about us
Swamp Camp Services, Inc is a 501(c)3 organization supporting Camp Swamp – an 188 acre wooded facility located 2 hours east of Atlanta. Camp Swamp is the heart of our organization where we are able to provide camp and retreat services in Georgia, our neighboring states in the Southeast, and even worldwide. We rent our Camp Swamp facilities to schools, churches, universities, and any sports or business groups for their camp or retreat needs.
our values.
1. Safety
Everyone (parents, volunteers, counselors, and campers) must feel mentally, physically, and emotionally safe for the spiritual self to be realized. We set an environment of respect; deal with bullies of all kinds and create a culture of love. Our motto: “Besides your home, the safest place on the planet.”
2. Diversity
We celebrate differences. Whether you are an athlete, scholar, musician, or domino expert, your color, talents, interests, and quirks are accepted and celebrated… each tremendously adds to the cultural tapestry; then the words of Desmond Tutu come alive, “Isn’t it amazing that we are all made in God’s image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people.”
3. Food
The food needs to be good. People—especially kids—will remember the food one way or another…and talk about it!
4. Fun
Everyone needs to have FUN! If it is not fun, no one will want to come back. Folks in the kitchen, medical staff, campers, and counselors all need to have a great time. Allow camp to host a wide age range, like 9-18 for summer camp. You will be amazed at the results and live the words of Dr. Seuss, ‘Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”
5. Investment
Pour all the resources you have into making a perennial culture… one that allows for generations to experience. If you give half your resources, you will get 50% of the results. If you only focus on one year, you may forego the next decade.
6. Leadership
The rules need to be clear and few with someone who is in charge to enforce them. They must be enforced, or everything will spin out of control, and no one will have much fun.
7. Respect
Everyone from the directors to the volunteers to the campers to the head dishwasher must feel valued; each has the right to feel like SOMEBODY. The culture of the camp is to remind everyone that they are important.
8. Roles
Everyone needs to know their role, being defined and understood by all parties; if so, then each person will know if he is fulfilling it or not. Each can feel the success of fulfilling it and personal accountability if not.
9. Spirituality
Have a spiritual camp not a RELIGIOUS camp. There is a huge difference between the two. Trust God to work on the young hearts that are open. If great sermons and convicting preachers always converted people, all our kids would be disciples. Trust the process and ultimately the Spirit.
10. YHWH
God, Jehovah, must be made REAL. We need to forget trying to indoctrinate kids into the church; let God REVEAL HIMSELF through the stars, the people, the Bible, nature, relationships, and through the spiritual culture that is created; the rest will follow.
how we got here
Swamp Camp Services began with Sonny and Carolyn Sessions, a couple who grew up loving summer camp when they were children. They had a dream of creating a camp with the same loving and safe environment for other children and their families. In the early 1990s, Steve and Kim Sapp, church leaders in the Atlanta Church of Christ, believed in the Session’s dream and wanted to provide camp for its 1800 children (18 years and younger) that were part of their church congregation. The first Camp Swamp was held in 1982 with 64 campers on rented property in North Georgia. Camp Swamp continued to rent property until it built its own 188 acre wooded facility in Penfield, Georgia in 1998. Camp Swamp has been serving children and their families for over 30 years by helping kids and their families see God and by being the safest place on the planet besides their home.
why the name?
Camp Swamp got its name in 1998 when the camp property was purchased and construction began; some say it earned the name because it rained so much and the ground became “swampy,” while others say it was the influence of some University of Florida fans. Either way, the name stuck like the mud on the bottom of the volunteers’ boots–but the vision for this camp began long before that.
Swamp Camp Mission Alliance
Swamp Corps is Swamp Camp Mission Alliance’s global missionary program purposed to provide a three-year training process that establishes a perennial spiritual, fun-filled summer camp while offering missional leadership training and experiences for the Next Generation.
our staff
Rachele and Steve Gibson
Camp Swamp Georgia Directors
Erwin and Debbie Clark
Facilities Manager, Kitchen Manager
Scott Freiberger
Assistant Kitchen Manager
our board of directors & advisory board
Megan Famodun
President
Board of Directors
Dan Ankrom
Board of Directors
Vice President
Jaime Parker
Secretary
Board of Directors
Dan Stehr
Treasurer
Board of Directors
Joe Moon
President
Advisory Board
Tiful McLaughlin
Vice President, Development
Advisory Board
Justin Rope
Secretary, Development
Advisory Board
Angelica Yim
Promotions Manager, Operations
Advisory Board
Rick Bernardo
Development Committee
Advisory Board
Dan Lile
Development Committee
Advisory Board
Frank Bailey
Operations Committee
Advisory Board
Galileu Carvalho
Operations Committee
Advisory Board
Matt Snyder
Operations Committee
Advisory Board
Chris Todd
Operations Committee
Advisory Board
Debbie Miller-Palmore
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Taylor Schachinger
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Crystal Payne
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Ron Vance
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Amanda Mitchell
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Josh Mitchell
Strategy Committee
Advisory Board
Vanessa Byers
Development Committee
Advisory Board
Ryan Novak
Committee at Large
Advisory Board
where can we find the camp?
