Your child was made for more than a screen — and somewhere, you already know it.
You’ve set the limits. You’ve had the conversations. You’ve watched the same device you handed them for safety and communication ease become the thing that’s quietly crowding everything else out. That’s just what tech companies have designed them to do (to each of us).
The rules help. But they’re not enough on their own.
The problem isn’t just screen time. It’s what screen time is replacing.
Every hour on a device is an hour not spent doing the things that actually shape a kid: navigating real friendships, trying things that are hard, sitting around a fire with people who know them — not their profile.
The confidence your child needs doesn’t come from likes. It comes from doing something hard and working through it. From making a real friend. From hearing, in a quiet moment away from the noise, that they are known and loved and made for a purpose.
That kind of growth needs space. And space is hard to find when the phone is always there.
Camp has been creating that environment for 60 years.
At Pine Lake Fellowship Camp, we’ve watched so many kids walk through the same transformation.
Campers arrive at registration on Monday a little guarded — some anxious, some unsure, some quietly convinced this whole thing was their parents’ idea. By Wednesday, something has shifted. They’re laughing with kids they’d never met. They’re trying things that scared them just two days ago. They’re asking questions around the campfire that never seem to come up in other contexts. We have heard so many Trailblazers campers (ages 14-17) tell us how much better their week was without their phone.
Here’s what a week at Pine Lake does that devices can’t:
- It restores real friendship. Camp friendships don’t form through a scrolled feed — they form through shared experience. When you sleep in the same cabin, eat at the same table, and soar down the zip line while friends cheer you on, you bond fast and deep. We hear this from parents every single year — especially the ones who were most worried:
“My girl is very shy and I was afraid she wouldn’t enjoy it because she doesn’t know anyone. She said she even came out of her comfort zone. Seeing the excitement in her face — she can’t wait to go back again next year.”
That’s not a one-time story. That’s what we watch happen, week after week, summer after summer.
- It builds genuine confidence. Not the kind that comes from a highlight reel. At camp, kids try hard things — and when they get through them, they know something about themselves that no one can take away.
“As soon as I picked him up I could see a difference in the way he spokeand acted. He had more confidence and maturity. We went through his notebook from his camp Bible lessons. He truly listened and took in more from his time at camp than I could have ever hoped for.”
One week. One notebook. A parent who couldn’t believe what they were reading.
- It creates space for faith to grow. We believe every child is created for more — made on purpose, known by name, loved God. That message lands differently when the noise is gone. Some of the most significant spiritual moments in a young person’s life happen at camp — not in spite of the simplicity, but because of it.
- It gives them a week to just be a kid. No performance. No persona. No feed to maintain. Just a lake, a cabin full of new friends, and enough room to figure out who they actually are.
One parent put it better than we ever could try:
“Sarah (not her real name) came back so much happier than I have seen her in forever. She was singing again and on fire for the Lord. She came back being my sweet Sarah that I have missed so much.”
One camper who comes home from camp more like themselves than when the left.
One week is all it takes to see difference.
Summer camp at Pine Lake Fellowship Camp isn’t a vacation from real life. It’s an investment in the person your child is becoming.
One week away from the noise. One week of real friendships, real challenge, and a real encounter with a God who made them for something bigger than a screen.
Your child was made for more. Our kids are made for more! Come find out what that looks like.
Questions? Call us at 601-483-2267 or visit pinelakecamp.com].
