By Chad Hershberger
Continuing education has been an important part of my career as an outdoor ministry professional. I think that’s because I enjoy being a student (my dad once said I would be a “professional student) and I believe that educating oneself regularly is a keystone to long tenure in a position such as camp director.
For years, I’ve been attending the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries conference as my main continuing ed of the year. I haven’t missed one in 24 years! I enjoy getting new ideas from colleagues, hearing keynotes which inspire and challenge me, and getting to retreat to another part of the country. I strongly feel that attendance at these events has kept me open to new ideas and challenged me in my role at Camp Mount Luther.
In 2003, I started an eight-year journey to get my master’s degree in religion. I attended classes at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. I worked full-time while taking one class a semester (except when I took three during my sabbatical). Getting a seminary degree was an enriching experience and greatly helped in my development as a camp professional.
Here and there since my LTSG graduation in 201o, I’ve taken a seminar or workshop here and there and continued to go to the annual conference. I did the Leadership Training Event on administration for LTE early in my career here. And, I’ve gone to American Camp Association events (ACA is the association that does our accreditation and provides continuing ed for professionals).
There was always an education carrot out there for me that I contemplated chasing but wasn’t sure if it wanted to put in the time. The carrot was the Compass Points certification program. Compass Points is a cooperative program of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, Outdoor Ministries Association of the United Church of Christ, Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries, and Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers Inc. in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is billed as a 200-level study of outdoor ministries.
In 2022, I felt like I had a little time to devote to the program. I talked to a colleague friend who also had started Compass Points and heard the value of the coursework. So, I enrolled in my first classes. The program includes six courses and one independent study and a final capstone project and presentation.
My first two classes were held outside of Atlanta, Georgia. They were Biblical and Theological Foundations (taught by Columbia Seminary professors) and Program Design and Implementation. I learned in those classes that I was out of academic shape! I wasn’t used to the long days of classes and sitting. But I found enriching material and new colleagues who would come to be valued friends. In fact, that was probably the most formative thing for me: the time away, in community, with a strong support system. Through my fellow classmates, I was reminded that it’s tough to be in non-profit work and deal with all the stuff we must deal with. In Compass Points I found a support network of inter-denominational colleagues who deal with similar issues and are passionate about outdoor ministries.
My second set of courses were Development and Personnel and Leadership. These were held at an ELCA site, CrossRoads in New Jersey. These were probably my favorite courses. In the development class, I learned that development is not just fundraising; it’s being in touch with your resources. These were also probably my favorite because the class size was a little smaller and we all bonded well. We also had a lot of hands-on activities to hone our skills. In fact, I did a mock presentation about our bathhouse project there before we had kicked off the campaign!
Also, last spring, I did my independent study. This involved a site visit and research paper about how that site and program compares to your own. I visited Kirchenwald, part of the Lutheran Camping Corporation of Central PA. They serve a few more kids than we do in the summer, but their program is much more rustic. They are also part of a multi-site organization. Looking at what makes us unique and similar was fascinating.
My final two courses were Articulating our Mission, Role, and Value and Nonprofit Business Management. These were held outside of Memphis, TN. The Mission, Vision, Values course was very beneficial as we were working on refining Camp Mount Luther’s statements at the time. I got to present an allegory about our mission, and I used the camel story for that. It was pretty cool, I must say.
To finish up, I had to do a Capstone Presentation for the certificate program. I had to develop a new program for our site and present it to a panel during the workshop time at this year’s LOM Conference in Baltimore. I will not share here what that new program is because we plan to implement it soon. So, be looking for details about a new experience here at Camp Mount Luther—it was my capstone project! Those who attended the workshop asked questions and then gave a thumbs up for me to pursue this new venture. They served as a “board of directors” to grill us on our idea. I presented with Andrew Templeman, whom I met in my first class. He is executive director of Mount Cross Ministries in California. I liked his presentation and idea as well. We might try to use it at CML, too!
Thursday night at our recognition banquet at the conference, I “graduated” and received my compass! It felt good to finish the program. Andrew and I were only the fourth and fifth students from LOM to complete Compass Points. It’s been in existence for about 13 years. In fact, if you want to see all the class pictures, you can click here.
I’m grateful for the camp board for supporting my attendance at these courses. I’m grateful for the additional learning which I use in my work. But more importantly, I’m grateful for new colleague friends from across the country. I’m excited to attend next year’s Great Gathering, a conference for all the mainline denominations. Several of my friends will be presenting their capstone there, and I will get to attend and support their final work in this program.