Camp Packing List

What to Bring (For All Programs)

Clothing

• Comfortable camp clothes (enough for a week of camp/outdoor activity)
• Modest swimsuit (must cover midriff)
• Sweatshirt or jacket
• Close-toe shoes with backs
• Extra pair of shoes/clothes for outdoor and water activities
• Weather-appropriate clothing

Personal Items

• Water bottle
• Sunscreen and insect repellent
• Bible, notebook, and pen/pencil
• Towel and toiletries

Overnight Campers

Please also bring:

• Bedding and pillow

Wilderness Campers

In addition to the items above, wilderness campers should bring:

• School backpack for shower supplies
• 1–2 plastic grocery bags
• 1–2 pairs of old sneakers
• 1–2 sets of clothes that can get dirty

Important Note

Please label all belongings, including clothing, so lost items can be returned. Lost and found items will be displayed during the closing program.

What to Leave at Home

Please do not bring:

• Cell phones, tablets, smart watches, MP3 players, or handheld games
• Knives
• Food or candy
• Skateboards or inline skates

Any prohibited items brought to camp will be collected and returned at the end of the week.

Because overnight campers live on the campground 24/7 for six days, they experience a deeper impact from living within a genuine Christian community where God’s principles are taught and lived out each day. Overnight campers participate in a greater variety of activities. Some overnight campers are also able to choose “electives” which are additional small group activities that allow campers to meet others who are part of different cabin groups.

Day Campers participate in plenty of fun camp activities along with chapel time, small group devotions time, and scripture memory time.  Day campers do not experience as many activities as overnight campers

Day Camp is available to students completing kindergarten through 5th grade while overnight camp begins at 1st grade and goes through high school.

Day Camp is a great option for children who don’t feel quite ready to spend the night (but realize that oftentimes they’re more ready than they think they are).

Day Camp is a more affordable option. Many parents choose to use Day Camp as an alternative to daycare. For tax purposes, a letter of expenses paid for camp can be obtained from our business office upon request.

Day Camp can be convenient for children with evening commitments.

Day Camp is an introduction to a camp experience. We find that many children are ready to come to overnight after only a couple days at Day Camp. The environment increases their comfort level and familiarity with Joy El.

Day Campers in the programs at Joy El are provided lunch each day during their camp week. The cost for lunch is included in your camp registration fee.

Yes. Please include a note about your child’s dietary needs with his/her registration form. Special dietary requests may be accommodated, however a additional cost will be added ($25.00 for Day Camp and $50.00 for Overnight).

We serve kid-friendly meals during summer camp. Examples of typical lunches include: chicken nuggets and french fries, pasta, sub sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. A salad bar is also available at each meal.

View our cancellation policy to learn more.

Everyone!!! That’s right! Everyone! This year all campers will receive one free T-shirt. If a camper is attending more than one week, they will receive their shirt during their first week of attendance.

Wilderness Camp offers campers a more adventurous, rustic camp experience while still enjoying the safety and support of Joy El’s campus. Wilderness campers stay together in cabins on the back edge of the main camp, with their own campfire and outdoor gathering area that creates a close-knit community throughout the week.

With a smaller group of campers, Wilderness Camp provides opportunities to build deeper friendships with counselors and fellow campers while experiencing God’s creation in a unique way. Bible studies, devotions, and worship often take place outdoors, encouraging campers to connect with both God and nature.

Wilderness campers also enjoy adventures that are unique to their program, including backpacking, tubing or canoeing on Back Creek, and exciting high-adventure activities such as the Giant Swing, Flying Squirrel, Climbing Wall, and Zipline.

Because Wilderness Camp spends much of the week away from the main camp schedule, photos are taken by counselors and posted online on Wednesday and Friday. A weekly closing program and video are not offered for Wilderness Camps.

Electives are additional activities available in the evenings for overnight campers only. They are not available to Day Campers or Wilderness campers. Campers will be provided a list of available electives after they check in for their week of camp. They will select their electives at that time.

A cabinmate request space can be found on your registration form and the name of one friend can be submitted.  This same space is used for a Day Camp group friend request.  Girls can request to be with another girl and boys can request to be with another boy. Opposite genders cannot be kept together.  We will do our best to accommodate cabinmate and group mate requests.

Day Camp bus schedules can be found here.  There is no additional cost for your child to ride a Day Camp bus. Bus transportation is not available for overnight campers.

Bible Adventure discounts are earned over the school year prior to camp. Final discounts earned for the school year will be tabulated by the end of April. Please contact our office to find out the unused discount amount your child has available from earned Bible Adventure Program points.

Discounts for 4.12 students will be entered and applied before camp begins in June as well. The maximum available discount is $80 for students who have turned in all of their Spiritual Growth Updates on time from September through April.

For overnight campers, there is a $20 campstore gift certificate available for bringing a friend who has NEVER been to summer camp at Joy El before. (Members of the same household do not qualify as a “friend.”) Four friends = FREE week of camp. For Day Campers, there is a $10 campstore coupon for bringing a friend who has NEVER been to summer camp at Joy El before. Any camper who brings four new friends qualifies for a Free Week of Camp.

Click here to see our catalog of camp store items & prices

Yes, Financial Aid is available. The regular camp registration needs filled out, a campership application form needs to be completed and a parent contribution needs to be received. The parent contribution is $100 for overnight camps and $50 for day camps. Any amount less than these need to be approved by the Director of Camping Ministries. You can find the financial aid (campership) application under the Summer Camp Forms tab shown above.

Yes. There is a nurse onsite for every week of camp and he or she is responsible to dispense your child’s medications. Please keep all medications in the original bottles from the drug store when sending them along with your child to camp. All other health issues should be communicated to us on the Camper Health Form, which you can find under the Summer Camp Forms tab above.

Confirmations are sent by email after your registration is entered into our database and your deposit is received. More information is sent to you four weeks prior to your child’s week of camp, including information about check-in times, bus schedules, what to pack, camper mail or email, etc. Confirmations are not sent by snail mail. If you have opted off of our emailing list and want back on in order to receive your camp confirmations, please contact our office for instructions on how to opt back into the list.

We look for qualified young adults and mature adults who have a love for the Lord and children. We perform interviews, require reference checks and background checks with the safety of our campers foremost. Staff members attend a week of onsite training in preparation for what to expect at camp and how to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our campers.

Parents, family and friends may communicate with their camper by email messages during their camp week. Simply e-mail campermail@joyel.org and include your camper’s name, program, and cabin number in the subject line of your letter. Email messages are downloaded and distributed to campers once a day. Campers are not able to email you back.

You may also send regular first class mail to your child while he/she is at camp. Campers love getting mail! Mail is distributed once a day to each cabin group, Wilderness camp group, or Day Camp group.

We ask that parents and family members do not phone or come to the campground to visit during their camper’s camp session, except in the case of an emergency. These types of contacts can be a distraction to your child and could cause homesickness.

We ask that you would communicate doctor and dentist appointments to us in advance of your child coming to camp. Arrangements will be made for your child to be released to you for the trip to the doctor/dentist and the child can be checked back into camp following the appointment.

If you already have an online account, go to the Campwise login page and click on the “Forgot username?” or “Forgot password?” links at the bottom. If you need both your username and password, click on “Forgot username?” to recover your username first and then click on “Forgot password?” to reset your password.

If you typically call the office for an established camper account (instead of using the online registration), you may not have a username set up.  Call our office at 717-369-4539 to set up the username and online registration information.

For a new camper, you can create an account with Campwise and set up your own username and password.