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The Ci Advantage

June 2015 Newsletter

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The Ci Advantage

June 2015 Newsletter

A BIT of News from Ci

The Ci Advantage

  • Ci Advantage:  Partnering with Parents
  • Ci 2.0 College Camp - Huge Success!
  • Theology of Technology Talks
  • Child Safety
  • Filming @ Creation Museum
  • Ci by the Numbers
  • Blessings & Needs
  • Ci on Facebook
  • Where in the World is Charlie Bot?
  • Still Have Room for Ci 2.0 Campers
Ci Advantage:  Partnering with Parents
I enjoyed having a conversation with a camper's parent last weekend as we discussed the investment value of camp and compared it with the cost of higher education.  This mom's evaluation was that the Ci investment was valuable to her because it would help guide her young person into the best higher education investment to maximize the gifts God has given to her child. Having taught college for 30 years, I saw many students add unnecessary tuition costs to their schooling expense because they did not know their interests, abilities and passions.  One of the goals of Camp Infinity is to help parents prepare their children to discover their abilities, interests and passions in STEM so they may make an educated choice about their future.  We intentionally hire counselors who have made many of these decisions and are pursuing their interests and passions through God-given abilities.


Ci 2.0 College Camp - Huge Success!

One of the ways we prepare our counselors for their ministry at Ci is to have them attend our Conflicting Worldviews College Camp.  Last week, we brought together all of our first time counselors along with other college students from 8 colleges from around America to receive the best apologetics training from the experts at Answers in Genesis, the parent ministry of the Creation Museum.  A very strategic time during the week was when Bodie Hodge, AiG speaker, took us through the Creation Museum and the Cincinnati Science Museum to equip us with a solid understanding of the conflicting worldview between biblical creation and biological evolution. In addition to this informative time, we covered 22 activities in 3 days. Among them were apologetics presentations such as Relevance of Genesis, Theology of Technology, Revealing the Unknown God, Dinosaurs, Dragons & the Bible. This training characterizes our acronym CAMP -- Creation Apologetics Made Personal.

One of the college students who attended stated her view of the camp in this way:  "For the longest time the word "apologetics" kind of intimidated me but not so much anymore. This past week I had the privilege to attend Conflicting Worldviews College Camp where I learned when you're defending your faith you have to start at the beginning. This camp helped show me what the Bible says about the beginning of times and how to defend it against other beliefs as well as many other things."

Theology of Technology Talks 
We all recognize how rapidly technology is changing.  For instance, look at all the updates on the i-Phone in the last several years!  New technologies never force us or our children to do anything; however, they do give us choices we never had before.  As parents, we all want to equip our children to have a biblical perspective on the role of technology in their lives.  It is not enough to give them a list of "dos" and "don'ts."  At Camp Infinity, we strive to partner with parents to teach their children biblical discernment as it relates to technology.  As a STEM camp, we strive to come alongside our campers and demonstrate to them how to use discernment in the use of digital technologies on a daily basis.  Our low camper to counselor ratio aids in this learning as our counselors teach the campers appropriate ways to use their own personal devices.  Teaching our young people these principles will not only help them in their day-to-day living but will direct them to see how technology involves the repurposing of God's creation for man's benefit thus fulfilling God's command for us to be His image bearers and rule the earth.

Child Safety by Emily Barney, Ci Child Safety Director
As a mom of two boys, I often feel overwhelmed with the motherly instinct to protect what God has graciously loaned to me for 18 years or so.  My boys are now at the age that they are beginning to get invitations to sleep overs and our family is considering sending our children to camp.  As a member of the Ci team, I am thrilled to know the steps that we are taking to insure the safety of our campers.  Not only are each of our staff members background checked, all Ci staff will be doing the following:
  • Receive training from Darkness to Light experts
  • Become certified in American Red Cross/First Aid (Half of our staff)
  • Obtain instructions on the use of first aid kits that will be assigned to each counselor
  • Establish a relationship with local emergency personnel
Because I have complete confidence in the steps that Ci has taken to insure each camper is cared for both emotionally and physically, I am excited for my older son to have his first chance to attend an overnight camp like Camp Infinity!

Filming @ Creation Museum
Using digital technologies, Camp Infinity and the Creation Museum met two weeks ago to capture audio and video bits. We had the privilege of interviewing several of the speakers and founders at Answers in Genesis. AiG staff shared their excitement about the connection with Ci. Among those interviewed was Ken Ham, Mark Looy, Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. Andrew Snelling, Dr. Tommy Mitchell, Dr. David Menton, Bryan Osborne and Steve Ham. We greatly value the special relationship Ci has with AiG and the Creation Museum. We started Ci with the express purpose of using the tremendous teaching resources of AiG to equip young people with a biblical worldview in the areas of science and technology. The staff of AiG play a critical role in helping us carry out our mission to inspire students to explore how science and technology integrate with a creation apologetics worldview, preparing them to explain and defend their faith and succeed in their STEM education and in their future careers.



Ci by the Numbers 
Measurements of Growth
May 2015
951
Newsletter Recipients
1072
Summer Staff Contracted
13
"STEM camp Bible" Google Search
First Page References to Ci
60%
Camper Applications Received
136
Campers Registered
114
Ci 1.0 Campers Registered for 2.0
48%
Visitors to Website Last Month
2451
Facebook Reaches
16,841
Facebook Post Likes
533
Colleges represented at College Camp
8
220

Blessings & Needs 
  • Success of the Ci 2.0 College Camp
  • Ci was well-received by the families at the Teach Them Diligently conference in Sandusky, Ohio
    • Had the opportunity to represent Ci to 250 teens at this conference
    • Gave a Theology of Technology talk during two workshop sessions
  • 110+ campers have registered for our 4 camps 
  • PRAYER REQUEST: Final preparation for Ci Camps
  • PRAYER REQUEST: 160 campers, average 40 per camp
  • PRAYER REQUEST: Heart and Head preparation of the Ci 2.0 team during our training week of June 30-July 4
  • PRAYER REQUEST: property

Ci on Facebook
April 26 was our first full team meeting for Ci 2.0. It was exciting to use bits to connect our counselors from BJU, Clearwater and Cedarville. Otherwise known as digital technology, BITS are binary digits which make up the basic building block of everything digital - computers, email, Facebook posts, music, videos, photos, text messages, etc. We teach our campers to understand the basics of how these 1's and 0's work to transform the world around them. 
To see more STEM & apologetics posts, like us on Facebook.

Where in the World is Charlie Bot?
Charlie Bot meets Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum. Ken has been a huge inspiration for and supporter of Ci.


A note from Charlie:  My Facebook page allows me to journal my travels so Ci campers, Ci parents, Ci counselors, Ci teachers, Ci scholarship donors, and Ci speakers can follow me on my STEM & apologetics adventures around the globe. 

So friend me and see all the exciting places I go as I promote the most exciting camp on this planet, Camp Infinity!!


Still Have Room for Ci 2.0 Campers
We are excited about the increasing interest in Camp Infinity. We have added 3 new camps this year and could use your help getting the word out. We are trying to fill the following camps:
  • Day Camp, June 24-26
  • 7-Day Camp, July 5-11
  • 5-Day Camp, July 13-17
We have scholarships and financial aid available for the 7-Day and 5-Day camps. No obligation to apply. Please point folks to our website for details and to apply. If you would like some promotional brochures to hand out in your church, school or otherwise, send us your mailing address and how many you would like. We would be happy to drop them in the mail for you. Email [email protected]. Thanks for praying and thanks for promoting!! We are excited about the 110+ who have registered so far. Our goal is for 160, 40 at each camp. 


If you would like to help us reach our scholarship goal of 85, please donate to our Scholarship Donation Fund which partners with families with academically gifted students who cannot afford the full cost of a STEM camp, you can donate securely using PayPal. Designate your donation to [email protected] which is registered with PayPal or use this secure donation link. If you would prefer to write a check, make it out to "Camp Infinity" and mail to 122 Montverde Drive, Greenville, SC 29609. Your entire donation will be used to help academically gifted and financially needy students attend Ci 2.0. Camp Infinity is a registered 501c3 with the IRS.

Thank you for your interest and prayers for Ci.  We are thankful that our first camp was a success and would appreciate your prayers as we prepare to engage hearts and minds with STEM and apologetics during the next three camps.
 
Dan Wooster
Founder & Director
Camp Infinity, Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

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Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

Featured Authors

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Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

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Jason Goff

Jason is the social media manager for Camp Infinity. He loves helping us tell the stories of Ci through the digital mediums of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

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Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

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Bryan Malik

Bryan Malik is the President of the Board of Advisors for Camp Infinity

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Jeremy Ervin

Dr. Jeremy Ervin is the Inaugural Dean of the School of Education at Cedarville University. With his experience in providing professional learning for K-12 teachers and his time teaching pedagogy in higher education, he recognizes how the 21st Century classroom needs to center on the engagement of the learner with enduring understandings.

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Max Lorentz

Max Lorentz has loved science (and astronomy in particular) since childhood. He enjoys sharing it with others, especially with young people. He studied mathematics as an undergraduate and is currently completing a Ph.D. in astronomy.

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Robert Ring

RJ is a blog writer for Camp Infinity and a student at Bob Jones University majoring in engineering. He loves considering the science and technology claims of science fiction stories. He also loves reading. Throughout his life he has been a dreamer, imagining a never ending series of what ifs and maybes. From a young age, God gave him a passion for learning all he could about the world around him.

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