Why We Run a Messianic Jewish Summer Camp

At Camp Gilgal, youth can lean in to both their heritage and their faith

Jewish summer camp is an immersive experience. That’s by design—most of today’s Jewish children come from intermarried families or live in areas that are largely non-Jewish. So, most grow up with a combination of more than one culture! That means that camp may be one of the few immersive experiences they have access to. And that’s one of the things that’s so great about it—camp is a place to put away their phones, breathe, and just be with their community.

And for those of us who are raising Messianic Jewish youth, it is so important to pass on the story of our Jewish heritage as well as the story of faith in Yeshua.

We could send our kids to traditional Jewish summer camp, as many of our staff attended when they were kids. The camp experience is formative—long-ago memories of dressing up for Shabbat dinners and singing for skit night still stick! But in traditional spaces, belief in Jesus is sadly often seen as the most un-Jewish thing you can do. We know that even today, kids who are being raised with a combination of Jewish heritage and faith in Jesus may not be understood in traditional Jewish camps.

“Feeling “outside” is the opposite of what we all
want our kids to have in a camp experience.”

Some of us have also attended Christian summer camps, and there are many good ones out there. But they can also be a place where our connection to being Jewish—and our desire to pursue faith in Jesus Jewishly—can seem foreign to others. It’s a very real possibility that Messianic Jewish kids might feel like outsiders at one of the bigger Christian camps. And feeling “outside” is the opposite of what we all want our kids to have in a camp experience!

So, we’ve found a way to keep the timeless tradition of Jewish summer camp alive in our kids’ stories—while also creating a safe space for them to explore their faith in Jesus…