Orlando, FL. MAY 26th-July 26th $2400

The CAMO Project is a summer missions and training project for college students in Orlando, FL. The project exists to help students grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to teach them how to share their faith with others through biblical teachings, bibles studies, and life on life discipleship. Students work jobs to grow in personal responsibility, leadership, workplace evangelism, and to help offset the cost of the project. Being in Orlando, FL, in their free time students have many options for fun and social activities.

Why have the CAMO Project in Orlando? A centerpiece of CAMO Project is ensuring that each student works a job. This is so each student can make money but also so that each student can grow in his/her leadership ability and apply what they are learning in a real life environment. There are only a few places in the United States where we can be guaranteed that ~150 people on Project will be employed just for the summer. Orlando meets that criteria with nearly all of our students working at Seaworld.

Why live on a resort during the CAMO Project?
Because one of the centerpieces of CP is for each student to have a summer job, we are limited to where we can hold our project to summer tourist cities like Orlando. Unfortunately, there are limited housing options in these cities, especially during the summer season, their busiest. A resort is one of the only places that has the space to handle such a large group as ours. We work hard each year to negotiate the best possible prices for our students while also staying in a place that we feel is safe for CAMO attendees.

Why nine weeks?
We feel nine weeks is the perfect length of time for a summer project. It gives the student around 4+ weeks at home while also giving him/her ample time to develop in their leadership skills and to grow spiritually. Often times at a week-long church camp, a person may return home on an emotional high. We do not seek for students to make emotionally driven decisions, nor to come back home merely riding an emotional high. Rather, we want to see students make gains in character growth, initiative-taking, leadership skills, social aptitude, and in managing responsibilities. We believe that nine weeks is sufficient for substantial steps in these areas.

Why does my son/daughter have to go to CAMO Project to grow spiritually and develop in leadership?
In our experience, a student can grow outside of a summer project like CP, but it can be more challenging and doesn’t come as naturally. CP allows a student to get away for nine weeks to a place where he/she is in an environment that is a greenhouse for growth. Each student will have accountability through a discipleship group and his discipleship group leader. He/she will be hearing engaging messages each week from CAMO staff and other leaders. They will learn practical skills such as how to study the Bible, share the gospel, live among others, work heartily in the workplace, invest in younger believers, engage in a Godly relationship, handle money responsibly, make wise decisions, and much more.

Is CAMO Project a way for my son/daughter to just relax on the beach all summer?
No way. CP is not designed for the student who wants to take it easy. There will be plenty of opportunities for the student to have fun, go to social events, go on group dates, make memories, etc... But CP is so much more than this. At CAMO Project, our goal is to develop young leaders. The schedule is designed to ensure the students develop in the areas mentioned above. Thus, the schedule is very full with work, discipleship group interaction, listening to speakers, hearing presentations, etc.

I really want my son/daughter to get an internship while in college.
In many ways, we believe CP has as much value as an internship. At many internships, students are at the bottom of the totem pole and are not learning any significant leadership or people skills, which are absolutely essential in any career field. While internships may look good on a resume, many internships do not necessarily translate into true life skills development, leadership awareness, or spiritual growth. We wholeheartedly believe CP is invaluable for building these areas into young leaders.

Also, many students in the past have been able to combine an internship with a summer at CAMO Project. As long as the internship hours fit into the CP schedule, students are free to work at an internship related to their major. In the past, CAMO students have worked at internships in the engineering, medical, education, and business fields.

I am not comfortable with my son/daughter raising support. Why do they have to do that?
We understand your concerns. Students are not required to raise support. Each student is free to pay for CP however they wish. We simply allow (versus require) students to raise support. This is our strategy for several reasons:

1. Many students would not be able to attend CAMO Project if they could not raise support.

2. Many people have a heart for college students but obviously cannot personally be there to impact students' lives. When someone gives support, it allows her to invest in what God is doing on the college campus. Hundreds of investors (donors who give to the CP attendee) have commented on how much growth they observed in the attendee when they got back from CAMO Project and what a joy it was to play a vital role in the process.

3. It is Biblical for a person to receive support from others while doing God's work (The Jews gave to the Levites- Numbers 18:24; Jesus received support so he could devote himself full time to his ministry - Luke 8:2,3; Paul stopped tent-making to preach full time while covering costs via the generosity of others - Acts 18:4,5).

During the spring, we train each CP participant in the skill of raising support. We do not want potential investors to feel guilted into giving to a student going to CP. Our experience is that if a student communicates the purpose and content of the CP summer experience in a clear manner, the investor will often jump at the chance to give. For years, thousands of investors have given to the spiritual and leadership growth of CP attendees.

Can I visit my child while they are at CAMO Project?
Yes! We would love for you to visit the CAMO Project that your son/daughter is attending. There is also an optional parent’s weekend made specifically for this purpose. More details on this will be given closer to the summer.