As a community, Charis Hills provides a unique camping experience for boys and girls with learning differences. Being a counselor is a wonderful challenge.  We are looking for you: young men and women who desire to serve the Lord by guiding and leading hundreds of kids with special needs this summer.  

Our counselors enjoy an active outdoor schedule, and lead and participate in a wide variety of activities with our campers. You’ll work with some of the most dedicated and creative people on the planet and make friendships to last a lifetime. We encourage you to bring your own special talents and abilities to camp, along with your desire to teach others. We’ll teach you everything else you need to know.

Being a counselor is an incredibly challenging job with great responsibility. You will be working long hours outdoors leading activities, being creative, positive and enthusiastic even when you are exhausted. You will learn lessons not taught in school. You will be able to take pride in helping children grow and develop personally, spiritually, and physically. Perhaps most importantly, your life and perspective will be forever enhanced.

Can I Be a Counselor?

As you consider whether or not this role is for you, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

• Do you love the great outdoors?

• Are you considered a patient, energetic, and enthusiastic person?

• Do you have a desire to work in a Christian environment, sharing your faith and teaching children about Jesus?

• Do you have a desire to work with special needs children?

• Are you at least 18 years of age with preferably one year of college completed?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you are an ideal choice to be a Charis Hills counselor this summer.
 

Benefits of Joining the Charis Hills Staff

• By making a difference in the lives of special children, you also make a difference in your life

• Experience of a lifetime

• Share in the spiritual growth of kids

• Training and experience for future employment or ministries

• Possible internship credit at your school

• Room and board included

• An opportunity to serve God and others

• Impact the life of a child in a way not otherwise possible

• Laundry service (weekly)

• Salary

• Free bananas

Our Expectations for Counselors

• Strong love for and devotion to kids, including living, playing, talking and spending time with them. Our best counselors enhance their campers’ experience by getting to know each new group quickly, ensuring each camper’s growth, safety, and development during camp. And they have FUN!

• 100% Participation – 100% of the Time – requires good physical health. You must have had a physical within the past calendar year as well as be able to play and run all day with kids. Sometimes it is HOT! There isn’t a lot of downtime at camp. As a counselor, you are always on stage helping campers, being an example, teaching and playing games. It’s up to you to make sure everyone has a good time. You’ll make the games interesting by joining in and knowing that the sidelines are no place for a great camp counselor.

• Calm, Cool, and Collected – requires good emotional health – able to get along with all staff and campers, keeping a positive, friendly, and enthusiastic attitude even when you are not by the Waterfront. During the heat of the day and the crush of the schedule, you keep your cool and pay close attention to how your campers are managing the stress of different activities, weather, meeting new people, and the unique living arrangements of camp. You always focus on camper’s safety… spiritually, mentally, and physically.

• Making It Happen. Our campers have a full schedule of activities throughout long summer days and you’re on top of it, planning to make sure the campers are where they need to be, doing what they want to be doing. And when things change, like the weather or the mood of your campers, you’re always one step ahead with creative ideas for alternative activities.

• The Team Is Tops. You have the opportunity to work with great children, great counselors and a staff that is dedicated to the success of camp, every hour, every day, and every week. You’ll know when to get help from other counselors or from our administrative team. You’ll know about all the resources available to you and your campers, and you’ll use them to create a unique summer camp experience.

• It’s Your Camp. You feel like you own it: every activity, every camper. The reason campers will love you and write to you months later is that you were the role model of the camp’s values – you were the one each camper looked up to during camp. Nothing feels as wonderful–nor lasts as long–as that kind of well-earned admiration.

• Genuine love and enjoyment of the outdoors

• Good spiritual health –regularly spending time in the word and prayer, able to apply scripture to your daily life, and share with others

• Adherence to Biblical teaching about sexual conduct

• Current medical coverage with proof of insurance

• Ability to demonstrate good judgment – driving record and criminal background checks are completed for all employees

Requirements to Serve With Us

You must live in manner that upholds and models the Christian faith, which according to scripture specifically avoids:

• Sexual Immorality

• Drunkenness

• Using illegal drugs

• Gambling

• Pornography

• No tobacco use of any form

Staff Training is a crucial time for counselors to come together, get to know each other, and learn about Charis Hills and the population of campers we serve.

No experience is necessary before working at Charis Hills. The only thing required before coming is a willingness to learn new things, be pushed out of your comfort zone, and ready to receive experiences that will likely be some of the best in your entire life.

Staff training is typically 10 days prior to the start of camp, and full time staff will do their absolute best to prepare you for the best summer of your life.

Staff training is a mixture of classroom style learning, experiential hands on learning, fun games, and times for bonding and getting to know your fellow staff.

• Who Are Our Campers? Diagnoses

• Behavior management

• First Aid CPR, AED

• Child abuse protection and detection

• Communication

• Leadership skills

• Therapeutic recreation

• Reality therapy

• Risk management

• Active supervision

Any additional training necessary for working at Charis Hills will be provided by Charis Hills during the staff training days.

Charis Hills provides, or will coordinate with other nearby facilities, training for any activities on camp including, but not limited to:

• Archery

• Rifle

• Life guarding

• Horsemanship

Join Us!

Are you up to the challenge? It’s exhilarating and exhausting at the same time, but we’ll help you succeed. And the rewards are extraordinary.

Potential Positions at Camp:

Counselors: We are a small camp, so staff must be able to serve as both cabin staff and activity leaders. As a cabin counselor, you will work alongside 3-4 other motivated staff members in providing camping environment for up to 9 campers per cabin. You will also plan and lead a variety of exciting activities throughout the day. Experience in doing these is a wonderful bonus, but we also offer excellent training and certifications to make your experience at Charis Hills the best and most productive it can be.

Camp Leadership: Assist in supervising and implementing the camp program!

Cabin Leadership: Supervise and assist a cabin in daily life

Waterfront Director: Supervise and ensure safety of all waterfront activities. Some additional training may be necessary

Cooks: Responsible for preparing meals served as well as monitoring special dietary needs, safety and sanitation. Food Handler Certification Required

Kitchen Assistants: Assist cooks in meal preparation as well as clean up. Food Handler Certification Required

Teachers: Require certification or special training

Nurses: Provide first aid care for campers and staff, administration of medications to campers, documentation of treatment as well as monitoring health and cleanliness standards. Requires certification or special training.

Click the button below to begin the application process. You will be redirected to CampMinder (our internal camp program) to complete your application. In addition to your application, you will be asked to provide three letters of reference from pastors, teachers, employers, friends, family, or others acquainted with Charis Hills.

Once your application is complete and your reference letters have been received and reviewed, someone from Charis Hills will contact you to set up an interview. This interview may be conducted over the phone or in person.

A criminal history, sexual offender registry check, driving record check, and drug test are performed on all employees prior to camp.

You are required to have a physical exam signed by a physician, and to provide proof of immunization records prior to camp.

Driving in?

Flying In?

We pick up counselors from:

• DFW Airport - Currently an hour away, but the roads are under construction so we are allowing additional travel time.

• Dallas Love - Currently 1 1/2 hours away.

We typically, add an hour of travel to the above mentioned times, just to be safe. 

Health