Camps With Meaning has been creating original music designed specifically for its summer camp programs and giving campers and staff songs that connect with each year’s Bible theme
The songwriting tradition began in 2000, led by Camps With Meaning Director of Communications Daryl Neustaedter Barg, after staff recognized that while there were many worship songs available, fewer songs reflected the specific themes being explored at camp, including peace, community, and discipleship
Each spring, former camp staff members, whether or not they have songwriting experience, gather for a collaborative songwriting workshop. The group reflects and prays for the upcoming summer’s Bible curriculum, shares ideas, and works together to create a theme song for campers
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Helping faith move from head to heart
“Music is able to take text and put it in people’s hearts,” Neustaedter Barg said. “It moves it from our heads to our hearts.”
Neustaedter Barg says original music helps campers engage with faith in a deeper way
“When we’re reaffirming the words of that summer’s scripture or Bible curriculum content with a song, that does more work than just somebody talking about it,” he said
He says Camps With Meaning’s songs also allow campers to explore themes that are not always common in worship music, including peacemaking, community, and how God works through people
A song travelling around the world
One of the most enduring songs from the Camps With Meaning collection is “Sword to a Plowshare,” originally written in 1996 before the official songwriting workshops began
The song has since been included in the Mennonite hymnal and is now being translated into Japanese by the Japanese Hymn Society
Neustaedter Barg says the song’s message of peace, paired with its upbeat style, helped it stand out
“It lets you sing about peace in a high-energy way instead of a slow, mournful way,” he said
The song has been shared across Canada, the United States, and within Mennonite communities internationally
A collaborative songwriting process
The process begins with conversations about what makes a meaningful camp song, including elements like call-and-response, energy, and opportunities for campers to participate through actions and singing
Participants then bring forward ideas, such as melodies, lyrics, or themes inspired by the curriculum. Those ideas are developed collectively, with writers intentionally stepping back from ownership of their original ideas
“We say at the start that nobody owns this song,” Neustaedter Barg explained. “No person, even if somebody wrote the whole thing themselves, it still says Camps With Meaning copyright. We don’t tell anybody who wrote it.”
The group works together to refine lyrics, melodies, and structure before choosing one song to bring forward for the summer
Neustaedter Barg says removing individual ownership allows people to take creative risks and focus on the community’s needs rather than personal recognition
The goal is not to create the next major worship hit, but rather a song that serves the campers who will sing it that summer
“It wasn’t made to last forever. It was made for that summer, our camp, our Bible curriculum,” he said
Songs that continue beyond one summer
Over the years, some songs have become lasting favourites among campers and staff
One example is “You Are the Way,” a high-energy song inspired by punk music, featuring different vocal parts and actions
Another is “God Help Me Live a Life,” which combines rap verses with a sung chorus. The song was created to connect with campers who might not naturally participate in traditional worship singing
“We have campers that come that don’t really sing, that don’t want to sing, they’re too cool to sing,” Neustaedter Barg said. “So we put words in there that actually say things about what if God’s not listening to me? We’re going to take a chance on God, even if we don’t sense that God is present all the time.”
Building a musical legacy
While some songs only remain part of one summer, others continue to connect with campers years later
Neustaedter Barg says that part of what makes the project meaningful is creating music that belongs to a specific community and moment
“There’s a whole collection of songs,” he said. “Some of them are rough demos, some of them are more polished, but it’s quite a collection.”
The Camps With Meaning music collectionis available online, featuring recordings and re
