staff? How much will it cost to train them? Do you have enough staff compared to the number of participants?
2. Resources: You cannot deliver a good pro- gram without the right amount of money, equipment or time. When running short on any of these, consider foregoing the activity, especially when safety is involved.
3. Facilities: Do not attempt an activity if the camp does not have the right facilities. If the camp does not have key facilities such as a pool or gym, be creative in using the facilities you do have.
B.A.D. outline adapted with permission from Kenneth R. Pritt, Jr.
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