Join Our Summer Staff

We’re hiring a team of summer staff  who are passionate about sharing the love of Christ with campers. We want people with a all different gifts and backgrounds to serve as camp counselors, kitchen staff, nurses, lifeguards, and a variety of other roles. As a part of the summer staff you’ll grow in faith, build leadership skills and experience authentic community.

The mission of GENEVA is to create an environment where… the presence of God is experienced, the love of Christ is demonstrated, and a Spirit-filled life is inspired.

Employment Details

Dates

Orientation: May 30- June 9
Summer Camp: June 10- Aug 17

 

Compensation

First year staff $350/week
Returning staff $365/week
Nurses & Leadership $375-$400 based upon position and experience
Paid training
Housing and meals included

Job Description

All staff should be pursuing a growing faith in Jesus Christ and the desire to live out their faith with staff and campers.  Staff need to be at least 18 years old by the beginning of orientation on May 30. GENEVA Staff spend most weeks in the position they are hired for, but can expect to spend time in other positions as needed.

Day Camp Counselor

Day Camp Counselors work with 1st -4th graders and carry out the camp program by sharing Christ’s love with campers. Counselors achieve this by leading Bible study, jumping on the jumping pillow, playing in the splash pad, building sandcastles and much more! Day Camp counselors get to live in a shores or pines cabin and invest in those programs after their campers go home. Applicants must be one year out of high school and have previous experience working with children.

Shores Counselor

Shores Counselors work with 3rd-7th graders and carry out the camp program by sharing Christ’s love with campers. Counselors achieve this by leading Bible study, playing all-camp games, swimming in the pool or Lake Michigan, and much more! Applicants must be one year out of high school and have previous experience working with children.

Pines Counselor

Pines Counselors work with 7th-9th graders and carry out the camp program by sharing Christ’s love with campers. Counselors achieve this by leading Bible study, cheering at the talent show, experiencing Challenge Island and much more! Applicants must be one year out of high school and have previous experience working with children.

Special Needs Rotational – Male Applicants Only

The special needs rotational staff will often be a one-on-one support for a camper with special needs. Other weeks you’ll be assigned to another role on camp, making it possible for us to open additional cabins, giving the waterfront/challenge team some extra help, and help us to respond to changing needs. At your interview, you’ll get a chance to indicate what roles you would be interested in when you are not assigned as a one-on-one.

Waterfront/Challenge

Waterfront/Challenge staff, also known as Wacha staff, lifeguard at the pool, Big Pine, Lake and Lake Michigan. They also get to work on Challenge Island, belaying, sending campers down the zip line and helping them to get the best airtime on the blob. Applicants must be lifeguard certified.

Kitchen

Keep campers and staff fueled for a fun day at camp by assisting to prepare, serve, and clean up after meals. Kitchen staffers get to live in a cabin and during off times participate in songs and skits, play games, and lead activities for their cabins.

Arts and Crafts

Help campers use their imagination and embrace creativity at camp! Choose art projects, organize and purchase supplies, mix tie-dye, and get campers and staff started on projects. In addition to arts and crafts responsibilities, staff get to live in a cabin- leading Bible study, playing games and joining in on song and skits. Applicants should have prior camp experience.

Photographer

Communicate the mission of GENEVA and the ways God is moving here. Participate in each program, from day camp to high school, taking pictures and posting daily on social media. Must have experience with DSLR cameras and social media.

Video

Help campers bring their camp experience home with them. Each week, film, edit, and create a video that communicates the camp experience. Help us create marketing materials for the following year. Applicants must have a working knowledge of video equipment, editing software, and DSLR cameras.

Marketing Intern

Work with our year round staff team to produce marketing materials for next summer. Marketing interns get to take photos of the summer camp program and write content to communicate the mission and values of GENEVA.

FAQ

What are we looking for in summer staff?

We want staff who love Jesus and are excited to share that with campers. The nature of camp means that the staff have to be committed to the mission and be able to work with all kinds of people. Beyond those two things, we’re really looking for a variety of people, introverts and extroverts, all different majors and colleges, people who love skits or sports or crafts, because we want every camper to find a staff member to connect with.

Camp staff have to be 18 years of age or older by the first day of training, May 30, 2024.

Do you offer internships?

We are willing to work with your school to make the summer count for internship credit. We’ve had staff use the summer for internship credit in education, psychology, video production, and youth ministry.

How does the application process work?

The first step is to apply! Your application will cover your education and work history, some questions about your skills and experience and an opportunity to share a little bit about your faith with us. We’ll also ask you for three references.

After you fill out an application, you’ll receive an email about the next steps, including instructions for scheduling an interview.

When you interview, we want to know about your faith journey- how you engage with your faith on a daily and weekly basis and about how it affects the way you live your life. We’ll also want you to share about any experience you have working or volunteering with kids. At your interview we’ll be able to tell you when you’ll hear back from us about a position at Geneva.

Do I have to work the whole summer?

We can work with you to give you some time off over the summer. It’s helpful if candidates are able to attend all of or most of training. Please let us know about time you’ll need off as soon as possible so that we can make sure we have all the staff we need each week.

Our full summer lasts for eleven and a half weeks, with a week and a half of training and then ten weeks of summer camp. New staff will begin training May 30, returning staff begin May 29, and leadership staff begin May 28. We’ll wrap up our summer on August 17.

How old do you have to be to work at camp?

All staff need to be 18 years old by May 30, 2024. Counselors need to be at least one year out of high school.

What does training look like?

Training begins May 30 for new staff and runs until June 9. During training staff live at camp together, learning, worshipping and hanging out together.

There are three areas we focus on in training:

First – the camp program, going over the Bible study, playing games, learning songs, and writing skits. We want to make sure you know what camp is all about.

Second – things you need to know to keep campers safe, like first aid and CPR, abuse recognition and reporting and safety policies and procedures. First and foremost we want to make sure that camp is a safe environment for kids and staff.

Third – we’ll invest in the summer staff community, playing and learning together, and getting to know each other’s stories. We want to make sure you have the support you need to pour into kids this simmer.

Will I get to live at camp?

Yes, all members of our summer staff live on site during training and throughout the summer. With the exception of leadership staff, the majority of our summer staff are paired up to live in cabins over the summer.

How connected will I be to people outside of camp?

Because we want our staff to focus on campers we ask that staff not use phones or computers during the week. Things do come up, so we’ll make sure that your family and friends are able to contact you if they need to and that you have access to phone or email if you have an urgent need.

What do I have to prepare before camp? What stuff do I have to bring?

Each program will have their own Bible Study curriculum that Geneva will write and we’ll learn together at orientation. We’ll also plan the majority of the activities you’ll do throughout the day, although we love when our staff bring new ideas. You may want to think about activities you could do with your cabin before bed and during down times during the day.

You won’t need to bring anything special with you to camp, just clothes and bedding and things like that. We’ll send the staff a more detailed packing list six weeks to a month before camp begins.

The reason I keep coming back is the incredible community among our staff and because I get to see the joy of Christ that fill both staff and campers

- Matthew, summer staff '18-'22