CILT PROGRAM DETAILS

What is CILT?➚

What CILT is not …➚

CILT Program Requirements Overview➚

CILT I Summer Requirements (What to expect)➚

Employment Opportunities ➚

What is CILT?

Campers in Leadership Training (CILT) is a leadership program designed for girls entering into their final years of high school. CILT begins at home during the fall season (campers must be entering grade 10 or higher to begin CILT at home in the fall).

Why grade 10 or higher? Grades 10 – 12 are the years where campers often feel they are becoming too old for camp, but are still too young to serve as cabin counselors. We know this time of “limbo” is a crucial time in a young woman’s life since the world is often bombarding this generation with pressures on how to dress, how to act and what to believe through social media, TV, school, and peers. CILT is an accountability program as much as it is a discipleship program and every CILT has a designated mentor at home who will be staying in contact with them throughout the year.

To sum it up: The CILT program is designed as an encouraging community of like-minded Christian campers and staff who want to challenge each other to walk with Christ daily and grow in their relationship with Him as a result. The program offers girls the opportunity to challenge themselves through a structured program that holds campers accountable during their time both at camp and at home. 

What CILT is not …

• CILT is not just a girls scouts style program. CILTs will indeed learn fire building, outdoor cooking, canoeing, first aid, camping, etc. However, CILT is just as much a discipleship program as it is an outdoors training program. Girls who join CILT will be studying the Bible, meeting with a mentor at home year-round, and completing some community service requirements while away from camp in the fall, winter, and spring season. 

• CILT is not a guaranteed fast track to being a camp counselor. Although CILT is a leadership training program and is designed to train campers to serve with the same biblical leadership skills that are required from our counselors, completing CILT I & CILT II does not guarantee that a position as a counselor will be offered or available. The decision to hire CILT II graduates is still left up to the discretion of the Summer Camp Director and Executive Director and is also based on staffing needs for that summer. Assuming that the CILT II graduate meets all of the criteria for serving as a counselor and assuming there is availability remaining to hire for the summer, CILTs can begin serving as co-counselors the summer after graduating CILT II (one year earlier than our counselors who did not attend CILT). 

• CILT is not for everyone. CILT is a lot of fun, but it’s not a “walk in the park” either! Girls entering CILT will want to have a desire to learn and grow in God’s word, to put others first, to sacrifice part of their personal time in order to complete the requirements, and they must be ready for physical work. The CILT canoe trip is a 4 day / 3 night trip down the Delaware River. Campers will be in paddling upwards of 4+ hours a day, setting up their own tents, and cooking their own meals over a campfire. CILTs are also required to hike Big Pocono Mountain with campers during the summer and must be able to work an entire 14 hour day alongside our college staff during their training times here at camp. CILTs requires stamina, perseverance, a passion for camping ministry and must be physically able to complete all of the tasks that a counselor would need to accomplish.

• CILT does not avoid topics. We understand that our campers come from all walks of life resulting in differences in both faiths and denominations. As a summer camp, we want to be sensitive to all of our camper’s backgrounds. After sharing what the Bible says about a specific question a camper might have, we ultimately refer our campers to their parents and pastors (if available) once specific biblical interpretations come into question during group discussions at camp. However, as a non-denominational Christian ministry, many parents ask us for a Statement of Faith before choosing a camp for their child since they are understandably concerned about what their child will learn from our staff while exploring what the Bible teaches. For this reason, our ministry has a Statement of Faith. Our staff and CILT II graduates are required to understand our Statement of Faith and the biblical verses listed in it. When specifically asked by a camper, our staff will give the Bible verses pertaining to the subject a camper has in order to guide the conversation. We do not ask staff to personally agree with our Statement of Faith, but we do ask them not to openly contradict it while answering camper questions either. We ask this out of respect for the parents who have chosen our camp for their child based on our Statement Of Faith and their beliefs as a family. Ultimately, we want to take everything back to what the Bible says, then let parents and pastors take it from there. You may read our ministry’s statement of faith here: https://www.mtgileadcamp.org/statement-of-faith/. As a parent, it’s important to know that we will not avoid the Bible verses regarding the topics mentioned in our Statement of Faith while training CILTs.  If you are not comfortable with our Statement of Faith – or the Bible verses that support the statements, our CILT program may not be for your camper.

CILT I & II Program Requirements Overview 

1. Select an Off-Season Service & Mentor

What Are Examples Of Qualifying Services? Volunteering at Sunday Schools, Awana, Bible Studies, Non-Profits such as Soup Kitchens, Homeless Shelters, Food Pantries, etc. Anything that is an interactive hands-on ministry that serves others.

What is a Mentor and who qualifies? A cornerstone of the CILT program is the relationship that each of the girls has with her off-season “mentor”. This person will be a spiritual mentor who provides: an example of spiritual maturity, encouragement, accountability & discipleship. A mentor will be chosen by all CILT participants and approved by the CILT Coordinator. A mentor must meet the following requirements: Active member at a Bible-believing church, geographically close enough to meet with the CILT monthly or has the ability to meet via video online, committed and able to serve as a mentor for the entirety of the 2-year CILT program and be at least 25 years old and not a direct family member. You will need to choose your mentor before signing up for CILT.

2. Complete The Required Off-Season Reading, Projects, and Collection Of Resources

We know that teens are already busy with school, church and extracurricular activities throughout the school year. For this reason, CILT 1 & 2 off-season requirements are designed to fit into an already busy schedule. For a list of off-season requirements for CILTs, see our CILT 1 & 2 off-season checklists linked located at the top of this page ➚

3. (CILT 2 Only) Choose a Charge 

CILT 2 Graduation is a big part of the transition from the CILT program and into a potential summer staff position at Mt. Gilead Camp. Charges are present at the graduation ceremony and present CILT graduates with gifts and messages. Charges must be current staff or *approved* former Mt. Gilead Alumni. The role of a charge is to continue mentoring CILTs as they join the staff at Mt. Gilead Camp. Charges are selected in fall at the beginning of the CILT 2 off-season.

The CILT Summer Program

During the summer, CILT 1 is two-weeks long and CILT 2 is three-weeks long. Dates & rates are located towards the top of this page ➚.

CILT 1 Campers will be stretched as they spend one-week canoeing and camping on the Deleware River while being disciplined and mentored by our CILT leadership staff. The second week of CILT 1 is spent at Mt. Gilead Camp learning what it means to be a servant leader and how to deepen our walk with God on a daily level. See the CILT 1 Summer Requirements Here ➚

CILT 2 Campers will be challenged to begin stepping into a leadership role at camp. They will co-teach activities and co-counsel in camp cabins under the supervision of our CILT leadership. See the CILT 2 Summer Requirements Here ➚

Questions Regarding the CILT Program? Email: Rachel (Inca) at cilt@mtgileadcamp.org

Employment Opportunities

For both programs, paid summer employment is available before and after the CILT dates, CILT 1 campers can work in support roles both in our horse area and kitchen, while CILT 2 graduates can also apply to serve on staff as co-counselors for the remainder of summer.  

Question Regarding Summer Employment After or Before CILT 1 & CILT 2? Email Adam (Ossie) at employment@mtgileadcamp.org